SEATTLE —
NEW YEAR'S STYLE RESOLUTIONS 2023
Why is personal style high on so many peoples’ New Year's Resolutions?
Probably because there are so many things in this life that we cannot control, and this is one area you can! You have a choice what you buy, what you bring into your closet, what you put on your body. Every morning we make a choice when we get dressed and — it’s a small thing — but you can choose to put on something that makes you feel good or can choose to put on something that makes you feel blah. But I know a lot of people feel stress and pressure around this topic, so hopefully these tips can help.
1. Find your three Style Words. What are the three words that best represent your ideal personal style? I use this exercise with my clients (celebrity stylist Allison Bornstein talked about this Three Word Method on TikTok) because I think most people can benefit from having some direction and clarity around their style. In 2023 my style words are: Special. Energized. Easy. And I think about these words every time I make a purchase. And I use these three words as a lense on my closet to figure out what to keep and what to donate. It’s helpful to reevaluate your three words annually because things change.
2. Reduce your closet by 25%. This is usually the single most helpful way to reset your closet and the method I use the most. It’s not hard, but it usually takes 2-3 hours. Step one: take everything out of your closet and make piles of similar items: pants, t-shirts, sweaters, jeans, shirts. Step two: go through every pile, count the items and reduce by 25% (You have 12 pairs of jeans? Get rid of your least favorite three). Step three: put everything back, preferably in a new place. This works for almost everyone, in almost every closet. And even though you may have multiple bags of donations, you’ll end up feeling like you have more, not less.
3. Uncuff yourself. Some of the biggest barriers to personal style are mental. I often hear people say things like, “I’m not a stylish person,” “I’m horrible at picking out clothes,” “I can’t dress myself,” “I’m frumpy,” “I don’t have any sense of fashion.” I would like to gently offer: Those are handcuffs you put on yourself. You might be the only person perpetuating those stories, and you can absolutely change the narrative. Release those thoughts, and replace them with something more helpful like, “I’m in the process of reinventing my personal style” or “I’m starting to enjoy wearing clothes again.”
4. Get your Shopping Mojo back. It’s been a strange three years. I know many of us feel disconnected from style, unpracticed at shopping, and intimated by malls. I get it. I encourage everyone who wants to improve their personal style in the new year to get back out there, and I created a fun and helpful tool to get you started: a style scavenger hunt for adults. But if you just do one thing: try something new, just for fun, without any pressure to buy. That’s a great first step.
Darcy Camden is Founder and Chief Stylist of Styled Seattle: Your Personal Wardrobe Stylist.
Segment Producer Suzie Wiley. Watch New Day Northwest at 11 a.m. weekdays on KING 5 and streaming live on KING5.com. Contact New Day.