Finding Your Personal Style & Coastal Gran Season
The best season to elevate your wardrobe, style and finding an aesthetic that suits you.
Good Morning my loves, how incredible has the weather been in England this last week. What a joy it is to feel warmth on your skin and the added bonus that drying the washing outside takes so much less time.
We have been super busy this weekend with gardening jobs (honestly never ending) and a lovely afternoon at Jack’s family home fishing and frolicking in the fields. I always post daily updates on my Instagram so definitely head over there if you want to see more.
A request that has come up a few times in the last few weeks is Finding Your Personal Style, something that I feel I have really honed in on and personally developed over the last year or so.
Firstly, I think it’s important to say that your personal style is not limited to what you decide in this current moment. You shouldn’t feel confined to current trends, what your favourite influencer is wearing today or even the new in section at your favourite store. Your own style is totally subject to your own tastes, lifestyle and so much more. It will always fluctuate and change as we grow as people.
My personal style journey has developed a lot, even just within the last couple of years. When I spent a lot more time in the city prior to lockdown (sometimes 3 or 4 days a week in comparison to today, where I find myself on the train to London maybe once every week or so) I found that my style was a lot ‘dressier’ and city appropriate. Although I would say my outfit choices haven’t changed drastically since that period in my life, in a sense they have just evolved with my lifestyle. I have found myself adapting what I wear, the styles I reach for regularly and my tastes within fashion to my surroundings and day to day activities.
How Can I Find My Personal Style?
If you are currently waking up on this Monday morning thinking “oh god what shall I wear today”, perhaps you have an internal crisis every time you need to choose an outfit for something, or maybe you are embracing the new season and you are ready for a change. Here are my tips:
Any good project starts with inspiration. Find outfits from creators on Instagram, Pinterest, look in magazines or online articles and collate a mood board, you might prefer to do this online (I love Canva for moodboards) or something a little more tactile with cutting and sticking images onto a board. Pick out all the images that you feel drawn towards and love - this doesn’t have to stop at clothing, you could be inspired by interiors, gardens, fabrics, restaurants… absolutely anything! This is going to make up your style ‘vibe’ as a whole.
Are you a Hannah Montana? By that I mean, do you live a bit of a double life? Maybe you work in the city throughout the week, but at the weekends you live by the seaside, you have horses or you are always dressed up for brunches with your girlfriends. I definitely resonate with this in my city vs countryside attire. Break down how you live your life and the events you tend to frequent each week. Do you have a corporate job? Or do you work from home? Do you spend your weekends in the garden? Or do you love exploring your town / city?
Organise & maximise. Organising is a must do if you are feeling in a slump with your style. It is so helpful to go through every single item of clothing and ask yourself “Does this serve me right now?” If you would like to see how I sorted my wardrobe ahead of the new season here is a video. An important point - it is not about buying new clothes. Sometimes you need to have a bit of a declutter and familiarise yourself with pieces that you pushed to the back of your mind (or quite literally pushed to the back of a cupboard), to really get the most out of your existing wardrobe. Maximise your outfit choices but having a good sort out.
Playing dress up. When your wardrobe is an organised haven, go back to your mood board and ‘shop your own wardrobe.’ One of my absolute favourite things to do when I am struggling with what I want to wear. It really is a fail safe method for me. I play dress up - trying on lots of pieces, putting together outfits that maybe I wouldn’t have reached for before, testing out different accessories. Essentially one big dressing up session.
The outfit formula. Finally step 5, you should be feeling pretty satisfied that you have honed in on your personal style, what you really like, your lifestyle and your wardrobe should be feeling really organised. Now is the best time to come up with a couple of outfit formulas that you know are fail safe. For me this is jeans and a tank top with a cropped jacket and trainers - my absolute fail safe and I tend to reach for this most days when I just don’t know what to wear. For summer I would switch out the jeans for linen shorts.
Elevating Your Personal Brand.
This may sound a bit excessive, but bare with me here. I love everything to do with branding, especially when it comes to a person. No two people are the same, we all have our own little quirks and tastes with no set rules. It is so fun coming up with your own personal brand, pulling together all the things in life that make you YOU.
To me personal style is so much more than just what you wear each day. It’s how you style your hair, your beauty regimes, your lifestyle, hobbies, interests, how do you like your house to look, what you eat for dinner, your personality… a multitude of elements that make up who you are as a person.
As I said before we are all so different and what one person loves another may hate and that is what makes the world so fabulous! Imagine if we were all exactly the same, life would be so boring… so whatever you love, whatever your style is lean into it and embrace it all. Celebrate your quirks and be proud of the person that you are.
I love creating boards on Pinterest for all the seasons. I get so excited pinning different inspiring images throughout all the areas I mentioned above. This almost becomes my blueprint for the month. Outfit ideas, home inspo, seasonal styling, recipes etc…
Coming soon will be a deep dive into my Summer Moodboard.
