Have you ever thought about what people think of your style and your appearance? Chances are that you most likely have thought about that, every time you meet someone new. However, the real question is were you satisfied with the impression they got from meeting you? Were there any misconceptions about you? Did the picture match the person? Although this question seems to be unimportant, the logic behind it is pretty clear: people are being judged or at least commented on every day, based on the way they look. Although it’s hard to say, this is still one of the most common phenomena that we experience quite often. Why is this happening and what can be done about it?

We all know that there have to be some comments about your experience and you should accept it as something that is normal, but there still is one thing you can do about it – you can turn your style into a statement!

If you don’t know how to do that, the answer is simple: find the style that matches your personality and make sure every outfit you wear tells the story of who you are, what you like and what you want to showcase to people.

Countless surveys show that non-verbal communication is even more important than verbal. It means that your body language, your facial expressions, the way your body moves, gesticulating, and finally – the way you look, seems to communicate even more than what you talk. It has also been proven that the first 5 seconds are crucial when you meet someone new. In other words, this means that every person you meet creates an opinion about you based on the way you behave and look, even before you say a single word. What is the conclusion from all of this? The conclusion is that one of the best ways to communicate your personality to other people is through your fashion style and the way you look.

Still, if you know who you are, this doesn’t mean that you necessarily have to know how to express it to others. People usually have to go through several phases, and try different styles in order to find the one that fits their personality, and that can really represent who they are. However, during this process, many fashion mistakes are usually being made. Luckily for all of us, there are great tools, tips and tricks that you can take advantage of, and prevent all those fashion disasters that you can see in the paparazzi photos from the 90s or in the photos from your high school (we’ve all been there!).

1. Look Inside

The first thing you need to do is to communicate better with yourself. What does this mean in reality? It means that in order to show people who you really are, you first need to be sure about that. The most important thing about this is to know what you like, and to align your choices with your preferences. This can include your interests, your goals, your values, or some other superficial factors such as your body type, your height or for example the colours you love. When you mix practical and these deep philosophical elements, you will have a starting point that is almost 100% near-perfect. That being said, an extrovert and an introvert would never dress the same, whether it’s about the colour, the shape, or the boldness of their wardrobe. Some people love to draw attention with their clothing, while others don’t. This means that there is no such thing as one-size-fits-all, when it comes to style and fashion. Every individual is special, has certain qualities, loves different things and therefore, they should dress accordingly.

2. Explore

The second thing you can (and you should!) do is to explore all the styles, trends, and outfit inspiration on websites such as Pinterest or Instagram. Why is this something you should do? By researching and exploring what’s already there, you might find something new, a style that you haven’t heard about but that you might like. If you like several styles, or several pieces of clothing or accessories, then you can take something you like from each of them, mix and match and create your own style. That being said, finding the style or several styles that fit you the most, and adjusting them or personalizing them to match your preferences, should be your goal at the end! But until then, if you know what you like but you are not sure where' to start, knowing that there are styles such as vintage, art hoe, rocker chic, sportswear, military style, tomboy, bohemian chic or business casual – might help you determine what would fit you best. Also, knowing what fashion trends are hot right now, such as bright colored checks, large floral prints or headscarves – can also inspire you to experiment and play with colors, textures, styles and accessories.

3. Use Useful Tools

Although experimenting with different items, finding your fashion inspiration, creating mood boards and many other ways to find your perfect style are useful, there are also several interesting tools you can use as well. Instead of endless scrolling and searching, you can start with much simpler alter-natives, which can tell you which fashion style is the right fit for you, according to your personality type, your personality traits, core values etc.

The way it functions is – it gives you a set of questions and small tasks to solve and answer, and by doing that, the app decides which style or styles are the best fit for you, according to your preferences. Finally, you get a thorough explanation and the details about your style, after which you can continue searching for examples on the internet, and finding even more details, fashion pieces etc. Although this may seem like it’s limiting you or putting you in a box, it really is useful because it can allow you to better understand yourself, while offering you a huge variety of styles to choose from, with definitions and pictures, which can be a great place to start building your fashion persona!