Our generation has truly come a long way in how we deal with our relationships, from romantic to platonic and everything in between. The idea of maintaining a healthy relationship has grown tremendously as we continue to have conversations about how toxic relationships affect one’s mental health. Our generation has made it a point to value self-love. As a result, several have brought up the question, “Why should I change the core of who I am in order to be happy in my relationship?” And that’s the thing—you don’t have to, and many others have come to a similar realization.

So, if our generation seems to acknowledge this advice so adamantly when it comes to their relationships with other people, why can’t we apply this idea to our relationship with fashion?

When fashion and style come to mind, people often believe they must sacrifice their comfort and personal preferences in order to be “fashionable” or “have style.” However, in 2020, we should do away with this idea and begin creating a relationship with fashion in which your wardrobe should be the one doing most of the compromising.

So, to help revamp your fashion relationship and spruce up the start of a new decade, here are some tips to guide you through honing in on your personal style.

1. Find what already works in your existing wardrobe

When refurbishing one’s style, it can be tempting to go on an all-out shopping spree and find a completely new wardrobe. This, however, is a big no-go. By doing this, you often end up with clothes you liked in the moment but ultimately end up wasting space in your closet. So why not focus on your favorite clothes in your closet right now?

Grab all of your favorite articles of clothing and find what you like about each of them. It may be the cut, the fit, its style or the overall vibe of it. Whatever it may be, it can and will contribute to a style that is unique and you!

2. Pinpoint the previous tip, and expand on it

After finding these things, start a collection of style inspirations. If you find an article of clothing online that falls under the style that you’ve found in your personal favorites, save it on your phone and start an album in your phone titled “style” (or whatever title vibes with you). As you start to compile a cohesive style within this album, start expanding it with more ambitious outfit inspirations! By doing this, you can have a solid idea of the style you’re aiming for when figuring out what to wear in the morning or shopping.

3. Be confident and wear what you want!

Confidence is key. It may be cliche, but it’s 100% true. If you like how an outfit looks and it makes you feel good wearing it, flaunt that sh*t!

Lastly, here are some helpful side tips for your day-to-day outfits that can help further refine your style.

• Play with colors and color schemes! For my personal style, I stick with a fairly neutral theme with browns, blacks and cream colored clothes.
• Fashion Hack! Take either a slip dress or a dress (with a shorter skirt) and use it as a top! Grab a good, thick pair of jeans or pants with thick material and tuck the dress’s skirt into your pants. This makes a cute new top without having to go shopping!

So even though it often feels like Valentine’s Day isn’t the day for you, go throw on your favorite outfit and treat yourself, because your thriving relationship with fashion deserves to be flaunted for the world to admire.