Why Dressing For Your Body Is More Important Than Following Trends

via visitdenmark.co.uk

As someone who reads a minimum of one magazine per week, I'm not ashamed to admit that I am tempted by trends. I like to believe that they don't phase me and that my style is a unique aspect of my identity unaffected by what magazines tell me to wear. Unfortunately, every time I dwell on my purchases, I conclude that this cannot possibly be the case. I question my choices and wonder whether I bought that fringe skirt because I've been following Coachella too much on Instagram. Here are some questions that plague my mind:

Is my suede jacket suddenly intriguing because the 70s are making a comeback?
Will I be wearing giant round frames because I saw them on an Olsen twin this season?
Am I only into yellow because I read that it's this year's colour in Harper's Bazaar?

I know. These are very pressing questions. I can hardly shop anymore without diving into a full on existential crisis. So, how is this avoided?

The key is to figure out what works for you. Pretty easy, right?

Actually, it's a horrendous process. There's nothing worse than that feeling you get when you absolutely LOVE something and you're hoping someone will tell you it looks great on you (sincerely) even though you know it doesn't. You know those glasses are too big for your face, but the colour is incredible. You're dying to buy some culottes but your legs look about two inches long. You contemplate flared pants on the daily, but every pair you try looks horrible. You buy them anyway. Or do you?

Life (i.e fashion) often throws us suggestions through celebrities. When we see anything on Kate Moss, we're driven to take it. It is not logic that pulls us towards that dress, it's our desire to look just as great as Poppy Delevingne while wearing it. Once the novelty wears off, we realize with dread that it looks terrible and can't remember why we bought it in the first place.

Though buyer's remorse is a common problem amongst everyone who has ever shopped, it can be avoided by staying true to yourself. Here are some ideas:

1) Pick a word (or two) that you would use to describe your style personality.
2) Think about it/them every time you shop.
3) Find out what works for your body.
4) Buy those pants.

It's a long process but I promise, it can be fun. When you discover what works for you, a trend in a magazine will become a fleeting idea that hardly tingles your body.

Ponder that,

Bella