What do you want your style to say about you this year? How do you want your style to make you feel? What changes do you want to make to your wardrobe to better flatter your body and your personality? Have you ever thought about your wardrobe in this way?

I would say that most of us don’t think about our wardrobe in a strategic way. But we should. How do you decide on what to buy and how to fill your closet? We should be choosing items that fit not only our bodies but also our lifestyles. We should be choosing items that compliment what we love about your current wardrobe. We should be donating items that sit in our closets unworn month after month.

When you start to think about your wardrobe in this way it can be both overwhelming and empowering. In order to feel more empowered than overwhelmed, try to think of it in steps. First steps are to clean out your closet and donate items you no longer use. Only keep what you love and what fits. Now look at what is left and make a list of what you need to fill out that wardrobe. Start with the very basics. What do you need for your everyday life? This answer will be different for everyone. Think about where you go, the places that you frequent, and what you need to wear to those places.

Perhaps you got hung up on the part where I mentioned “fit”. Perhaps you sped right by it but shouldn’t have. Let’s stop here for a moment. How do you define the right fit for your body? We need to be brutal when trying things on. Take a good look in the mirror. Are the seams hitting all the right places? Is the hem where it should be? What about the length? The right fit for your body should flatter your shape. And because everyone is shaped differently the clothes you try on will not fit you the same way they do the model… any model.

This is where it makes sense to focus your efforts first. You might be thinking… what comes next? Once you’ve got a handle on the basics, you can start thinking about colors, textures, patterns. What silhouettes and necklines flatter you most? What clothing gives you confidence and why? When you start to break down your wardrobe this way, it can actually make shopping and deciding what you wear in the morning, much easier.

So here is to a bright and bold new year! Make all your style goals now and let’s get started.

It’s hard to find styles that are universally flattering. In lieu of such, see some examples of simple silhouettes from J. Crew below to give you an idea of where to start.