Oh this is fun. It's so interesting how what we are attracted to wear evolves with time and circumstances.

I'm 67 now so there are many aspects that have visited and left again! As I reflect a bit, I see that I've actually made a huge fashion circle, back once again to the high school years (68-72) in my clothing.

Back then I transitioned from conservative plaid skirts and loafers (all we were allowed to wear to school, until they changed the rules) to the well, just the opposite...in record time, maybe six months! I wore Levis 501, "shrink to fit"s and ordered overalls from the JCPenney catalog, wore my uncles wool sailor pants and pea coat, oh and a white cotton pair too, and hunted down the clogs that another girl had from her summer in Sweden. I had a fluffy embroidered sheepskin coat from Afghanistan, and a huge vintage black fur one too. And of course an Army jacket.

In the 80's I went more Norma Kamali dresses with shoulder pads and a short hairdo. Pleated pants from Esprit. And motherhood.

In the 90's I went more flowy, longer hair and linen and velvet dresses and pants, cp shades type.

In the late 90's I returned to my love of denim again, hunting down just the right boot cuts...then skinnies in the 2000's and more fitted body conscious structured jackets, and for really the first time I was interested in fitting and flattering my body.

In the last five years, my denim has gone back to wider leg, and my jackets and tops I notice grow increasingly oversize. Due to fussy feet, I wear sneakers and flat clog type shoes again. I am not really into a flattering silhouette, and that is freeing like when I was younger. It's more about the styling.

Now that I feel more confident with my own personal style, I've jettisoned pencil skirts, skirt suits, sheath dresses and heels over 2 inches. Mr. ND may miss the Business Bombshell look but I don't. Oh well, he can always watch Mad Men.

Sal, you ROCK your '70s looks and were made to wear them! If you give them up - you will be in trouble with me

LOVED reading through these thoughts. I recognize the style evolution in those who regularly post outfits. Very fun!

Sooooo much of my style and sartorial preferences are the same for as long as I can remember - but the trendy components of my style change with the decades and seasons because I'm a Trendy Classic.

LOVE bold, playful, soft & pretty looks!

LOVE the '60s, '70s and '80s!

LOVE white pearls!

LOVE wearing dressy items!

LOVE sour brights, navy, white, blush and light blue!

LOVE the classics!

LOVE fun trends!

What has changed about my style over the last 10 years. (Of course, happy to see these looks on others!):

• Goodbye black and grey
• Goodbye heels
• Goodbye sheath dresses and pencil skirts (my skirts and dresses have to move as I move)
• Goodbye body con, and tailoring that is not gently fluid
• Goodbye skinnies
• Goodbye silver
• Goodbye skirts and dresses that aren't midi length

I am more colourful and patterned than ever! That said, I am amping up the solids in my wardrobe and wearing lots of tonal and monochromatic outfits in non-neutrals

My colour palette and style have stayed the same. I have a bit of boho and classic. I look more to classic styles these days, but there is still an undercurrent of boho in my look.

sorry I was tired yesterday so wasn't thinking straight...I think it is more elements of style that I have walked away from instead of whole styles except when there was a change of circumstances such as leaving a corporate environment. Otherwise it has often been a case of developing a poison eye to some things eg. long boots ( I used to love them but developed a preference for ankle boots or booties). I think the longer skirts are due to an age thing as I want to look more elegant and show less leg and being influenced by what is in style.
gone: long boots
shorter skirts and dresses
fitting dresses
corporate clothes
wrap dresses
Leggings, jeggings or skinny jeans (except for exercise or yoga) with long shirts
cargo pants.

In recent years I’ve moved away from:

High contrast graphic looks
Skirts or dresses at knee length or above (even midi skirts are feeling too short now)
Stripes (related to high contrast)
Heels
Long over lean

I’m also heavily into warm and earthier colours now but that’s partly because they weren’t available for SO LONG. I dressed in cool neutrals when those were the dominant fashion trend.

My favourite patterns (ombré, floral, marble, abstract) have remained the same over time, it’s mainly silhouette and colour preferences that have changed with the trends.

My favourite fashion eras have always been and continue to be the 40s, 70s, 90s and Victorian era. And I still like what I would call a structured or streamlined Bohemian look (noting that I disagree with how many people characterise Bohemian style dressing), with a bit of hard edge or a moody feel.

