24 August 2020

How My Style Has Changed Over The Last 10 Years

How My Style Has Changed Over The Last 10 Years

 I do love a bit of a throwback, and especially find looking back at how far you have come can be a great learning process, even when it comes to your style. 

Over the years my style has inevitably been influenced by the blogosphere, especially when it comes to certain trends, as well as becoming more confident in my own dress code. 

But how much has it changed over the past 10 years, from when I was 15? Your teen and young adult years can be some of the most diverse in your life, so let's see how much it changed my style...


At the start of senior school, I was very much a tomboy - jeans, t-shirts and hoodies were my go-to outfit combinations. And luckily for me, that seemed to be what everyone else was wearing but by the time I was 15 I had started to find myself pouring over magazines looking at what all the celebrities were wearing at the time. 

I loved their dressed-up style, and soon after I found myself not just looking at modern-day celebrities, but those from the 1960s and '70s and lusting after shift dresses, capri pants, and colour. All. The. Colour. 

This new-found fashion love, however, took a little longer to reflect itself in my actual wardrobe. As a self-conscious teenager who just wanted to fit in with the cool kids (not worth it guys), I was afraid to dress up, so I stuck with my Jane Norman bags, glittery hoodies, Primark ballet flats and plastic headbands. 

I knew I wanted to change my style but I wasn't really sure how to make that leap of faith. I soon realised though, that I needed to be confident in my outfit choices, even though some styles were new to me, and not be afraid to make a few blunders along the way. 

This confidence started from when I changed friendship groups at school. I had gone through quite a hard time being bullied by said cool kids I was trying to be friends with, and so when I joined a group of girls who were accepting, fun, and a great mix of studious and creative personalities, I started to relax more into myself.

It started with me being bolder with my colour choices (hello neon era) and patterns, and slowly crept into being more adventurous with different items of clothing. I had a faze of having a lot of waistcoats (and not the standard kind, we're talking denim, studded etc) and it was around this time that my love for checked shirts started. 

It was also around this time that I discovered Polyvore (comment below if you remember Polyvore) and Tumblr. These two online platforms were my first foray into different forms of blogging and ended up heavily influencing my style in the years to come. 

Tumblr allowed me to explore new outfit styles and combinations, whilst Polyvore allowed me to actually get creative and put together my own collages of outfits. From there, there was no stopping me. By the time I had finished my GCSE's, I had done a complete 180 on my jeans and hoodie days. 

As I entered the sixth form to do my A-Levels, having the freedom to dress in our own clothes (with only a smart dress code to hold me back) was the final push I needed to start really experimenting with my style. 

This was where my love affair with blazers started which has carried on until today, and even though my choices had to be on the smarter side, I could go to town on different styles and colours. 

I was always well-behaved during my school years, but I did get in trouble with our head of the sixth form because 'patterned trousers weren't formal enough' in his opinion. I was tempted to turn around to him and say that if patterned trousers were formal enough to be featured in smart outfits on the runways of Just Cavalli, Cacharel and Dries Van Noten then it was formal enough for my small town sixth form, but I decided against it...

Regardless of this slight hiccup, I absolutely loved getting dressed up not only for the sixth form but also for the social get-togethers we would have as we started getting to the legal drinking age. House parties became the perfect opportunity to bring out a new brightly coloured dress, or a cute thrifted cami teamed with a leather skirt. 

It was also around this time that I discovered fashion blogs and would spend hours with two of my friends (one of whom ended up starting her own blog too) scouring these blogs for new outfit inspo. 

Then, at the start of my second year of the sixth form, I went to my first ever London Fashion Weekend. For me, that was the tip of the iceberg. To be able to sit front row at a fashion show, watching the models glide past in these impeccable yet experimental outfits, and then to be able to shop some of the designers afterwards resulted in me falling head over heels into the fashion world. 

By the time I had finished my A-Levels not even a year later, I had decided to start my own blog, and the rest, as they say, is internet history. 

After leaving school, my style for a long while stayed quite formal (this was the period of time where my blazer collection doubled) and I soldiered on wearing heels, even though I soon realised my feet were not a fan of them (dancer's feet prefer nice wide supportive shoes as I've come to find out). 

I also found that my love for all things vintage and retro blossomed, and I started to take trips to Spitalfields and Brick Lane to find some vintage gems. During this time, Taylor Swift was in her Red era which was very vintage-inspired, and as one of my favourite singers, she played a huge part in my style at this time.  

After a brief period of trying out minimalism and neutral colours as it was becoming very on-trend, I realised that this certainly wasn't for me and that I was happiest in colour!

Which leads me to where I am today! What would I call my style now? 

To be honest, I don't think I have a name for it, but these are the key characteristics of my style:

How My Style Has Changed Over The Last 10 Years

ALL THE COLOUR

As I said just now, my main love about my style is the colour. I love experimenting with different colour combos, clashing colourful prints, and I think I've found my stride with it. I've realised that neons are not my thing (much to the sadness of 15-year-old me) but get me in any shade of blue and I'm a happy girl. 

I've also discovered what suits my skin tone. If I wear anything pink that as too much of a blue undertone, and I just look like a tomato, meanwhile a gorgeous orange nude pink makes me look the epitome of health! 

How My Style Has Changed Over The Last 10 Years

WAISTLINES ARE NUMBER 1

I've been through many a smock dress that makes me look like a potato. Those days are no more. 

As I'm petite but big-boobed with an athletic shape, I find that I have to gravitate towards pieces with an obvious waistline, or a slim cut, as then otherwise it's just not flattering on me. 

I also find I end up having a huge amount of dresses and jumpsuits with tie belts on them, as nothing makes me happier than creating my own waistline that can be loosened or shifted up and down if I've been out to dinner and a food baby has made an appearance...

How My Style Has Changed Over The Last 10 Years

MIDI AND MAXI SKIRTS ARE NOT TO BE SCARED OF

This was more of a recent fear, but I went through a phase of hating any skirt length that went lower than the top of my knee. Don't ask, because I have no idea why. 

It could mainly be to do with the fear that I would look like I was wearing a sack. But due to the help of choosing slim-line cuts and side slits I soon found my hangers start to fill up with longer hemlines again. 

How My Style Has Changed Over The Last 10 Years

COMFY FOOTWEAR ONLY

Gone are the days where I would stagger around fashion week in uncomfortable shoes just for the sake of outfit photos. No. Not any more. Let's try and save these bunions. 

Trainers, sandals, Chelsea boots, espadrilles and even heeled slingbacks keep my feet happy nowadays, and now my high heels & boots have been retired for going 'out out' only. Maybe it's a dancer thing? As someone who lives in trainers, ballet or tap shoes whilst teaching, I guess my feet have become accustomed to having the freedom to move about as freely as they like, and being surrounded by supportive comfort. 

How My Style Has Changed Over The Last 10 Years

A HINT OF VINTAGE/RETRO HERE AND THERE

I've realised that I can't be one of those people that commit to only wearing pieces inspired by or from a certain era. Don't tie me down like that. 

One day, I may feel like rocking the 50's housewife look, while on another day, I want to grunge it up like it's 1995 (shoutout to the 90's babies here) and the pieces in my wardrobe reflect that! I've also found myself clashing the past and the present, with modern trends (that have probably been inspired by a vintage one in the first place) making appearances in outfits that otherwise would make me look like I've stepped out of the 1960s, and vice versus. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'd love to know how much your style has changed over the past 10 years! 

WHAT TO WATCH


2 comments

  1. It's amazing when we look back and we see how we've changed!
    To me it was as my body has changed in the meantime and some personal notes. But I'm with you on that ever lasting fascination form vintage picks!
    xoxo and have a great weeked

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, our bodies can pay a huge role in our style! xxx

      Delete