Defining your style

I have always loved clothing and shoes as most girls do.  Although, I'll admit that I didn't start taking my personal style seriously until I was about 20 - 21 years old.  That was only 4 years ago!  I'm 24 now and I have to say that my personal style has evolved quite a bit over the past 4 years.

Now, if you're like me, you want to be fashionable but you don't have tons of money to spend on clothing.  Striving to be fashionable on a limited budget is not easy but it can be done.  One of the best things you can do is to nail down your personal style.  If you can do this, it will be easier to shop because you will have a clear idea of what to look for and what to aviod.  You will end up buying less things that you don't really need and more pieces that will work together.  Today I will share with you some of my tips on how to define your stylel

Tip 1: Let your closet be your guide:
Taking a good and honest look through your closet will tell you a lot about your personal style.  Which items do you wear most frequently?  Which items are collecting dust?  Look at the clothing in your closet that you reach for most and try to describe it.  If you wear a lot of dresses and skirts and lace, your style is probably girly.  If you wear a lot of flowy shirts, cut up jeans, and sandals, your style might be boho or casual.  Think about what items in your closet make you feel the most confident and/or comfortable when you wear them.  Those are the clothes that will help you define your style.  So listen to your closet.  It has more to say than meets the eye.

Tip 2: Do some research:
Now, I'm not talking about the boring kind of research, this is the fun kind!  Try looking around at different fashion blogs, magazines, and even people walking by on the street.  If you see someone and think, "Wow, she looks really great!  I love her outfit," then try wearing similar clothes.  For years I thought that because I was small and skinny I should wear tight clothing.  Boy, was I living under a rock!  Browsing around the internet helped me learn that skinny people can look quite nice in loose fitting shirts and flowing dresses and all sorts of other things.

Tip 3: Don't be afraid to try new looks:
If I had stuck with the same look that I had in highschool, I'd be wearing a snug fitting american eagle v neck shirt, flared jeans with holes in the knees, and tennis shoes...for the rest of my life!  No offense to anyone who wears these things but I am sooo over it!  I do still love sneakers, but anyway - moving on.  Try wearing something that you normally wouldn't wear.  Try wearing skirts if you always wear pants.  Try wearing shirts with collars, or try wearing different colors.  You get the picture.  The easiest way I've found to try new looks is to go shopping.  You don't even have to buy anything.  Just grab a bunch of things off the rack and try them all on.  Try on something different even if you're not sure if you'll like it.  You'd be surprised how good you can look in clothes you would have never thought to wear.

Tip 4: Be true to yourself:
I know this is cliche but just hear me out.  Fashions come and go all the time.  If it is something you love, wear it!  Don't be too afraid to wear your high top converse with your cute girly skirt (I would).  Buy the bright purple boots with the studs on them!  Wear that bright orange lipstick!  If you wear clothes that you love and that you think look awesome, you'll feel confident and happy.  What's more fashionable than that?!

Bottom line, fashion is what you make it.  So have fun with it!  I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoyed writing it.

In the near future I'll be posting about how to shop for clothes effectively and save money.  So please, come back again soon! ;-)  Later gator!

Who says you can't look cute when it's raining

I felt like dressing nicely for work today, so I thought I would do a quick outfit pic/outfit of the day. I would dress nicely every day if I could.  However, I have been driving around in my friend's car which does not have air conditioning.  Summer in Japan is hot hot!  And no one want to wear dresses and skirts when they are getting all sweaty. Ain't nobody got time for that!  Even so, I am extremely greatful to my friend for letting me borrow his car. It is a whole lot better than biking to work every day.

It was looking pretty rainy and grim when I ventured out this morning.  I stuck with my outfit choice despite the weather.  And I am glad that I did.  For, the sun is now shining and the sky is blue as I sit and enjoy a nice hot bowl of ramen.  Next I'm off to do a bit of shopping AND...maybe stop for some coffee.

[I apologize for any typos. It's always interesting to blog with my phone, haha!]

OOTD

Just a quick outfit of the day for yah.  I went to work for a bit and to Daiso with some girlfriends.  Video and post about Daiso coming soon (probably tomorrow)!

I am wearing: shorts-American Eagle, denim stud vest-Forever21, kitty bag-random Japanese shop in Harajuku (sorry), black wedge sneakers-Victoria Golf (sports store in Japan).

Thanks for stopping by! See you again soon. :-)

Welcome to my blog!

I am really only writing this post so I can mess with the font and so I can see what my blog is going to look like.  But, if you are reading this...great!  My blog is going to be about fashion, travel, and just life in general.  Thanks for stopping by!  Please come back soon because I will be making real blog posts in the very near future.

I recently took a trip to Harajuku to do some shopping.  By the way, I am living in Japan right now.  Although I am American, I am going to be living in Japan for the next few years.  There is so much to see and do here.  There is especially a lot of good shopping here!  This is exactly why I went to Harajuku.  For the shopping.  Who wouldn't want to go there?  I even had a bit of a surprise while I was there.  Sneak peak: I was stopped while walking along and asked to be photographed.  Crazy huh?  I thought so.  Come back to hear the full story in my next blog post.

The reason I created this blog was so I could share my new found love of fashion, beauty, and travel with the world.  I also wanted to have a blog that could go alongside my new YouTube channel (more details to come).  Hopefully I will get that squared away soon as well.  Currently, I have a blog that was meant to be all about my adventures in Japan, but I would like to write about a broader spectrum of topics.  So...thus my new blog is born!  Hope you enjoy it.  I know I enjoy it already.  :-)