Oh! I’ve left skinnies behind. Slim straights are ok but I’m done with skinnies. They were looking tired to me and were never my favorite style on my body type anyway.

I could say I’ve left tunics and leggings behind but was never much of a fan of either anyway. I seem to be done with pencil skirts too.

Great question! Definitely have moved away from what was my defining black to a much more colorful wardrobe. I never wore heels regularly and even less so now, although I will wear a slight heel (1.5") in a boot or closed shoe occasionally. I am still fundamentally attracted to the same things - architecture, a bit of avant garde, vintage worn in a modern way. I do think I am more aware of quality fabrics than I used to be as well.

So interesting to read all these - I will be back....

Brooklyn, you are right about boho. So many interpretations, and yours is luxe.

I have enjoyed reading these!

So much of my style has remained consistent my entire life! It makes me laugh, in fact, to look at old photos. There I am, in my houndstooth jacket and jeans in the 80s, and there again, a few years' back. The shapes or silhouettes change with the decades but the basic elements remain the same. Give me a great pair of jeans, a great jacket, and a great pair of boots, and I'll feel dressed for almost anything.

My favourite fashion decades are the 20s, (I mean the 1920s), the 40s, the 60s, the 80s. I like the glam elements of the 70s, too. I've always loved red, always loved stripes and houndstooth and gingham and tartan, always worn a lot of blue, always loved trendy denim.

Having said that, during my time at YLF I have moved away from:

Skirts and dresses that are at or above the knee.
Pencil skirts.
High heels. (I never wore more than 3 inches but I can't imagine wearing that height now.)
Long over lean (for the most part).
Black (I still wear it but very judiciously).

Things I walked away from, that I'm pretty sure I'll come back to:

Coconut Girl... I never realized this was an aesthetic, until it was mentioned in a recent Link Love article! Well, I'm here to tell you, that I lived on Okinawa from 2001-2007, and was totally a Coconut Girl. Hibiscus prints, Roxy and Hollister tees and shorts, flip-flops and fashion-Skechers to match every bias cut tropical skirt. I had a whole wardrobe of flip-flops. I only gave it up when we moved to Atlanta. I still miss that tropical aesthetic, and hope to work it back into my wardrobe in small ways that feel fresh and authentic - but not juvenile.

Retro 1930s-40s-50s-early 60s looks. I stepped back from this because of the pandemic. These looks take a lot of effort to pull together, and there really aren't opportunities to wear these at the moment.

Same with the Flamenco trend (I've been wearing bits of this since 2011)

The Fetish Trend from 2011 I really loved this trend. When I revisit this, it will be with a very light touch, because the fetish trend had a lot of black, and I want to keep expanding on color.

Things I have permanently left behind:

Anything RATE... I've experimented with ripped jeans, or rough-looking leather, and faded colors. It just doesn't feel authentic to me.

"French Girl Style" or "Parisian Style" I bought into this idea whole-heartedly - for years - but it never felt quite authentic. I always felt like I was wearing a costume. A badly-suited costume. Then one day I realized that this whole aesthetic appears to be built on Audrey Hepburn - who was not French - as she appeared across a selection of wonderful films. "Paris Chic" is quite possibly completely a Hollywood fabrication. Do I think she was unspeakably gorgeous, and did her clothes make me sigh? Yes, and yes. But I'm not tearing around trying to find the perfect trenchcoat, striped top, and white button-down anymore.

Low-rise anything. Cargo anything. Anything with "mom" in the title.

Fascinating discussion. Right now my look is best described as fluid--going with the flow and adjusting to the times. I am mostly home, so I don't feel "seen" so much--in former days I often considered how I would appear to others--depending on occasion and place--and now I don't so much. The people I interact with--neighbors, people walking their dogs to the park, the other customers in the grocery store--we're all about being comfortable and safe.

What does this mean for my style? Tailored, fitted, classic clothes, a bit of glamour on occasion, this isn't my life right now. Everybody is much more casual it seems, but there is casual and there is sloppy. l guess I retain the classic ideal in my mind when I get dressed.

Even though I don't go out as much, it's important to me to feel cheerful and reasonably well-groomed even if I don't leave the house. I still see and feel myself even if it's only DH, the cats, and the people walking their dogs to the park that see me.

Right now, it's amorphous and I can't put a name to it, or to a style I aspire to. I continue to experiment with color and different brands and styles. Ha! I used to think I had it all nailed down. Didn't see all the unexpected changes.

