You know, I wouldn't even say I had a style until 2 years ago!
But I think that comes from a place of now knowing and understanding who I am as a person and how I wish to reflect that externally to the world. We all begin somewhere, it's how we identify.
I went through a phase
Ha, don't we all! In my high school years (I'm 27, for reference!), where the 'scene' and punk thing were in. The heavy black eyeshadow and eyeliner, to the skinny low-cut black pants and band tees.
Then I went through my college phase of taking a little more feminine approach, but simplistic. I fell in love with sweaters (that still hasn't left me) and kept it simple with jeans or jean shorts depending upon the season and boots or sandals. No color palette in particular for my wardrobe, I never gave this thought until my true 'style journey' began.
Through all of this time, I was contributing to the fast fashion craze that was around forever 21, H&M and only slightly dabbling into topshop. You can't really blame a student on a budget, and I don't think sustainability in fashion was that widely known, anyway.
Fast forward to 3+ years
I'm out of school and working a job at an agency, I could still wear the casual clothes I had been all along, so that was easy for me. But I stumbled upon a YouTube video of fashion related content that came up in the recommended for me... and then slowly went down the rabbit hole and decided to give fashion more thought.
I'm a designer by trade, so I had no idea why I would never curate color palettes for my own wardrobe! And all of these people on youtube had such a nice, curated style—I feel like I knew who they were just by what they wore. And the more content I absorbed, the more I heard about sustainable companies and buying less but quality. I loved that concept.
In comes Heather! We'd worked on projects together for a while and she was the PERFECT person to help me out and begin. The first thing we did, a closet cleanse. You have no idea how much emotional baggage goes into why you hang onto certain items of clothing! If you have not done this check, check it out.
We tossed clothes out, in the donation pile and made a contingency pile "if not worn in 6 months, it needs to go". I was so excited to be building that outward reflection of myself. We ended on some outfit ideas with what I had and then she helped pick some selections for me to fill in the items I was missing, based upon my budget.
Remember, this doesn't happen overnight.
You're not expected to replace your whole wardrobe in a snap. This is part of the journey and excitement, imo. You get to add new gems to your closet and it truly is about feeling great.I totally made some bad purchases along the way, but it's part of the process. You will be an expert over time as you work on your style and see what makes you feel great.
Since I started this journey, I have the easiest time getting dressed (take pictures of your go-to outfits to reference later when you're in a pinch!). I also have never gotten so many compliments on the things that I wear! Not that I need the boost, I'm happy with what I'm wearing, but it's always pleasant to have complete strangers love the look you're rocking as well.
My advice to you, start somewhere. Research (and have fun doing it), practice putting outfits together or if you really want the focused start like I had, do the closet cleanse and thank me later!