Top 10 Style Tips I Wish I knew in my Early 20s
Taking a trip down memory lane and thinking about how you dressed in the 90s can really make you cringe. Just thinking about the overdone fashion trends, flashy colors, and low-rise jeans is enough to send shivers down your spine.
You’re probably thinking, “I used to dress like that?” while going through old pictures. If this sounds like you, take comfort because it’s completely normal to feel this way. The 90s did have some of the most unforgiving fashion trends at the time and few people make good style decisions when they’re in their early 20s.
Once fashion trends change, it’s easy for a look to quickly seem outdated and make you wonder what attracted you to it in the first place. Even though it was the hottest thing and everyone was dressing that way, styles have a relatively short shelf life.
If you’re feeling embarrassed and don’t want to share the early phase of your life with anyone because of fashion faux pas, try not to worry too much. Those days are behind you and now you can move forward and make better decisions for the future.
After all, the styles of today may one day have you looking back and regretting what you’ve worn. To prevent that, let’s go through some style tips to save your future self the trouble of looking dated.
A few pieces of advice we’ll cover in the article include:
- Try to Find Out Your Own Style
- Don’t Run After Trends – People Don’t Care What You Wear
- Don’t Wear Baggy Clothes
- Invest in Good Shoes
- Always Get Basics to Combine with Other Pieces
- Buy Statement Accessories and Bags for Every Occasion
- Don’t Get Too Many Hats
- Don’t Buy Too Much Black – Wear Pink Instead!
Although we can’t change the past, it’s nice to think of the ways we would do things differently if we had another chance. Not to mention, it’s never too late to correct your mistakes and learn from previous experience.
The real tragedy would be to repeat old patterns and end up regretting these years when you look back again later on in life. Instead, you can ensure that you feel nothing but joy as you one day share the memories you haven’t yet made.
Now you can confidently step into the future armed with the knowledge of how to avoid having regrets about your style choices in another ten years. There are a few key things to know which will prevent you from getting sidetracked by trends which will soon be out of style.
Everyone expects you to experiment and make a few missteps early on as you try different things and find what suits you. After some time though, you probably want to be in control of your style and develop a signature look that suits your more mature personality and life.
Let’s make the rest of your fashion life as stylish and as wonderful as the rest of you! Your clothes should be a positive reflection of who you and are and where you’ve come from. There’s no reason you can’t be proud and boldly step forward as the person you’ve always wanted to be.
Taking a trip down memory lane and thinking about how you dressed in the 90s can really make you cringe. Just thinking about the over-done fashion trends, flashy colors, and low-rise jeans can send shivers down your spine – you probably think ‘I used to dress like that?’ while going through old pictures.
Since the 90s had the most unforgiving fashion trends and many Millennials were in their early 20s at the time, let’s go through some style tips we would give ourselves.
Although we can’t change the past, it’s nice to consider how we would do things if we got another chance to be trendy during those eras.
Try to Find Out Your Own Style
The biggest reason for the 90s being a decade of fashion nightmares was that everything was over the top and unnecessarily overdone. It didn’t help that brands would launch flashy outfits and clothes that teenagers would rush to buy, while celebrities endorsed companies.
We all would probably tell our 20-year old selves to try finding our own distinct style; experiment with trends while evaluating what looks best on us. This would help us come up with great outfit ideas.
Don’t Run After Trends – People Don’t Care What You Wear
I think that all of us, at one point, thought that the fashion trends during those eras looked impractical or stupid. However, we didn’t question them and followed them blindly because we didn’t want to miss out on being ‘cool’ or ‘trendy’.
I wish I realized that people don’t really care about what you wear, and you’re not supposed to be bothered by what people think.
Don’t Wear Baggy Clothes
Ah, the fashion industry’s illusion that if your clothes are baggy enough, you’ll look petite and delicate – who hasn’t fallen for it at least once? I know I have; it’s why my closet was full of overpriced sweatshirts and blouses. Yet, I could never pull it off and always ended up looking slouchy.
Now, I regret buying them because they never made me feel or look beautiful or delicate, just messy. I wish I told myself how important it is to buy clothes that fit properly and to go to a tailor to get loose clothes fitted. I do it all the time now and can feel the difference – fitted clothes accentuate my figure, express my style, and make me look put together.
Invest in Good Shoes
Minimalism is a recent concept, so one can imagine that twenty years ago, there were way too many shoe trends. As young twenty-somethings, we just wanted every possible shoe out there, not caring if it’s a knock-off, something we can’t pull it off, or that we might not want to wear it in a few months’ time.
I’d tell my young self to instead invest in a few good pair of shoes. Now that we’re older, I think all of us realize the benefit of spending a little extra on good shoes. They’ll last longer, and if you make the right choice, they won’t go out of style.
Always get Basics to Combine with Other Pieces
I remember that even up until ten years ago, I didn’t have many staple clothing items that I could layer with other items. My closet was full of single pieces that always needed one more thing to make a complete outfit, but I couldn’t really pair them with anything else.
Having basic shirts and pants to layer along with other items would have helped me a lot when I was in college because I wanted fashion to be quick and simple. Closet essentials, like white t-shirts, seasonal coats, tank tops, and the perfect pair of jeans can do wonders to make you look put together, and don’t require much effort to wear.
Buy Statement Accessories and Bags for Every Occasion
Although old fashion trends also emphasized on accessories, having more accessories as compared to clothing items is a recent development in the fashion world. Looking at how I customize a look according to an occasion with a cute handbag and statement accessories, I really wish I knew about the trend sooner.
My younger self would have gone through less of a hassle for dressing up. I really wish I knew that simply having the right accessories could help me craft a unique style without buying different clothes each time.
Don’t get Too Many Hats
Now that bucket hats are back in fashion, we may have some use for all the hats we collected as teenagers, but I wish I hadn’t spent so much money on hats. They never managed to look good on me as they did on the models, and now I understand why (I don’t have the perfectly styled hair for it) so I don’t try to pull it off either.
Someone should’ve stopped me from collecting so many hats and advised me to save the money on enjoying a great experience with friends.
Don’t Buy Too Much Black – Wear Pink Instead!
A little over 10 years ago, vampires were getting really popular, so for young people, they were the ultimate style icon. Not long after the release of vampire romance-themed movies and novels, black was ‘the color’ teenagers and 20-year olds were after.
We all wanted black shirts, black jeans, black hair dye, you get the point. But the problem with black is that even though it looks chic, too much can make you look lifeless. I’d tell myself to not buy so many black clothes because the color fades after some time and doesn’t look as good anymore, and the lint that attacks clothes makes it even worse.
Instead, I wish I wore more pink. As young adults, a lot of us seemed to have avoided the feminine color completely because people told us it made us look too girly or that it doesn’t go with our hair color. It turns out that there are so many pinks to choose from that there’s a suitable tone for everyone. Now, I absolutely love a pale pink and coral shades – I can’t live without them.