I have left behind dressing in a strict corporate way - which in many ways was just an unofficial uniform for my job. I have also left behind dressing in a hard edge way and like to juxtapose any hard edge items with softer elements and bright colours.

With age, I am less trend driven and much happier doing my own thing. Whilst I still have a few shorter skirts and dresses in my wardrobe, they are gradually being edited out and replaced with longer and more elegant styles. Similarly with shoes, as I replace shoes and boots, I have been buying only lower heeled versions. My wildcard designer sneakers have been one of my best and most useful purchases.

One thing that’s been consistent in my style over time is seeking to create juxtaposition within my outfits. But I’ve moved away from preppy x boho and towards vintage x edgy instead.

I always struggle to know to what degree the changes in how I dress represent evolution of my style vs getting clearer about what I’ve been aiming for all along.

This is fascinating indeed. I have thought about it WRT my own style. I used to love the retro 1960s thing, until I realized that it might have been quirky or charming on a 20-year-old, but is just sort of dowdy on a 45-year-old. I do still lean a little retro for dressy looks, though I keep the overall modern.

I really dislike body con-in any way. I used to like it on my upper body but now I don't even like that. I don't really see that coming back!

My 1st painful walk-away(s) happened decades ago, but taught me a few things. In my mid-20’s & out of college, I had to donate my cotton Gunne Sax dresses & skirts, followed by tie-dye t-shirts, followed by ankle bracelets & long full Indian cotton skirts-unflattering but sooooo soft.

I still love those types of 60s-70s styles, but not on me. I learned to buy “quieter” clothes in sizes that actually fit, & still try to buy cotton everything.

What an interesting question and fascinating thread. L am never sure that l could pinpoint a style that l followed .l think that’s the reason l really admire people who have a recognisable and consistent style.l am too easily distracted by different fashion themes and end up with quite an eclectic wardrobe.My daughter described my wardrobe as “quirky”The other thing l find is that it’s actually very hard to source a lot of the things l would choose to wear if l were sticking to certain styles.However l can say a few things that l have walked away from; body con,skinny jeans,very high heels,mini skirts,all black outfits.l don’t know where l will land after the pandemic peak wanes but at the moment l am just putting clothes on mainly gear .

My uniform for years was pencil skirts, blazers, and high heels, and I am pretty much done with all of those. I still wear skirts from time to time, but am more into midis with a fuller silhouette. Mostly, though, I'm wearing pants and to my surprise I'm wearing jeans to work after years and years of a personal "no denim in the office" rule. But like Janet, I feel like skinny jeans don't look right at the moment so I have them at least on "pause." I'm really liking my high-waisted Levi's at the moment. And I'm less likely to reach for my old standard Banana Republic ankle pants, which I have in every color and wore for years, and more likely to wear wide-leg trousers.

Things are so relaxed that blazers seem out of date now, so I'm wearing more cardigans after a break of several years, as well as utility/chore jackets and my beloved down vest. I still have and wear a bunch of J Crew merino sweaters (not Tippis but similar) but they feel too long and kind of dated, so I'm looking to switch them out for shorter tops. And shoes? I am all about sneakers and low-heeled booties and loafers theses days. I still have a few pair of pumps but they are either kitten heels or low block heels.

Oh, and I'm wearing fewer bright colors but I will never give up stripes and animal prints and pattern mixing!

This thread grew and I can't reply individually - it has been so much fun to read.

I have seen MsMary move away from the smart business look to a more relaxed business look, LisaP move away from harder edge to softer edge, and Mary Beth ease out of some retro looks (plus many more). I think some of this is pandemic related, and some is related to women in workplaces having the same restrictions and wanting a more comfortable but still stylish look.

I can see real style shifts with some forum members - and others have kept the same style, but adapted with colours and trends eg wider bottoms rather than skinny jeans, sneakers rather than ballet flats.

Long over lean can be done in an edgy, classic, romantic, sporty or a smart office way depending on whether the lean was black leather leggings or athletic leggings with a stripe, and the long was an ruffled tunic or a tailored long blazer. I would see this as an aspect of style/sihouette - rather than a style itself.

I think many of us are leaning more into our own style, and maybe have made good buying decisions over a few years so the wardrobe evolves gradually and we can adapt. Angie of course is the queen of gradually adapting her wardrobe so it looks like her, but it evolves as well.

