We’ve all been through the highs and lows of getting hold of our personal styles. It’s never easy, but it’s such a worthwhile thing to go through because it’s honestly the only way I know you can figure out what works for you and what doesn’t. From constantly trying out different items to even getting over the same looks you’ve always been trying out. On this post I’ll be sharing my style evolution and how I’ve been grasping onto finding my distinct personal style.

2016 & 2017

Take me back to 2017. The year ‘The Haut Aesthetics’ was founded, my first job, the year of the final breakup, fashion interning, the year my content creation took a more creative turn. I was girlish, I was more invested into makeup AND ‘A Seat at the Table’ was still what got me through hard days. If you go back to older blog posts from 2017 they were a lot more brief and my images were very complementary to each other. I don’t think I knew much about the style direction I was really into and overall comfortable with. The previous year (2016, college day Ayanda) was very playful. I don’t have images unfortunately but I had the Halle Berry pixie cut at some point, played around with box braids, had a mix of both oversized and fitted silhouette and often wore red lipstick. So, looking at my 2017 style it was a big transition. I wore more fitted, chic, feminine pieces to even playing around with the ‘it’ accessories at the time.

2018 & 2019

And just like 2016, I don’t have any images from 2018, it was the year I got my first full time job at Converse. I tried thinking back on the year 2018 and all I can remember was me dressed in full Converse with curly hair. I was at my busiest because I dedicated most of my time to being a good employee, I mean it was my first proper job. Alright, 2019 the year of the fringe. I remember having a wig I got from Wish and just decided to give it a chop. I was done working at Converse and didn’t want to get comfortable so I left the job and decided to see where my career would take me. I did a lot of interning in the style and visual merchandise field. I also had a deep emotional downfall and was going through a lot during this time both mentally and spiritually. This was a big style change and I really got in touch with items that I only discovered later which are actually items that will last a lifetime. What I also discovered was that I went through two style stages. Between February 2019-June 2019 I was all about oversized thrifted clothing but still mixing in feminine items when I wanted to. September 2019-early 2020 it was all about timeless items- fitted but oversized blazers, statements bottoms and tops, classic white shirts, denim investments and chic, minimal accessories.

2020 & 2021

This is me currently. Yes, I do change up my look every now and then but I do know for sure what my distinct approach to style is about. I’m clearly in between both the masculine and feminine look but it must fit my minimal, chic and timeless style. I am all about sustainability and getting the most of items so I will definitely still be investing in more pants, denims, shirts, blazers etc. I am in a space of fully embracing certain parts of my body like my shoulders, my arm and even my curves. I also feel very confident when I can play around with more boyish looks and days when I do feel a lot more girlish, I give my looks a more feminine touch.

For me personally it’s a huge transformation and when you’re looking to play around with your style the best way to do it is to have fun and let it flow.