Thirty, Flirty & Thriving - except I don't know what to wear

I turn thirty in a few weeks and I am so excited - I know a lot of people feel a looming sense of dread over this milestone but in the immortal words of Nick Miller:

I'm pumped for this next decade of my life. My twenties were a mish-mash of trial and error (had some jobs I liked, some I hated, some partners I liked, some I hated and who probably rightfully hated me too) and boy howdy is Saturn's Return throwing my emotions into a loop. But for the most part it was a great decade for me - I found some great friends and a book club I adore, I grew more secure in myself and what I like, what works for me and what boundaries I needed.

I'm definitely up for keeping the reflection going - and one area I really want to nail down is my personal style. There are a variety of reasons for this:

I want to save money for my future and not buy items that I'll wear once and then will sit in my closet until the end of time.

I want to break out of just wearing what is trendy and constantly replacing to keep up - slow and sustainable fashion is the goal!

I'm looking for some keep pieces that will last me years and can be mixed and matched to create a variety of different outfits. I'll be looking for both neutrals and colors.

My body has changed and will continue to, which is both a blessing and a challenge! I have IBD (is it Chron's? Is it Ulcerative Colitis? IDK, after nearly 16 years the doctors and I are still trying to land on the right one) and so my weight and body fluctuate based on the frequency and severity of my symptoms. An outfit could fit in the morning and by lunch I could have bloated up to look six months pregnant, and I want clothing that can accommodate both.

So all that to say I'm going to be continuing the trial and error and hopefully land on an idea of my personal style by the time I'm forty. There are a few tools I plan to use like color and style analysis services which I'll expand on more as I go through the processes. I'll also seek inspiration through Pinterest, Instagram and TikTok (if it's not banned ya know) and the creators who have been so generous to put in the work and share their style finds with their followers. I'll include a few below who have inspired me and I feel like align with my goals but one important note: the goal is not to recreate their exact style. There will be items and influences that work really well for me but I don't want to steal their look or recreate their closets and content exactly. The goal is inspiration not replication!

@heyyy_brittney @mippapiddleton @k8_smallthings

I'll be sharing progress here and on my Instagram and TikTok accounts whenever I have the time and remember to do so. If you have any recs I'd love to hear them or if you're on a similar journey I'd love to connect and hear how it's going! But in the meantime a general shoutout: here's to thirty and all the fun and challenging things this decade will bring. Let's do this!