I Should Care More About How I Dress

As detailed here, finding my style has been a process. It still is...I really don't know how to dress, and to be honest—I don't exactly care. This is my problem—I should care. Why? Because I want to take care of myself in any way I can, and I know the benefits that dressing well can have. I don't have to go fancy and spend $500, but I do want to make myself actually care about what I put on my body and how it makes me feel.

Like I said in the above linked post, my go-to outfits include turtlenecks (usually black), with my gifted Mother's jeans and a pair of white sneakers. Simple, easy to assemble, not a disaster if I get splattered with Gatorade by my little sisters. But it gets boring; sometimes I want to don some dramatic red coat with black velvet booties just for fun—but I've lost inspiration for these kinds of "vices." When I lived in Europe, I was ecstatic to be in a historic epicenter filled with mementos of war; monarchies; and religious turmoil (not a happy history, but important and interesting nonetheless). There were people from all over the world living in London, and that inspired me to get my ass into some leather pants (thanks again, Kass) and a long, baby-pink coat (double thanks, Kass). I was in Europe—every white girl's dream—I couldn't not dress for the occasion.

Now that I'm back in my little beach town in Orange County, I'm not as motivated to buy leopard pants and flirt with Austrian men at a cafe (are there even any around here?). It's the town where I grew up and don't exactly have great memories of, so it's like I'm dressing how my memories think I should dress: unimportant, and a bit depressing. It's all to do with mindset, of course—so this is what I need to change. It's hard though when almost nothing in this town has changed other than the old beach homes that were torn down and made white with black trim; I have to make myself see that anywhere and everywhere is an excuse to dress in a way that makes me feel confident, sexy, and mysterious.

Even though I love my "every day outfits" that consist of the same shirts and pair of jeans mixed and matched throughout the week—these outfits don't do much to inspire or motivate me. I feel that my lackluster style is contributing to a lack of motivation to get up early and get extra work done like rewriting my resume, writing, networking, and so on. I sit in my bed in the same old sweatpants, in the same old t-shirt, scrolling through my email not sure of what to do with my spare time. Every time I fold my laundry I let out a sigh of "well, here's all the uninspiring clothes I have." Of course I'm lucky to even have clothes, to be able to dress myself every day and wash them when I need to—but there comes a time when your wardrobe just bores you. I want to dress in a way that will get me moving, instead of habitually getting me to lie in bed reading my acting book or watching The Frankenstein Chronicles.

I'm not sure how to get out of this fashion rut, mostly because I'm on a tight budget and get overwhelmed walking into a clothing store. But, thanks to Instagram, finding style inspiration isn't a problem. I found this account "becauseofvogue" that I really like; the outfits vary drastically but all have a certain personality to them in color, texture, and assembly. Just looking at these outfits inspires me, which tells me I need to change my style to motivate myself and actually like the reflection in the mirror.

However you decide to dress, take care in how you present yourself. This is still very much in progress for me, and I know I have a ways to go before I find pieces that make me feel confident and reflect my personality. Go look at fashion bloggers/accounts to see what inspires you. Do you love velvet? Leather pants? Pastels? Bold patterns? Minimalist sweaters and accent pieces? They all do something to our confidence level, and I think I should take more care in acknowledging this fact.

I've linked a couple videos below of a beauty blogger who I've been following for years now, and her content does not disappoint. She goes into the importance of dressing well, what that means for you, and how to shop for clothes. The quality of her videos really shines through, so definitely take a look.

In the meantime, go inspire yourself and make some small changes at first in your outfit choices to see what makes you feel better, and inspires you to flirt with Austrian men at a cafe.

How to Dress Better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljf4l6Nuh8Q

5 Style Tips Every Girl Should Know: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvF-v5LaSSo

What No One Tells You About Shopping: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdZ2jEDCl3g

Watch This Before You Buy Another Sweater: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxJPiSgMClA

What No One Tells You About Jeans: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs4U4_c-5A4