Balance is a very important component of my style. I need to change things up from day to day, and from season to season, to be happy. It isn’t overly logical but much more of an emotional thing. I’m following my mood and listening to my feelings. 

Here are some examples of what I mean:

• After amassing a slew of trendy items into my style, I feel the need to ground them with the classics.  And after wearing the classics for a while, I desperately have the urge to inject trends and wildcards.
• A season of solids makes me crave prints.
• My personal era of masculine button-down shirts put me in the mood for romantic ruffles and flounces.
• After wearing slouchy outfits for what seems like forever, I’m in the mood to wear fitted pieces and sharp tailoring.
• Wearing jeans a little too frequently makes me want to wear trousers, skirts and dresses.
• Wearing neutrals makes me happy, but only if I can swap them out with lots of colour. And after wearing loud brights for a bit, I miss my quiet neutrals. 

Generally, I can achieve the balance I need from day to day by shopping my closet. That’s time and cost-effective, and I’m grateful that I have a wardrobe that panders to my changing moods. Sometimes the longer term balance does mean purchasing new items, but that takes patience because I’m strict about keeping to my budget.

I encourage people to be in touch with the way they feel about an outfit, and not to take the emotion out of their shopping decisions. This is a very important part of feeling fab in your outfits. On the other hand, you need to also make sure that your moods and emotions don’t boss you around, or you’ll never find peace with your style. And perhaps that’s the most important balance of all.