The art of getting dressed for yourself

The story

There is a particular kind of confidence in an outfit you forget you are wearing. A shirt that falls just right. Trousers you can sit, walk and live in. The familiar jacket that makes everything else feel like you. Personal style often begins with these small certainties.

Getting dressed for yourself is less about finding a signature look than noticing what already works. Look at the clothes you reach for on an ordinary Tuesday, when there is no occasion and no photograph to consider. What do they have in common? A shape, a texture, a colour, a little room to move?

Start with what you own

Choose three outfits from your wardrobe that feel easy. Photograph them for yourself, then look for the connecting thread. Perhaps you prefer a relaxed shoulder, a clean neckline or a strong shoe. Those observations are a more useful shopping list than a saved folder full of other people's lives.

Leave room for a surprise

A wardrobe need not become a uniform to make sense. Try one unfamiliar combination: the evening skirt with your everyday knit, a bright scarf against a neutral coat, the same trousers with a completely different shoe. Change one thing and see how it feels.

Style does not have to be a finished project. Let your clothes respond to your days, your body and your changing taste. The best outfit is one that leaves you enough attention for the life you are wearing it into.

OUR WRITERSSara Tilla

Read more from Sara Tilla on Her & Bloom.

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