A question that I find popping up in my inbox quite regularly is ‘how can I refine my style as I get older without feeling like I am dressing too old for my age?’ I cannot tell you how much this resonates with me. From the age of 14, when I started finding my own style, I loved to wear smarter outfits - I guess almost office chic. Blazers and loafers were my go-to all the time. I remember going to college for sixth form, all my peers were wearing tracksuits, leggings, comfy clothes I guess. But I loved wearing my smart blazers, shirts, loafers… I would always get asked why am I so dressed up, why do I dress like I am going to work. But honestly I just really enjoyed feeling and looking smart. This has definitely carried me through the last 10 years and I still really enjoying looking put together but rather than throwing on a blazer this manifests in slightly different ways. The best thing about fashion is that you can really embrace whatever mood you are in that day, you can experiment with different styles and outfits - it’s so creative!
‘How can I refine my style as I get older without feeling like I am dressing too old for my age?’
Choose pieces that suit your body type. A key factor to avoid feeling frumpy or uncomfortable, my body has definitely changed over the years from a teenager to an adult and clinging on to jeans that no longer fit nicely, that I squeeze into even though they are suffocating my legs is just not a good look and definitely not comfortable.
Accentuating your favourite features is a great way to feel confident. Perhaps you love your legs or your arms. Maybe you love showing off the abs you work so hard for - opt for pieces that celebrate those features with mini dresses, high waisted trousers and halter neck dresses.
As you get older and grow as a person don’t feel like you need to say goodbye to some of your favourite styles that you once wore. I used to spend most weekends as a 17 / 18 year old, out clubbing with our friends and I would always wear a very tight bodycon dress - something that I wouldn’t feel as comfortable in now but there is always a time and a place for said dress… never say never. The same goes for colour, prints and crop tops - perhaps selects these pieces in more elegant silhouettes or pair a crop top with a chic pair of tailored wide leg trousers.
Being high maintenance to be low maintenance. I always feel that looking clean and polished is a really easy way to refine your look. Clean manicured nails, making an effort to style your hair, ironing your clothes, a good fragrance, clean shoes. Just simple ways and things to notice to feel elevated.
My style icons in life are usually women in their mid 30’s - 40’s there is just something about a women that oozes confidence in what she wears. Victoria Beckham, Abby Clancy & Rosie Huntington Whitely to name a few, one thing these three women have in common is they all have fun with their styles. VB will pair a tailored power suit with a trainer, AC plays with cut out dresses, sheer fabrics and mini dresses and RHW puts together gorgeous tones and shapes with interesting accessories. Perhaps look to some ladies that are nailing their style for inspiration (Rochelle Humes is another favourite.)
Finding Your Aesthetic.
For some people it can be really helpful to pin point a certain aesthetic that resonates with you. This can be really poignant when searching for inspiration on Pinterest. Personally I don’t think it is totally essential to adhere to an aesthetic as such but it can be really nice to take things and adapt it to your personal tastes.
Coastal Grandmother
in 2022 Lex Nicoletta coined the term Coastal Grandmother - a term synonymous with that of a slower paced life, homemaking, romanticising the mundane moments… essentially creating a term that totally embodies everything I have practiced for as long as I can remember.
A woman that enjoys fresh flowers, long walks, afternoons reading books and magazines, she spends her time creating a beautiful home and cooking. Whilst wearing beautiful linens, denim and cashmere. She enjoys creating new recipes, the small luxuries like a warm summer evening. She practices elevating her everyday life and romanticises the mundane.
Honestly…. I couldn’t have found an aesthetic that sums me up so well. But of course - I don’t live by the coast or in a very sunshine led climate like California. So I adapt things to my own vibe.
I hope you enjoyed this weeks entry and I look forward to chatting with you next week!
Lots of love, L xx
USING
Jones Road Cream Foundation - I featured this in a vlog last week and I am so impressed by this foundation. It is much more of a subtle skin tint, with little coverage, adding a gorgeous youthful glow to your skin - such a beautiful base for the summer time. (I wear shade beige.)
READING
Never Lie by Freida McFadden - I finally finished the new book in a matter of an afternoon. You probably know by now I love Freida McFadden her writing is so engaging and she captivates characters and story lines so well, I really enjoyed Never Lie, not as much as other books as I could almost predict the ending. However there were a lot of plot twists and unexpected turn of events throughout the last few chapters.
WATCHING
Clarksons Farm Series 3 - If you are not familiar with Clarkson’s Farm it is a series following Jeremy Clarkson (from Top Gear) on is new journey living in The Cotswolds embarking on building, maintaining and navigating Diddly Squat Farm. We started and finished the new series in two nights and oh my goodness I didn’t want it to end. I now want my future to include so many animals! I love that he shines the light on farming and the struggles that farmers face on a daily basis.
MAKING
Kitchen Banquette Seating - We are nearly finished our relaxed breakfast nook. A bench style seating area in the corner of the kitchen, it. gets the most beautiful morning light and glimmers of golden hour through from the front of the house. Jack did an absolutely incredible job of building it. If you want to see more head to my YT channel.
CURRENT DISCOUNT CODES
LAURENGRACE - For 15% off at Current Body
LAUREN15 - For 15% off at Alterme Home
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Finding personal style definitely comes from seeking inspiration as well as getting older. I’ve loved reading this post, especially while the seasons are changing 🤍
I am living the Coastal Grandmother life without the grandchildren, just adult children and sausage dogs!