Another comment that made me think was Sarah D8's regarding whether we are getting better at expressing our own style. And MsMaven's and Cardiff Girl's comments that many people are dressing less for others at the moment due to the pandemic.

I do wonder that (for example) that I am liking wearing midi dresses and warmer tones at the moment - those things have always appealed to me but haven't always been readily available. Now they are - will I still wear them in 5 years when cool tones and mini dresses are trending and more available. How will I make my own authentic style work?

Thanks to everyone who has posted - it's been an interesting thread.

Interesting question @Sal - I might also be in the midst of a style crisis too, like @Sally lol. I tried slightly bohemian/ rock/ twee styles in my youth, but they didn't last because they all felt like 'too much' on me.

I mentioned creating a black capsule wardrobe before, to try to add some 'architectural' edge to my looks (in curvy patterns & soft fabrics though, rather than dramatically goth or outright punk). Whilst I think I've managed to curate some of the right pieces for this look (like a tulle bubble maxi skirt), those clothes are now prepacked in a suitcase to leave back in the UK, since I decided that a) it wasn't worth my time to keep trying (& failing) to strike that right balance between edgy-soft, & b) black doesn't suit me *as well as* other deep & warm shades (like chocolate brown).

So whilst I'm now trying to switch to that as my main neutral, what exactly is my 'style' is with my remaining clothes? I believe I drape best in soft but classically fitted clothing (for my body type), look best in deep/ rich/ warm colours (for a Dark Autumn), & feel best in modest lengths/ necklines (for my lifestyle). But beyond that? It's anyone's guess, lol!

(PS - I realised even my Style Moniker is more practically than stylistically driven, lol! The 4 C's (Colour, Comfort, Covered Chic) say little about my actual style direction, no?)

Also this thread has reminded me that I do actually have a handcrafted bird necklace, bought in Melbourne But that feels more 'integrated' because it's accompanied by wooden leaves too - or at least that's my justification to just 'put a bird on it' lol

Zaeobi - I like your style and I don’t think it matters if there’s not one word to summarise it.

I love bird jewelry - the put a bird on it reminded me of a satchel I had from Portland with a bird, a red tee with a dandelion head on it, a denim skirt with a big daisy on it, a bracelet made with buttons- I actually loved this look and would not rule out retuning to it one day.

Interesting question. Fantastic thread.

I doubt I could give a short answer. I like to think my style has been at least somewhat consistent over the years, leading away from all the experiments, missteps and mistakes, tending towards where I am today. I see it more as a process of refinement rather than of constant change. I would struggle to identify any major transformations, but gradual developments go something like this:

• Awareness: understanding why all those things I was doing intuitively were working, and doing them more mindfully and intentionally.
• Refining the proportions and colour palette, leaning condfidently into cool winter colours. Learning how to wear black.
• Lifestyle changes. No inessential shopping. Adapting to lockdown life. Changing priorities. Going harder on shopping the closet and finding some unlikely heroes in there.
• Less vintage, more gear. Performance fabrics, sneakers. Finding the right quilted coats. This may only be temporary, but I notice a definite shift away from the classics.
• Not dying my hair, growing it out. Probably the biggest change, symbolic of my commitment to writing. Never liked my natural color, but grey streaks are an improvement.
• Not wearing heels right now. Missing them a bit, but my feet are happier for it.

Aproprio, good answer! I’d like to borrow the first three points (well, except for the part about lockdown)

As I think about this, I am reminded of a favored quote repeated regularly by a beloved mentor (now deceased), “The more things change, the more they stay the same!” Surely my style must have changed…although perhaps not much. I tried to experiment a bit however I always return to similar lines and a similar aesthetic. Maybe my style is more refined and there are subtle updates to keep it fresh but nothing drastic. For example, I have pictures of myself from middle school in which I am wearing boot cut jeans and a blazer over some sort of flouncy top. Today, it remains a favorite outfit formula, minus the flouncy top (I’m sure that blouse was chosen by my mother). I might choose straight leg jeans over boot cut. The color palette was warmer when I was younger, bright spring and autumn tones. Now I wear light summer tones and cool mid tones. I no longer wear small floral prints, paisleys, or large ruffles. I wore Adidas leather shoes, Wallaby’s and Penny loafers in middle school and high school and now I wear The Office of Angela Scott, Ecco and Aquatalia. I have always preferred flats. My middle and high school blazers were corduroy (which I no longer wear). They were colorful and now my wardrobe has more neutrals. I wore what I might call a classic, casual, clean and athletic mix for a long time…It worked well for me in middle school and high school because I constantly had team practices (track, cross country, volley ball, swimming). I went skiing after school in the winter with the ski club. So jeans and crew neck knit sweaters, knit turtlenecks and tees were favorites for their practicality and they still are. In fact, I wore a turquoise cashmere turtleneck and jeans in my high school senior picture….

