How I Found My Personal Style Without Shopping

#shopyourcloset #minimalism #declutter

Before I discovered minimalism, one of my greatest pain points of my excess consumption was in my closet. I LOVE clothes, and I still do. But the more I bought, the most confused I felt about my personal style and the further from "myself" it felt like I was getting. When I stopped shopping and started decluttering, that's when I really started to discover and solidify my personal style. Here are my tips to help define your own personal style without shopping or spending money. Believe me, it's probably hanging in your closet right now!

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ABOUT ME:🌿
I'm Christina, friendly neighbourhood human on the internet slash pharmacist. You may have previously known me as Style Apotheca. I'm living in Toronto, Canada and on my channel you'll find me on my journey towards minimalism, being content with less, recovery from a shopping addiction, and my journey towards financial freedom from over $120,000 in student loan debt. Thank you SO much for watching and taking the time out of your day to support my channel. A little thumb always helps support me!

[Christinamychas]

How have you defined your personal style?

[river]

I found my personal style through making capsule wardrobes. I chose something like 10 shirts, 5 bottoms, 5 dressier pieces, 3 necklaces, etc etc at a time, and kept the rest in storage. The constrained choice basically forced me to rotate through everything, and that made it easier to figure out what I wasn't inclined to wear! And then I'd swap stuff out until I was left with items that I genuinely loved using. It literally changed my entire relationship with clothes

[nikkijones]

Piggy backing off your restaurant analogy, as a former chef I know that the bigger a restaurant's offering, the less fresh everything will be. Many things will come from the freezer. I think the same can apply to clothes, having less means you use what you have more (wash, wear, airing out) and things don't lurk unused and unloved in the shadows!!

[margaret]

I used to feel declittering meant getting rid of anything I hadn’t worn recently - but lately I’ve tried to let myself rediscover some pieces that I might have overlooked when I was constantly bringing in new. Some of those pieces like you said “never stood a chance” simply because of the amount I was bringing in. Thanks for sharing - I have been loving the tone and style of your recent videos.

[tracyeast]

The first time I saw you speak about "fantasy self" I had to replay and watch again, because I had one of those moments that clicked and wow that was a game changer for me. I have always got that in mind now. Thankyou so much for that!

[CT]

The other thing to remember with that constant urge to shop is that we're seeing a dopamine hit from a novel experience. It's called the hedonic treadmill. That's why we constantly check social media or buy new things. Novelty releases dopamine. So that's a huge part of why we buy stuff, put it in the closet, and forget about it.

[AhmetKaan]

*“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending...”*
*―C. S. Lewis*

[annetteelder-clark]

Just need to share. You're young & stylish and can mix & match your neutrals well. I'm 50 & now divorced & I don't mix & match too well. I live in Tennessee where it's hot 9 months of the year. I wear dresses all the time cause they're easy & breezy. I add jackets & tights in winter. I just counted, & I have 48 dresses after decluttering. I love them because I don't have to think about anything other than, bag, shoes & jewelry. Boom, done. I do own jeans, lots... indigo, black, grey, olive & a burgundy corduroy. I have about 25 tops... tees, blouses & sweaters to match my jeans and 2 pairs black trousers. I think you put tons of effort into defining your style and it shows. You consistently look good & put together. I think I look my best in dresses. That's my style. Some were $29 & some were $250, & they range from casual to formal but I feel good in them & I don't spend much time in the morning debating them. So I appreciate you encouraging women to track what they wear, & then wear the style which makes them feel confident, comfortable, and attractive. 🙂

[rebeckahowells]

I dont think we need to shop to figure out our personal styles.. Society/media/etc always tells us we need to "go find ourselves".. My husband told me we already are ourselves, we just need to accept ourselves to see it. Maybe its the same with our styles? Our closets?

[amyr]

“How we spend our days is how we spend our lives” whoa, that got me. So profound. Thanks for being awesome, Christina and for creating content that enriches lives.

[moneybee]

Even my friends with big wardrobes still gravitate towards their same "core" clothing, which they love. If you focus on what those core items that make you feel happy and feel good are, it makes it easy to laser in on the style that works with what you have. Great video as always Christina! Loved it! 😄

[ritalynb]

