Redefining My Personal Style

I wrote recently about being in a bit of a style rut; I ended up having a huge clear out of my wardrobe and had a fair bit of time off from clothes shopping because I generally find that if I'm in a rut with anything, it helps to take a step back. Now I know being in a style rut is very much a first world problem, and yes boo hoo poor Amy didn't know what to wear, but the way I dress actually massively affects my self-confidence and if I'm not feeling my outfit, I'm not really feeling myself.

I've always raved about how much I love personal style because I think everyone should wear whatever they want without any judgement, but somewhere along the way I think I actually lost a sense of what personal style means and began massively restricting myself. I found myself disregarding things that didn't 'fit' with what I saw as my style and I actually started feeling less comfortable with myself because I wasn't wearing things that made me feel good.

The moral of the story is, personal style doesn't have to mean choosing your style and sticking with it; it's ever-changing, experimental and, most importantly, non-restrictive. It's wearing whatever makes you feel good, whether it's something you'd usually wear or not. I'd got very much stuck in the mindset that my summer style was all about floaty floral dresses and whereas I do love a good dress, I'm often more comfortable in something a lot more casual.

Jeans - Topshop | Jacket - Asos (sold out) | Top - Boohoo

With that in mind, I made an Asos order (obviously) fully made up of things that were far too cool for me (or so my restrictive style brain told me). Some of the things definitely were too cool for me (orange jumpsuit that was so wide-legged it looked like a parachute anyone?), but some of the things stuck, including this dreamy oversized denim jacket. The thing about experimenting with clothes that you think are too cool for you is that sometimes they actually have the power to make you feel really, well, cool. (Side note: I swear I am the only person in the world to still use the word 'cool' non-sarcastically to describe something other than temperature.)

This was the first outfit I'd worn in a while that made me feel really good about myself, proof that you can wear all the pretty floral dresses summer can throw at you, but sometimes you just need some stripes and a bit of oversized denim to feel like you.

There's not really a point to this post, other than to say hey, I was in a style rut and now I'm not so will hopefully be back with more regular style content and also to say don't let the trends get you down (I'm talking to you summer dresses); and to quote one of the most overused, but one of the best phrases, YOU DO YOU.

Amy x

Photography: Olivia Lennon