2021 Style Goals + A Roundup of Instagram Outfits

Happy… whatever day it is that I end up posting this! Ha! I’ve been sloooooowly getting back into the swing of things here at Karin Emily so you’ll have to excuse a slightly disorganized Karin. 😉 In the nature of slowly getting back to things, I thought it would be fun to do more of a chatty post today about some of my 2021 style goals and 2020 reflections + share a roundup of some of my favorite Instagram outfits from the last month (in case you don’t follow me there).

Yeah?

I am not going to organize this in any way, shape, or form… we’re just going to chat, and I’ll see where this post goes as I type. Yay for you! 😉

It’s an interesting thing to share your outfits with a bunch of people on a daily basis for almost 5 years straight (took a little break when I was pregnant with the twins). I’d like to say I’ve been confident in my style from the get go and just wore what I liked, but honestly? That wouldn’t be the truth.

I’ve been doing a TON of reflecting this year on my personal style (staying at home 24/7 during a pandemic will do that to you!), and the biggest takeaway from those reflections is that I haven’t been dressing for myself for a good long while.

When I first started blogging it was to share my capsule wardrobes, and I can fully admit now that I was wearing clothes that generalized capsule wardrobe lists told me I should wear. Then I started getting into a slower fashion mindset, and again, I can fully admit now that I was dressing to fit into the generalized Instagram aesthetic…

but all that time, something I never shared (mostly because I didn’t totally realize this) was that I always felt a little bit uncomfortable in some of those outfits (sometimes I got it right!), and a little bit like I was playing dress up with someone else’s wardrobe.

So in August when I decided to separate myself from the slow fashion movement (you can read my decision for doing so here), and instead focus on high quality pieces at all price points it almost felt like a liberating chance to start over…

although I say that with a grain of salt because I still utilize most of the clothes I already had in my closet…

rather a chance to start over in my styling + add in new pieces that fit into my new vision.

I had a moment of clarity after retroactively reading my own post right before Black Friday about the coats I was thinking of investing in… after glancing through the list again in preparation of Black Friday sales I had a moment where I thought “I would literally be wearing these coats for pictures only because they are too fancy for my lifestyle.”

And in that moment everything just sort of clicked into place for me, and I made a firm decision to stop dressing for the ‘gram, and start dressing for my ACTUAL lifestyle.

BUT… in a way that still feels genuine to me, because I DO gravitate towards dressier styles so just wearing scrubby sweats and workout clothes all day doesn’t feel genuine to me either (even though it would majorly work for my lifestyle)…

SO that brings me to my #1 style goal for 2021:

Figure out how to dress for my casual lifestyle, but in a way that feels genuine to my personal style preferences.

Some of the things I’ve played around with so far are faux leather leggings, more elevated sneakers, tunic sweaters that can easily fit over stretchy skinny jeans, flat boots that are easy to walk in… etc.

If 2020 has taught me anything about my personal style, it’s that it’s okay to dress for comfort… it doesn’t mean you’ve “let go” of yourself, and you can actually still look really cute doing so.

I took the money I had saved up for my fancy coats previously mentioned, and instead I used it strategically during the Black Friday sales to really build up my casual basics… and I’ve been loving it so much!

For the first time since becoming a stay at home mom I actually feel like myself… but comfortable.

(Hopefully that’s encouraging for any new moms out there… you don’t have to have your personal style figured out 2 months after you’re child is born. It takes time to figure out how to dress your new body/for your new lifestyle!)

SO I’m going to lean into those thoughts in 2021, and continue to find ways to make casual look cute.

My second, and final style goal for 2021 is to LET GO, and just wear what feels good.

As I mentioned above, I have been dressing to fit into certain aesthetics for so long that I want to completely reject that habit in 2021 and start dressing entirely for myself. This means really ignoring trends (or allowing myself to embrace them), and listening to my gut…

it also means letting go of the I can’ts.

For a long time now I would eye a piece I really liked, but then tell myself I couldn’t add it to my wardrobe because it didn’t “fit” into my style.

But as I’ve added a few pieces of clothing I had previously told myself I shouldn’t (shearling boots, faux leather leggings, colorful sweaters, etc.), I’ve actually found my wardrobe to feel a lot more versatile! I think because everything kind of looked the same before, I wasn’t able to flex my creativity so my outfits felt kind of boring (to me anyway).

So now, if something just gets me excited in my gut I will more seriously consider adding it to my wardrobe…

I’m still very stringent about quality, and I’m putting my foot down when it comes to pieces that aren’t practical, but I’m just generally allowing myself to have more fun with my wardrobe.

Feels good.

So to sum it up: I’m bringing casual back, and wearing things that make me happy. 😉

You’ll probably see a slight style shift in my outfits (actually a major one if you really go back in into the archives ?), but the fun thing is that it’ll just give you MORE ideas on how to wear the pieces you’ve already seen me style in the past (right?!).

The best part is that I am feeling confident and excited about style for the first time in awhile and that feels good!

You’re probably itching for a visual right about now amiright?

I get it… I’m all about the photos too.

I thought the best way to demonstrate the style shift you may be seeing here is to show you some of the outfits I wore over my short break that I especially loved and felt like myself in.

Right.

Let’s get to some outfits!

Look 1:

Shop the Look

The coat and denim are both very much investment pieces so I linked to a few affordable alternatives for you guys

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Look 2:

Shop the Look

The boots were gifted (review here). The hat is very old from ASOS so I linked to similar

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Look 3:

The scarf was gifted (review here). I linked to a more affordable option. The coat was gifted (review here).

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Look 4:

Shop the Look

Hoodie was gifted

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Look 5:

Shop the Look

The bag and sweater were gifted (review here)

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Well that’s it! As you can see, I’ve added in a few cozy, warm and easy pieces to wear. Even thought I’ve said over and over again on my blog that I’m just not a legging person, I’m learning that maybe I am! When done right of course.

Have you found your style changing at all this year? I’m curious to see if I’ll feel differently once we’re on the other side of this, but I do actually think my perspective shift is somewhat permanent.