Ensuring you can build your confidence is as much about going from the outside in as it is about the inside out. However, getting that balance right is undoubtedly tricky because we’ve got so many questions we need to ask about ourselves. When it comes to changing your style, there are so many different strategies that we need to look at both sides of the coin, blending personal expression with something that is practical. Below are a number of things to keep in mind when changing your style!

Understand Your Colors and Tones

When you understand which colors complement your skin tone and your hairstyles, you can put across the best version of yourself, which makes it easier to coordinate and feel confident. For example, if you have a 1B hairstyle, which is characterized by straight roots that transition into soft waves, knowing the right hairstyles for 1B hair will give you a far better foundation of confidence.

Experiment (but Gradually)

We all want to do away with the things that are not serving us anymore, but the problem is that when we are trying to change our style, we always want to throw out the entire wardrobe. We should experiment, but instead of opting for a complete overhaul of the wardrobe, we should introduce changes gradually. For example, experimenting with accessories or statement pieces that push you slightly out of your comfort zone, or opting for highlights in your hair, so you can look at those colors to see if pushing yourself out of your comfort zone works at this juncture. When you assess what works for you without overwhelming yourself, you can begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Changing our style is something that tends to come with the temptation to completely revamp, but gradual experimentation is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Recognize Your “Natural Uniform”

Your innate style preferences, sometimes known as your natural uniform, are all about understanding what types of clothing you tend to gravitate towards. When you use this knowledge, you can guide your style evolution, which means you can expand on what you already love instead of forcing yourself into unfamiliar territory. Our temptations always involve doing a complete 180, and much like the previous step where you gradually experiment, you must understand what is good for you. This is not just in terms of how you look but in terms of how you feel. There’s not necessarily a need to force yourself into unfamiliar territory, as tempting as this may seem.

Set Style Goals

It’s so important that we look at what we want to achieve. Consider what aspects of your current wardrobe you wish to change and what new elements you want to incorporate. So when you set these clear goals, it doesn’t just inform your style transformation more gradually, but it gives you focus and direction, which are vital. We should look at setting clear goals in every single aspect of our style journey. Because we focus too much on the short term and not on the bigger picture, when we learn what we want to achieve, taking those steps in the right direction becomes a far more invaluable journey. This takes into account many factors other than the desire to completely escape everything about ourselves.

Evaluate Your Wardrobe

Much like decluttering, you need to evaluate the things in your life that no longer serve you, whether this is your hairstyle or your wardrobe items. When you start to create physical and metaphorical space for new pieces, this will clarify what you truly enjoy wearing. As a decluttered closet makes it easier to see your overall style evolution, this benefits your mindset too because it reduces decision fatigue. Decision fatigue is something, we all need to remember, that is not just a hallmark of modern life but can spill over into those things that give us anxieties in ways that we didn’t necessarily consider.

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It’s important to remember that changing your style is not just about changing your look, but about recognizing the numerous components that become an innate part of who you are. If you look at your style as a journey into a whole new version of yourself rather than just changing the exterior functions, you start to look at things differently. Changing your style isn’t something that you need to do right now, no matter how much it’s keeping you down. Look at some of these components or all of them, and you may very well find the key to changing who you are!