The Greatest Style Lessons I Learned In My 30th Year

From practicing my personal style to a letting go of ancient rules.

Welcome back to Let’s Get Dressed, a weekly newsletter where I share my endeavors in fashion — what I’m wearing, shopping, trying on, and thinking about — to give you some inspiration for the week ahead. It’s my fashion diary, except I’m actually letting you look inside.

Today is my 31st birthday, and for the first time in my life, I feel like my style has finally caught up with me. I’ve always believed that personal style is a journey, not a destination - we’re never going to hit that final point and we’ll constantly evolve. But with a few key tips (some of which I’ve heard on the podcast!), I’ve started to chip away at the statue of what I love to wear every day and who I am at my fashion core. So as a birthday gift from me to you, here are some of the best pieces of style advice I heard last year that dramatically changed the way I get dressed.

1. Practice your style. Like most things in life, you aren’t going to just wake up one day good at something. You have to make the time and space to practice. I recently had Cass DiMicco (founder of Aureum Collective) on the podcast and she shared how making space in her schedule to play dress up with no end destination has helped her understand what she likes to wear, and also know what to put on quicker on those busy mornings. So whether it’s once a month or becomes a Sunday self-care ritual, carve out that time to practice your personal style. Turn on some music, open up your closet, and make an event out of it. It’s become one of my favorite hobbies. Here’s a little bit from our conversation below.

2. Personal style reveals more than just what you put on your body. One of my favorite things ever said on Let’s Get Dressed was when Brenda Weischer (AKA BrendaHashtag) shared her vision of what personal style really is. It’s not just about the clothes on your back, she said, but a reflection of how you move through life - a grandparent that inspired you, how you treat your friends and family, your manners, and all of your life experiences. I’ve always loved fashion because it tells a story without using words, and I’ve thought about this deeper in the aftermath of the “quiet luxury” era. So much of fashion began to look the same and we lost those personal touches. No matter what’s in or out, remember to thread in your history. We want to know about that vintage pin your mom gave you or that incredible jacket you got from a friend for your birthday. I’ve been wearing my mom’s vintage earrings a lot recently and I love how they make each look feel unique to me.

3. The rules really don’t apply. I worked with stylist Thomas Christos Kikis for my wedding and besides being obsessed with him, I was eager to work with him so that I could be pushed out of my comfort zone. There are so many lessons I learned from him that I think of daily while I’m getting dressed. I’m sure we all have those fashion rules we abide by just because we’ve heard them our whole lives. “Don’t mix gold and silvers.” “You can’t wear white past Labor Day,” and so many more. The one that stuck with me was always having to match your shoes to your bags, and it really held me back stylistically until I got a nudge from Thomas to get out of my ways. Now I wear black heels with a white bag and send him a picture with pride! So let me be your Thomas and tell you to ditch your rules and just do what feels good.

   

4. It’s not that deep! When I asked Larissa Mills on the podcast what her best piece of advice was for finding her personal style, she said “trial and error.” But what does it really mean to fail in fashion, anyways? If an outfit doesn’t work out, you get to try again the next day. Don’t be afraid to take risks out of the fear of one bad outfit. Joan Rivers isn’t outside your house with a score to give you for the day. If you don’t try, you won’t learn what actually does work for you. Fashion is supposed to be fun, so have it!!!!

What’s the best piece of fashion advice you’ve heard? Drop it in the comments below.

---

Have a lovely weekend and see you next week <3 Until then, you can find me on Instagram and more of my closet favorites here.