Social media and selfie culture can put an unbelievable amount of pressure on us to look our best all the time. This can turn fashion in a chore or a form of torture, rather than encouraging it as a form of self-expression that definitely offers room to have fun.
It does not and should not need to be that way. Thankfully, we are not the only ones who feel this way about clothing, footwear, and accessories. In her blog, writer Anuschka Rees shared fabulous tips that can help you boost your style confidence and to put the spirit of fun back into your approach to fashion.
1. Seize The Day!
Why waste precious time daydreaming about some future time in which you embrace your true style? One of Anuschka’s top tips is to live in the now, and we agree.
Whether you want to move to a new job, house, or city, you want to study and graduate, or you want to lose weight, set that in motion now. Have the courage to start pursuing your goals today – and that includes dressing the way you want to dress.
2. You Be You
While Anuschka recognises the value of inspiration (who doesn’t have a style icon?), she has a few cautionary words to say about it. The German fashionista says we need to be careful about falling into the trap of trying to emulate people who are usually implied to be more successful and more beautiful than others. Like playing Aristocrat pokies online, fashion should be about having fun.
By constantly comparing ourselves to others, we risk doing all sorts of damage to our self-esteem, especially when those others are airbrushed, photoshopped celebs with teams of stylists! You will look better and feel more confident if you be yourself.
3. Piece By Piece
Embracing your true style is not something that has to happen all at once. If you have the confidence and the means for an overnight makeover, go for it. If not, there is nothing wrong with introducing changes slowly.
You can introduce elements of the look you truly want, which gives you time to experiment in ways that help you develop your confidence and refine your personal style.
4. Throw Out Feel-Bad Threads
If you have clothes that make you feel bad when you wear them, donate them to charity or chuck them out. Either way, get rid of them.
Anuschka recommends being heartless about it. Your wardrobe should contain only clothing that makes you feel good about yourself or is suitable for a certain occasion, and sometimes you need a detoxification process to make sure that is the case.
5. Change That Inner Voice
We can be our own worst enemies, and this can manifest as a negative inner monologue. Anuschka reckons that we can even go as far as bullying ourselves – and, yes, that includes bullying ourselves about the way we look.
One way to overcome this is to be aware of what you say to yourself. If you realise that you have a lot of negative self-talk, consciously start replacing that with affirmations.