The Importance of Dressing For Yourself

June 21, 2012
By: Michaella Kossakowska

There isn’t anyone in the fashion industry that can’t express how important individual style is and how important it is to be fearless with your wardrobe. However, today we see so many carbon copies of one another based on dressing sense- whether it is copying a celebrity style icon, copying friend’s everyday dressing habits, or not even caring how one dresses in the first place thus presenting the most boring of style choices.

Of course the topic of dressing oneself as a unique individual isn’t as important as most other topics, to many it seems vapid, superficial, and even useless. However, in a world where, as much as we hate to admit it, first impressions count, it does become a valid topic. The way you dress helps express your identity; many of today’s tastemakers even manage to show their personality via the clothing they wear. Therefore once we start mentioning first impressions and individual expression, then dressing as your own person does become a very valid topic.

Growing up I didn’t live in a very style savvy country; my wardrobe was limited to t-shirts, jeans, and the occasional dress. However, towards the last couple of years in secondary school, I decided I needed to re-vamp the way I dressed. (Or course changing your whole look/wardrobe isn’t as easy as it sounds; money is an issue that comes to mind. That is where DIY comes in; shred your jeans, make cut-off shorts, cut up your t-shirts, maybe even use tie-dye and appliqués. It wasn’t solely my interest in fashion that made me decide I needed to dress the way I wanted to but also because I was bored with the way I looked. I knew my fashion-sense could be so much better and I also knew I needed to start making an impact when I dressed, especially for future reference if I wanted to work in the fashion industry and become memorable. Yet, it isn’t just in the fashion industry where a distinct personal style is recommended; employees always look out for individuality when hiring and having a strong sense of personal style is one of the easiest ways to express this (what did I say about first impressions?).

Now, living in the United Kingdom has given me so many opportunities to dress the way I want to because not only is it one of the ‘style capitals of the world’ but also individuals here don’t care what other people think when it comes to getting dressed in the morning. People are only concerned with their own personal style. So yeah of course it’s possible to have a style icon to draw inspiration from, and yes having your friend as a dressing muse is acceptable as are those down days when all you want to wear is sweat pants and a jumper, but expressing your individuality is essentially the most important out of those three. It really isn’t as difficult as it seems; dress in colors, fits, fabrics and textures that are suitable for you, don’t be afraid of accessorizing, wear heels one in a while, be bold, fearless even. The only person who should actually care about the way you dress is yourself. So once you get over that fear of what people will think of you and that fear of style itself, only then will you be able to set your own personal style in stone.