5 Style Goals for 2017

I know I know, a post titled anything with the word “Goals” and “2017” feels soooooo 2016 right now. We’re half way into January and we’ve probably broke 90% of our New Year’s Resolutions already and therefore bored of hearing the word, but I’m talking about my style goals to really up my personal style game and get right back to the heart of why I started this blog.

Although this little space on the world wide web has become a hub of lifestyle pieces, sassy rants and debates on millennial stuff, fashion has remained at its core. I started it as a place to showcase and talk about my style, but it’s time to step it up a notch. There’s so many people out there dressing in the most incredible ways to inspire you, and I’d like to be one too. So here are my 5 style goals to make the most fun, exciting, and fashionable 2017.

The fallout from the normcore trend from a few years back and “effortless” style that we’re all so damn obsessed with has RUINED me. Yes it’s cool and apparently requires no effort which is a major game changer in the time department (although I have a thing or two to say about the effort required to look effortless right here), but it’s also made me lazy and less creative.

I remember when I started this blog I experimented so much more. I played around with colours, textures, and accessories. Just a quick glance at my old Facebook photos and you can see how much I really enjoyed dressing up (partly because it was literally costumical) but people knew me as being ‘fashionable’ whereas now I’m just ‘a bit stylish and has a blog’. There’s always this debate on whether it’s better to be seen as fashionable or stylish, but I liked the quirkier sense of style I had back then so I’m going to be harking back to my old roots a little (not as far back as my black emo hair roots though dw) and be a little more playful.

This is a big fuck you to normore and the trainers trend. Before heels became oh-so-uncool I would wear them all of the time. Everyday. I remember back when I couldn’t remember the last time I wore flats other than my gym trainers (heeled ankle boots are totally included.) But whilst I have absolutely zero problem with trainers and flats being so trendy, I have a big problem with them becoming so trendy that I began to like them so much that they were all I ever wore (okay well I never quite ‘got’ the trainers thing per se but we’ll talk about that another time) and then the next time I propped my pins up in heels I could barely take a step without my ankle giving way! I have a pair of stunning Louboutin Pigalle’s in my wardrobe (the 120’s, not the 100’s) that now have a hardly tarnished red sole because I just can’t walk in them anymore.

Plus all of my shoes are now black. They are boring. I just stomp about in my beloved New Look ankle boots as if they are the only pair that I own. It’s as though I’ve forgot how fun footwear can be, so I’m going to wear more heels, get my balance back, develop thick skin so that blisters don’t even occur.

I clear my wardrobes out on average every 2.5 months. I have two main clothing rails where all of my current favourite pieces are, then an actual wardrobe which is a little bit like fashion limbo. It’s full of items that I haven’t worn for a while, but I’m not ready to get rid of yet. If they don’t get worn in the next 2.5 months, they’re in the binbag and off to the charity shop.

Clothes that find their way going through this intricate system fastest are the cheap ones. We all know the really naff brands that we come across online and convince ourselves that our order might, just this time, be a decent enough quality. It shows up and we wear it reluctantly, thinking we should have just invested in the higher price item instead, and two wears down the line its never seen of again. You won’t even wash it in your next laundry run because it’s not worth the powder.

I will not buy these clothes. I will not waste my money. I will not be full of sartorial regret.

I’ve written before about the mad panic that we get with what to wear out on Friday night. And you know what? It hasn’t got any better. We’re in that semi-grownup age where we’ll slot in an evening of drinks after work or maybe a Tinder date so you’ve got to nail versatile, stylish looks that don’t make you look overdressed by day and don’t make you look like a slob by night.

I’m still desperately trying to figure this out. My wardrobe is full of great casual staples and some killer Girl’s Night Out dresses and jumpsuits, but the in between is a territory I’m yet to make my mark on.

So I’ll be trying out things like an elevated classic white T-shirt (the Whistles one below is a great option) with things like wide-leg trousers (bonus points for sporty stripes!)

Breton top count: 10 – my excuse? All varying stripe widths and subtle changes in shade. None of them quite right.
Raw hem blue jeans count: 6 – my excuse? I still haven’t found the perfect perfect pair.  (I am still searching btw)
Black handbags: 13 – my excuse? Still searching for *the one!* that goes with everything.

Some of us might be looking for the loves of our lives, I’m looking to find the clothes of my life. I’ve collected all of these items in my wardrobe, all having favourable qualities, but all missing one vital ingredient that makes them just right for me – much like all of my past relationships.

And like what I’ve said before about any good relationship, don’t settle it if it’s not the exact perfect one that you want. I need to apply that to my wardrobe this year and make sure I only buy one of these repeat offenders – and that when I do, to make sure it’s *the one*