The easiest (and most overlooked) way to build style confidence

It all started with a pair of cow-print loafers.

I walked into Nordstrom Rack one day last fall with the express intent to try on shoes until I found a pair that was so comfortable I didn’t want to take them off. I had no particular style in mind — it didn’t matter what they looked like. They just needed to be comfy and closed-toe and not a sneaker.

When I slipped into the cow-print loafers, I knew they were the ones. Not because of what they looked like, but because of what they felt like. They weren’t my typical style, but I told myself they were still neutral and it’d be nice to have a printed shoe.

Then they sat in my closet, entirely unworn, for six or seven months. I struggled to style them in a way that felt natural to me

Until!

I had a Pinterest-induced breakthrough — loafers with track pants! A little classic, a little sporty — YES! Just my style.

I was riding high on this breakthrough. It felt like I’d unlocked a whole new world!

And then…I forgot about it. Life kept moving, things needed to get done, and it got lost somewhere in the shuffle. And I went back to not wearing my cow-print loafers. Even though I knew how to style them now. I just…forgot that I knew.

I’m guessing I’m not the only one who’s experienced this. It’s shocking how fast our best outfits disappear from memory, like morning dew on spring grass.

Half the battle in our closets comes not from having the wrong clothes, but from not remembering our ideas. “I have nothing to wear” is often just “I forgot what works.”

So what do we do?

We keep track of our wins, good ideas, and breakthroughs and purposefully place them in our line of sight. Not on our phones where they can get lost in a sea of notes or buried under more photos. But with good ol’ pen, paper, and tape.

At first I used post-it notes, but then I wanted something cuter, so I made myself a set of printable cards — and today I’m sharing them with you, too.

Print them out, and then, when you have a particularly good outfit idea, write it on a card, and tape it to your mirror or inside your closet door. (Bonus points for pretty washi tape.)

These cards interrupt all-or-nothing thinking. You know what I’m talking about: I have nothing to wear. Why is getting dressed always so hard? Why can I never put together a good outfit? etc. They also interrupt the constant urge to fix your closet, because you realize you’re actually doing pretty great with what you already have.

And that’s what I love most about them — they give you proof of self-knowledge, a reminder that you know what you’re doing. They build confidence.

Confidence isn’t always a feeling. It’s more of a relationship with yourself.

Think of your relationships. When you care about someone, you tell them. You do things for them. You remember the best things about them and reflect them back to them when they are down.

What if we did that for ourselves, too?

It’s easy to think that confidence comes from big, impressive things, but in real life, confidence is built in much more ordinary ways. Like fun little cards taped to your mirror that remind you of your best outfits.

Here you go! A set of 16 printable cards to document your best outfits, make getting dressed easier, and build style confidence: