Your style goals can serve as a helpful frame of reference as you review your closet, shop for new items, create outfits, and evolve your style. Having a FLEXIBLE set of goals will make your style journey more effective and enjoyable. 

If you have a good handle on your style direction and are simply fine-tuning, setting style goals can be a quick, intuitive and incremental process. If you have experienced dramatic changes in your life, or if you’re in a style rut, it might require some soul searching and a more time-consuming, in-depth analysis of the internal and external factors that affect your style.

Anything that relates to your style can go on the list. Style goals can be long or short, general or specific, seasonal or annual. Make a list in your head, or write it down. And remember that style goals can be changed at any time. 

I usually have my style goals all figured out in the first week of January, but this year I’ve had a lot going on and left it for a couple of months while things settled down. Now at the end of February I have a good vision of what I want to achieve with my style in 2017.

My style evolved quite a bit in 2016, although it essentially came back home. I’m keeping the same aspirational style moniker, “Urban Pretty”, because it’s important to me that my outfits are structured, refined, polished and pretty. I feel more content about my style direction than ever.  

Here are my goals:

1. To wear outfits that are Modern, Crisp, Soft, Retro and Dressy. These are the five adjectives that I’ve chosen to describe my ideal style so they’ll be at the front of my mind throughout this leg of my style journey.
   • Modern because I enjoy injecting a few very current trends into my seasonal look.
   • Crisp because I love wearing shades of white, and have a strong need to create a polished appearance. 
   • Soft because I do not enjoy wearing hard-edged outfits. 
   • Retro because of my fondness for looks from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, but wearing them with a good dose of Modern. 
   • Dressy because that’s what I prefer.  
2. To explore Maximal style my way. No more ultra simple outfits. To wear pearl necklaces, a pearl bracelet, watch and pearl ring most days. To frequently sport scarves, belts, patterns, pattern mixed looks, more complex garments, layered looks, matchy-matchy looks, and clashing yet harmonious colour combinations. But not all at once.
3. To add what I perceive as more elegant, polished touches to my style. This might mean adding classics into the mix like metal chain handle bags, pointy toe ballet flats, and sheath dresses. 
4. To continue wearing my signature colours (sour brights, shades of white, and ink blue), but to add turquoise into the mix. I love a soft bright turquoise — think Tiffany’s blue. 
5. To wear red shoes with matching bags in Spring and Summer because I’m in the mood for red shoes. 
6. To only wear black in small doses. 
7. To fine-tune my list of wardrobe essentials and add more fashion. This has happened organically to my wardrobe over the last two years, but it’s good to formalize it in my goals so that I stay focussed. 
8. To wear skirts and dresses more frequently year round. I also enjoy wearing cropped straight or flared jeans under my dresses, which counts as wearing a dress. 
9. To wear dressy trousers more frequently, despite the dry-cleaning bill, because I feel great in trousers. 
10. To continue mixing high-end and low-end items in one outfit. 
11. To NOT purchase more silver shoes or items with silver hardware as I commit fully to gold.
12. To have even MORE fun with fashion. 

Over to you. Have you thought about your style goals for 2017? If so, please share them in the comments section. Begin with just three goals if the process is overwhelming, and take it from there. Or, jot down some rough thoughts about your current and aspirational style direction if that’s easier. Veteran Fabber Style Fan did just that in the forum last month, and it was a joy to read. She also inspired others to do the same. 

IMPORTANT: Remember to be patient with your style and not to take it all too seriously. Learn from your mistakes and enjoy the winners. Laugh a lot, and have fun along the way.

Stitch Fix launches plus sizes, a sustainable collection at Mango, the most popular beauty products on Amazon, and more fashion news that caught our eye in February.

• Madewell is introducing its own in-house lingerie line with 42 pieces in mix-and-match colours.
• For the Beauty and the Beast tour, Emma Watson has started an Instagram account dedicated to her largely sustainable wardrobe.
• Stitch Fix is launching a plus-size assortment with merchandise from over 90 brands.
• The late Bill Cunningham’s famous jacket and bicycle have been donated to the New-York Historical Society together with his library and equipment.
• Uniqlo is set to open its first Spanish store in Barcelona this Fall.
• Here’s a list of the top 26 most popular beauty products on Amazon in 2016, according to Amazon Beauty.
• Topshop is debuting its first bridal collection in April.
• Princess Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz becomes the first-ever Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Arabia.
• Mango is bringing out a 45-piece sustainable collection.

Fun Fashion Fact

I’m enjoying browsing through this list of fashion vocabulary on the Business of Fashion. Did you know, for example, that rickrack is “a popular zigzag braid that can be woven in various widths, colours or fabric types to edge clothes and curtains. Think Little House on the Prairie for this style of waved braid.”

You will probably be able to shop your closet for this look, maybe multiple times over. It pulls together black and grey pieces with a little something extra, a little “kick” to prevent the boredom that creeps in during long Winters when you’re wearing lots of black and grey. 

Here are two outfits ideas to get you started.

Casual Deluxe

Combine cropped straight blue jeans, or jeans that can be rolled at the hem with a chunky grey pullover (you can insulate the cropped jeans in cold weather.) The point of the cropped length is to showcase most or all of the high-top sneaker, duck boot, or similar casual Winter ped. Add a black puffer to top things off. 

The Kick: statement socks, a bright bag, bright footwear. 

Wear one, two or all three of the items that give the outfit a kick. I’ve chosen a sunny and happy yellow, but feel free to incorporate any colour. 

Frock Fabness

Combine a grey sweater dress (or regular grey dress) with black knee-high or over-the-knee boots. If that’s not your thing, add tights and booties. OR layer the frock over black leggings or cropped flared jeans. Top the look off with a black, grey or checked coat. Black Mary Janes, oxfords or pumps are another way to go. 

The Kick: navy bag, navy gloves, navy hat, navy sneaker hybrid, colourful scarf. 

Wear up to four of the items to kick things up a notch. I’ve used navy here so that there’s something for the neutral lovers, but feel free to use red, burgundy or cognac. Add jewellery, eyewear and watch as desired.

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I like wearing classic, crisp stripes in Spring and Summer, so Boden’s Tresco Stripe Pullover was instantly attractive. I ordered the ink blue and yellow combination. It came last week and I’ve already worn it twice because it’s fabulous. The cotton-cashmere blend fabric is soft, drapey, lightweight and screams Spring. The fluid cut is great over flared crops. And the party at the back — a colour blocked button stand with dainty buttons — is a lovely extra. 

I am however, extremely fussy about the cut of necklines on my body type. My long neck, narrow shoulder line, regular size bust, and very short hair look best in a high neckline, or a lower neckline that covers the shoulder neck point (like the collar of a shirt.) I lose important-to-me outfit structure when these design details are not in place. This lovely pullover would have been returned had I not been able to fill the gap of the neckline with a chunky pearl necklace or a festive scarf. In fact, thanks to the Maximalism trend, I like wearing my pearl necklace AND scarf together with the striped pullover. See the exact items from my wardrobe in this collection. 

Broad shoulders fill out wide necklines more effectively than narrow shoulders. So the same boat neck on the model sits higher on her than it sits on me. My short string of chunky pearls creates coverage, adding that necessary bit of structure to the outfit. A scarf adds even more coverage. The difference with the pearls especially is subtle, but it makes a huge difference to the way I see and feel about the top. 

So the next time you love an item with a slightly too wide neck, think of wearing it with a chunky necklace or a scarf.