Clothing has always been an easy area for me to keep under control.
1. I figured out my personal style by 20. I deviated from it from time to time, but always returned to it. I know that classic pieces & classic fits look best on me. Think blazers, slacks, pencil skirts and shift dresses. My favorite pictures of myself for 20+ years are always classic looks.
2. I have never enjoyed shopping and only ever went into stores when I needed something. This has probably saved me a small fortune.
3. I have never paid attention to trends or watch what was on the runways. I feel no pull to this at all.
4. I am not an accessories person. I don't own jewelry and do not understand the allure of designer (ie stupidly overpriced for no good reason) handbags. I also don't like logos or names on my clothing/accessories.
5. I like vintage items so I enjoy thrifting select pieces that give a unique twist to my otherwise classic (boring, to some) wardrobe. I have a vintage high neck, puff sleeve blouse in dark green from the 80's, a button up with an awesome disco color from the 70's, an amazing dress from the 1960's, a vintage leather jacket from the 90's and vintage Italian leather loafers. These pieces keep me from getting bored with my basics.
6. I started utilizing a capsule wardrobe in 2005, so I have always looked to have a small core wardrobe.
7. Finally, I have practiced 1 in/1 out for a very long time.

These things have kept my closet from growing and kept me on track with my personal style.

[elisecccccccc]

Honestly I did find my personal style by shopping but it was thrifting/thredUP type sites that were what made it. Being able to look at a bunch of clothes without fancy product shots/lighting/the fantasy of it all were really what did it for me and then also digging back into things that I liked and was drawn to as a kid but considering how to pair those things together into outfits. Going back to the least influenced time in my life and thinking about what I liked was probably the most helpful thing. Also thinking about the silhouettes of my favorite items and how to work those into outfits. So creating a capsule wardrobe of my personal basics and then looking at my other items and seeing how those items could tie in with that capsule. If things don’t pair with my most worn capsule items I’m probably not going to wear them you know?

[myname]

I found my personal style when I started a process of getting to know myself better. I think I used to fantasize about my life. Whatever I wanted to buy something I had this imaginary self in my mind… I literally “watched” that movie in my head about me walking town town in this chic clothes. I got myself into misery. I thing that was a turning point: just realizing that this is not my life. I don’t walk in downtown because I live in the suburbs and I drive everywhere.. I’m a mom and some thing are just not practical for this moment in my life and the most important of all: I do not have to prove anything to anyone including myself😊 my style for this moment in my life is just practical with a little bit of a edgy twist usually jeans, T-shirt and some jackets 🍁🍂

[ashleythompson]

A few things hit home with me in this video! -

*Your most worn stuff often doesn't end up being your favourite stuff (and that's not failure)
*Find out what it is you actually want from your personal style
*Explore the shopping choices you've already made, give them a real chance

How I'm working on defining my personal style -

-Tracking my daily wears in a spreadsheet
-Logging selfies of my favourite outfits in a wardrobe app. This is actually SO helpful for learning what I absolutely do NOT like. Who knew just looking in the mirror vs taking a photo of yourself, could be so different!? This is also building confidence because I have a backlog of images of myself lookin' chic, to boost me when I need! Sounds cheesy, but works!

[erinthompson]

I’ve lost 60 pounds recently, so have been forced to declutter A LOT. I had way too many clothes from trying to compensate for feeling bad about myself. Getting rid of all the stuff has been emotional. Some of it I realized I didn’t even like. My closet has much less now and I’m hoping I can control my impulses and keep it that way.

[DemetriPanici]

*“Make things as simple as possible but no simpler.” - Albert Einstein*

[carolcraig]

Thank you, Christina, for sharing your journey. Even though I am in midlife I find your channel relevant and inspiring. I have been on a wardrobe minimizing journey for a few years. It takes time and patience, but being authentic and honing one’s true style only adds to the unique beauty we each possess. After years of impulsive, fantasy self shopping I have turned a corner. Less really is more, and it took me until midlife to realize this. Decision fatigue was my trigger. Oh - & the glorious epiphany after age 50 that I just didn’t give a flying f**k about what others thought. So soon old, so late wise….🤣

[ladywiththelantern]

My clothing journey has gone towards my fantasy self instead of away from it but the editing process is the same. I felt like I wasn't expressing myself honestly and most of my pieces were items that were chosen for me. So I've been going to thrift stores and trying trends and using Pinterest to nail down patterns/ styles that I respond to no matter how much fantasy is in the clothing. (There is a full on fantasy green cloak that I passed on once that I still think about.) I need that whimsy in my life and wardrobe to give me that feeling that anything is possible.

[Knitnana]

I think that what your decluttering and finding minimalism did was mature you far beyond your years with regard to fashion trends and many other things. I continued to look to fashion for self-definition into my early 50s (especially after finally losing the weight I’d carried since my daughter was born - she’s in her 40s now). It took getting into my mid-to late 50s to finally move past “what I look like” to “what and who I am” to move out of fashion trends. You beat me by a couple of decades or so! Bravo! ❤️