Finding an aesthetic, starting over
Young adult searching for advice.
(Kind of long so there's a TLDR at the bottom)
I'm 21 and I genuinely look very sloppy most of the time. I'm kind of like a cartoon character wearing the same thing over and over. I've just been rotating between the same few pairs of baggy gym shorts, sweatpants, and graphic tees for years. I was kind of depressed and didn't really care what I looked like before, but I've been wearing the same clothes for a decade, none of them fit correctly (a majority came from goodwill and I used to be over 200lbs now I'm around 160). I recently cut my beard off and realized my clothes make me look younger than I am. I think I'm finally ready to put more effort into what I wear.
The main problem I'm facing is that I don't really fit under any aesthetics and I don't know what kind of things I should be wearing or would even like to wear. I live extremely rurally in a small town that doesnt have a lot of other people my age, so I don't have much of a reference. I am effectively fashionably tone deaf right now.
TLDR:
I want to try and remake my entire closet, but I am fully a blank slate. I don't know which aesthetic or styles I should go for, what items to include, or how many of each shirt / pants should be in there.
Another problem is that everything I own is very casual. I had a job interview recently and had to borrow a polo shirt from a friend's dad because I actually owned nothing even remotely formal. I don't know what percentage of my closet should be casual vs. formal.
I know this is a broad ask, but any tips or advice on finding a style or building a wardrobe is appreciated. Even personal anecdotes on how you found your style would be useful. I'm lost and overwhelmed and trying to figure out where to start.
Picture: what I wore today (this is a fairly good representation of what my entire wardrobe is overall)
(Kind of long so there's a TLDR at the bottom)
I'm 21 and I genuinely look very sloppy most of the time. I'm kind of like a cartoon character wearing the same thing over and over. I've just been rotating between the same few pairs of baggy gym shorts, sweatpants, and graphic tees for years. I was kind of depressed and didn't really care what I looked like before, but I've been wearing the same clothes for a decade, none of them fit correctly (a majority came from goodwill and I used to be over 200lbs now I'm around 160). I recently cut my beard off and realized my clothes make me look younger than I am. I think I'm finally ready to put more effort into what I wear.
The main problem I'm facing is that I don't really fit under any aesthetics and I don't know what kind of things I should be wearing or would even like to wear. I live extremely rurally in a small town that doesnt have a lot of other people my age, so I don't have much of a reference. I am effectively fashionably tone deaf right now.
TLDR:
I want to try and remake my entire closet, but I am fully a blank slate. I don't know which aesthetic or styles I should go for, what items to include, or how many of each shirt / pants should be in there.
Another problem is that everything I own is very casual. I had a job interview recently and had to borrow a polo shirt from a friend's dad because I actually owned nothing even remotely formal. I don't know what percentage of my closet should be casual vs. formal.
I know this is a broad ask, but any tips or advice on finding a style or building a wardrobe is appreciated. Even personal anecdotes on how you found your style would be useful. I'm lost and overwhelmed and trying to figure out where to start.
Picture: what I wore today (this is a fairly good representation of what my entire wardrobe is overall)
