A Conversation on Personal Style
talking about trends and discovering your own personal style
Hello Substack! Welcome back to Bells & Whistles and Happy New Year!
First off, I wanted to share my ode to my favorite outfits of 2024 scrapbook pages I made. I wanted a fun and creative way to round out my fashion from the year and was so excited with how it came together!
I have wanted to touch on the subject of this post for a while now, so with the new year and constant conversations on style and trends- this felt like the perfect time. I feel I have a pretty unique view on personal style and the ever revolving door of trends that happen within fashion considering my full time career is in trend forecasting. The discussion of trends can be very nuanced, as so much of it does begin and end with capitalism, further pushed by the consumerism we see on social media (especially tiktok) to always be asking “what’s new? what do I need to buy? am I on trend right now?”. Along with diving into this topic, I also want to speak on my own personal style, how it’s evolved over the years, what I look to for inspiration and to keep me grounded, and some ways that can reflect within your own life if you are on a personal style journey.
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Honestly, once I saw this tiktok pop up on my for you page, I knew I had to write this post. Tiktok has this weird disease of when a trend pops up, there has to be commentary on it. It’s this interesting competition of “I’ve been wearing it for years, you guys are late” and the people who are vehemently against said trend. With my job as a trend forecaster, I am constantly getting questions of “what’s the trend next summer? what’s out of style? what should I be buying?” and usually I’ll throw out a haphazard answer, as I do like my job and enjoy talking about it, but I always follow up saying- please wear whatever you want. Capri’s are suddenly trending but you don’t feel confident in them? It’s as simple as you do not need to wear them. You’re excited about the fisherman trend that’s coming but you’re scared it’s going to be “overdone”? Find unique pieces that speak to you and it will not be a 3 month long trend.
Social media will make it seem like you have to have certain pieces in order to be cool, and if you’re not dressing like other people you’re doing it wrong. As someone who feels pretty confident in their personal style, I know which trends I want to buy into, and which ones I know do not speak to me as a person and my creative expression. If you are someone who see’s getting dressed every morning as an expression of your personality, making choices like that do matter. It comes down to what you feel comfortable in, what you feel flatters your body type, and also- what actually excites you!
When it comes to creators I admire, it’s so clear to me when they are dressing authentically to who they are. And sometimes those outfits do speak to what is currently trending in some way, but you can tell it’s with their own personal touch and point of view.
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I’ve mentioned Hayley’s videos in a previous post, but she is still by far one of my favorite fashion creators I’ve stumbled upon. I love the way she explains her outfit choices each day, and you can see how excited she gets about certain pieces she loves and feels confident in. One of the amazing things social media has given is the ability to learn and be inspired by people, and Hayley is always one of those people for me. She’s intentional with her choices while still being playful with layering, shapes, and accessories that just give the outfit such a human touch- which is what I think a lot of the “trend driven” videos I see on tiktok are lacking in. Sometimes it feels like a checklist of what is “cool” or makes you “stand out” but in reality, it can just be a hole into what you think you need, without really having a reason as to why you like a piece of clothing. What makes Emma Chamberlain so cool and such a leader in the fashion community (specifically for gen z) is she is not afraid to try something new and out of the box, and you can tell she dressed herself.
Not to get on my soap box, but it is a really special and human experience to have a love for fashion and getting dressed everyday. It truly is a form of self expression and one of the first things people can notice about you when meeting for the first time- and to have these conversations with yourself about what makes you excited and inspired is a gift we were given. It’s a form of art that should continue to be celebrated rather than minimized to what is trending every 3 months and the cycle of buying things just to get rid of them when others deem it “out of style”.
(And a side note, but Hayley also has a substack and put out a post about what she’s bringing into 2025 with her)
And don’t get me wrong, do I have outfits I wore a year ago I wouldn’t dream of wearing today? Absolutely. I am not trying to say that I always get it right or know exactly what I want or who I am. At the end of the day, I am still 24 and probably just at the beginning of my personal style journey. But I do feel confident in saying at the crux of it, I feel like I have always really been me and made choices based off what I think is special, without necessarily turning to others for their opinions.
Talking about some things that inspire my own personal style journey
Vintage shopping:
An obvious, but seriously such a big part of getting to know yourself and your style. Let’s say you want to buy into a trend that has popped up but you’re not sure if it’s something you’ll like- try and thrift something within the same vein. It’s likely a more cost effective option, you’re probably finding something way more unique, and it can test new boundaries within your closet. Maybe buying that one vintage item opens up a whole new world of pieces you would otherwise overlook! And it pairs back to pieces you already have in your closet but makes them new and exciting again! You never know the possibilities.
Exploring some small businesses:
A big goal for me in 2025 is to step out of my comfort zone a bit with brands I know and love, and try out some smaller independent brands. Yes, this may come with a bit of a higher price tag, but as someone who worked for many small fashion brands in NYC, the money is used intentionally and goes right back into supporting their brand. So it may be a bit more of an investment, but it’s a great way to have unique pieces in your closet. These designers want to go out of their way to create pieces that feel true to themselves and their brands, not necessarily just following whatever is on trend and will make them the most money, so you’re bound to find some really special pieces.
Here’s a few of my favorite small brands I’ve found recently:
Considering your own heritage/culture:
This last one is definitely very personal, but a lot of times, when it comes to what I am inspired by clothing wise, when decorating my home, or any sort of creative expression, I find myself going back to what I know and grew up in- and that’s my Polish heritage. My first language was Polish, I spent every summer there as a kid, so my whole life has kind of been this intersection of my deep Polish roots while growing up in suburban Connecticut- and I think that has really shaped who I am as a person and what I gravitate towards. I constantly find myself enthralled by handmade crochet pieces, lacework, embroidery, weaving- because I watched my grandmother in Poland make all these things by hand in front of me. The intricacies of making clothing and attention to detail is what made me fall in love with fashion, and so much of that stems from the incredible women I grew up around. Whether it’s my mom and her incredible style (you all know I am constantly stealing vintage pieces from her closet), or growing up watching my grandmother’s craft pieces by hand- it’s something I always turn to when doubting who I am as a creative and what I deem my personal style.
So I implore anyone reading this to consider the experiences you’ve had in life, the cultures you came from, the people who inspired you- those all make up who you are and the choices you make on your personal style journey. And what an incredible thing to be able to have! I got so excited just writing this part. That is something no other human can replicate, your experiences are fully yours and what you choose to do with them can be an art form within themselves.
I hope this post was helpful in making you reflect on your own personal style and what you’re choosing to purchase within the new year. I would love to chat on this subject so please leave a comment below if you have any opinions on trends or what inspires your own personal style. And as always, you can dm me on instagram to chat too!
Thank you for being here and for reading- I can’t wait to see what this year brings!
-Izabela
I wish I could restack this 10000x's!!!!!!
Leaning into your heritage for personal style has been such a game changer for me because it intrinsically feels more natural and aligned. My parents are Portuguese-American and I always feel best in gold hoops because that's what I grew up seeing my aunts/grandmothers/mother wearing.