Finding an aesthetic, starting over
Young adult searching for advice.
(Kind of long so there's a TLDR at the bottom)
I'm 21 and I genuinely look very sloppy most of the time. I'm kind of like a cartoon character wearing the same thing over and over. I've just been rotating between the same few pairs of baggy gym shorts, sweatpants, and graphic tees for years. I was kind of depressed and didn't really care what I looked like before, but I've been wearing the same clothes for a decade, none of them fit correctly (a majority came from goodwill and I used to be over 200lbs now I'm around 160). I recently cut my beard off and realized my clothes make me look younger than I am. I think I'm finally ready to put more effort into what I wear.
The main problem I'm facing is that I don't really fit under any aesthetics and I don't know what kind of things I should be wearing or would even like to wear. I live extremely rurally in a small town that doesnt have a lot of other people my age, so I don't have much of a reference. I am effectively fashionably tone deaf right now.
TLDR:
I want to try and remake my entire closet, but I am fully a blank slate. I don't know which aesthetic or styles I should go for, what items to include, or how many of each shirt / pants should be in there.
Another problem is that everything I own is very casual. I had a job interview recently and had to borrow a polo shirt from a friend's dad because I actually owned nothing even remotely formal. I don't know what percentage of my closet should be casual vs. formal.
I know this is a broad ask, but any tips or advice on finding a style or building a wardrobe is appreciated. Even personal anecdotes on how you found your style would be useful. I'm lost and overwhelmed and trying to figure out where to start.
Picture: what I wore today (this is a fairly good representation of what my entire wardrobe is overall)
12 Replies
Unfortunately we can’t pick a lane for you, but there’s tons of good stuff in #waywt #inspiration and on instagram/tiktok so if you do some perusing and post what you like here we can give you better direction
Redoing your entire wardrobe is always daunting so it’s best for both you and your wallet to take it slow and not try to flip a switch overnight
Thank you. Probably will take a long time to replace and figure out.
I spent the past hour going through the inspiration channel and screenshotting everything that I thought looks like i could maybe pull off and feel good in.
When I looked back at the screenshots I think Ive realized I think I gravitate towards the colors like blue, white, grey, black, brown, tan and still very casual.
I feel kind of dumb now in hindsight but think i figured it out looking at similarities in the items between the pictures
need a pair of blue jeans, a pair of tan pants, black pant, a white tshirt, a black tshirt, a dark sweatshirt, a light sweatshirt, some hats, a blue dress shirt, white dress shirt, and some kind of plain jacket without a hood
i think you've done a decent job at identifying common colors and items 👍
one thing i notice is many of these inspo pics have less conventional silhouettes - oversized shirts, drop shoulders, wider pants, etc. if that's what you're into, trying stuff on will help in getting the fit aspect down
i'll second art in saying it's best to take things slow. at 21 you're also still learning and growing as a person so your tastes may change along with you.
be willing to explore, to try things on, to see what people are wearing and see why you do or don't like it. that'll help form your preferences which should make buying clothes easier
just to echo: go slow. if this is truly the first time you've paid attention to clothes, i dont wanna sound patronizing but they go a lot deeper than "jeans, tan pants, black pants" etc. You might find that after buying the things you think you need, they aren't hitting the same way as the pics you've posted.
ok so id recommend looking thru ur inspo board seeing some items that are common, cheap and generally worth buying to experiment with. i’m seeing a lot of crewnecks and wide legged pants so maybe aim for those to start! figure out the basics of what you are trying to achieve because it may just shine new light on clothing that has been in your wardrobe for a while.
Y'all are right. Sizing is a completely different can of worms and I don't want to change everything too fast because I'm kind of scared of change and standing out. Will be a gradual process. I was kind of raised getting everything secondhand and I don't think that will change for a while. Just gives me specific things to look out for.
I think my top half is shorter than my bottom half like im 70% legs (the original picture at the top of the thread doesnt really
show it well but the waistband to the shorts i had on actually starts above where my wrist are).
I have one shirt that is the right height to sit where me waist starts but the arm holes are kind of tight. The rest of my clothes are larger or streteched out.
getting things secondhand makes it even more difficult to find things that fit. Honestly might have to go to a store, try things on, and then go hunt for it cheaper on ebay.
I actually already have a pair of black pants for a job i used to have but i hadnt really thought to wore it casually for anything.
i got most of my clothes either secondhand or passed down from family members growing up so i get the hesitation on change - it's all the more reason to take things slowly
Based on your inspo, earth tones + how to breathe inspo albums and/or city boy inspo and brands
See here https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1239941837662453871/1239947192404414485
Buying used on eBay can be a good way to experiment without sinking a ton of money into new items! Can then slowly invest in better items when figure out what works for you.