I've been enjoying reading everyones responses to this great thread!

A lot of the looks I used to love relied heavily on having the right footwear -- specifically floor-skimming wide leg trousers (cuffed was my preference) and tiered midaxi skirts (the key was fitted around the hips and with volume on the bottom. Both of these looks required a pointy toe and a bit of a heel on 5'5" me. I never really wore a heel over 2", but have bid both farewell as I've learned to listen to my feet. (At the height of this period, I would wear this look for both dressy and casual wear)

I'm working on adapting my eye to fashion sneakers or flat boots with shorter wide leg pants for the seasons that will allow it.

I also used to be a huge fan of blazers. Boxy oversized blazers, long, fitted felted wood blazers with matching silk turtlenecks, shorter, fitted blazers when I was at my thinnest around 2006-8 - I wore blazers to work, I wore them with jeans -- they were signature. As I got heavier, blazers got harder to fit, and I traded them for cardigans. My weight has come down and it might now be possible to find a comfortable blazer or two, but I don't know yet what place they will have at this stage of my fashion life.

Pretty much any dress or skirt that hits above the knee. I used to pair a pencil skirt with one of two pairs of Anne Klein pumps with a slight dainty heel and small Mary Jane strap that made the whole look feel a bit retro and a tiny bit "sexy but totally respectable librarian" when paired with a turtleneck and blazer.

I still like a lean skirt, but it has to be long, like the knitted skirt I bought this fall.

Late to this, but loved to read the thread &comments everyone made.
Jeans were a staple in college (I wore BF or MOM's back then) of course-but as a tall hourglass I always loved flowy midi skirts with flat boots and sweaters back in the 90's, too. Then everything shortened up and I had to dress for my career in an office,-so I came back to wearing jeans (bootcuts this time) with sharp blazers and pointy toes.

I always loved the look of to 7/8 length pants with long flat boots under them so I later cuffed up my casual straight jeans to show bit of ankle in my boots even when it was considered dated and/or not up to PPL's standards. When skinny jeans reigned supreme I stopped wearing jeans at all as couldn't make them work for the office.

Wore more skirts instead. Pencil skirt-suits or pencils with miss-matched shorter tailored sharp blazers and sheaths with blazers +heeled booties or long but flat boots.
Times were changing and everything got elastane so my collection of stiff zippered pencils was changing up for tubes in the same neutrals and (geom or animal) patterns I had before. Same was happening to my blazers-I slowly changed them up with new fabrics- but I always paired knitted tubes with stiff blazer or denim jacket and a newer blazer to an older stiff pencil, sheath and even a neutral (but non blue!) denim skirt.
Some years ago, I developed a love for the so called plaid cigarette pants and wore them with uni blazers. I still wear them but with sweaters and/or puffer/furry vests.

As per shoes, when I found some dressier loafers (mostly patent) which could be worn with my skirts and dresses too, I never looked back on my older regular heels or court shoes again.
Then the cullote and wide leg trend hit and am back to my 7/8 length pants (but no jeans) with flat or low block heeled boots. Also, as mini lengths faded away (for my true pleasure!:-)) I am happy to wear again the longer flowy skirts (but many are pleated in my collection now-a trend I never thought will love before). Wearing these with flat or lug sole booties/boots.
I always loved a 3rd piece of clothing but instead of blazers am on puffer/furry vests and shackets or long coatigan-vests at the moment.
I am leaving back my love for long artsy pendants, too. These days I love a chunky cuff better.
I still love black but not that much for my outerwear or bottoms. I still have a dressy long cocoon wool coat but my black everyday wool coat is replaced for a light blue one, the black peacoat was replaced for a brown teddy. My all times favorite black trench is now baby blue/or tan for spring and rust for fall OR even a forest green tissue thin raincoat instead of a regular trench-haha!