Do you remember the carefree days of our 20s, when we would throw on whatever wild outfit caught our eye, with confidence as our faithful companion? As our 30s tiptoe in do you find yourself wondering how to dress in your 30s? We might find our style evolving, seeking a balance between the wisdom we’ve gained and the playful spirit we still cherish. Fear not, my friends, for this is a beautiful journey, and together, we’re going to navigate the delightful realm of dressing in our fabulous 30s. So grab your favourite brew, get comfy, and let’s chat about embracing the art of dressing in this fresh, fabulous chapter of our lives!
How to dress in your 30s
I thought it would be funny to look back at my personal style evolution over the last decade. I think it natural to be transitioning your style from your 20s to your 30s but I feel like the things I wore on this blog back in 2010 were a surprise even to me. That plus the frankly shocking apps and filters I put on those pics, maybe that was for the best though tbh to hide my fashion mistakes!
One of the great things (or maybe not so great when I read back on some of my more embarrassing wafflings over here) is that starting a blog at 24 has been a great insight into each year of my life through my mid-twenties to my now mid-thirties.
Ok now deep breath.. here is a montage of some of my very early ‘what I wore’ posts..
I have so many things to say about the quality of these pics (and to be kind to myself it actually makes me realise how far I’ve come in terms of shooting content over here) but it also gives me those nostalgic vibes, not only for my life at the time but for how blogging was at that time too. Easy breezy. I mean that first pic… 24-year-old me saw that pic and thought, ‘there’s an outfit post and a half!’ lucky it was only my mum reading at the time ey? 😉
My style in my early twenties was very much ‘the brighter and bolder print the better’ in many ways I’ve not changed from that. I LOVE colour but I’m hopefully wearing it in maybe a bit of a more grown-up way.
Most of my clothes were second hand / ebay or Primark
By 25 I was pregnant with Wilf and without wanted to splash out on maternity clothes managed to stretch into most of my current wardrobe plus some vintage buys. That defo wouldn’t have been a possible second pregnancy though!
I found the transition after having a baby much harder than the pregnancy style itself as I was such an unfamiliar size. I did that panic thing of cutting off all my hair and dying it a wild colour to try and create some kind of identity when Wilf was about 6 months which I hugely regret!
For the most part my outfit shots in my later twenties were done on a tripod in our back garden. I had invested in a second-hand canon DSLR to improve on my shockingly bad iPhone pics and in doing so eased up on the ol filters too. I think my style really could only be described as a sort of ‘grown-up child’ I loved a dress and you literally would never catch me in jeans. In fact, I think the first time I bought jeans were maternity ones in my pregnancy with Mabli.
Not sure what this look was about..
There were some off combinations that I do regret but I think during this time was I was sort of working out how to tone down the colour/print combos without losing part of what I love about being colouful.
I also tried some questionable ‘model poses’ haha
By the end of my twenties, I was pregnant with Mabli but starting the pregnancy off a stone heavier than in my early twenties and having a bump that grew a lot bigger a lot quicker meant I had to invest in maternity clothes earlier on.
Again post maternity clothes were a bit of a funny one, and man that pregnancy hormone hair shine!
When Mabli turned one I decided to make the blog a little more professional. Don’t get me wrong I use my Google Pixel predominantly and love a quick phone snap but I wanted to start working with professional photographers to create a sleeker look for outfit shots over here. I think by this point hitting my thirties I naturally felt a bit of change in my style too. I think my style has changed more by getting older than by having children. How to dress in your 30s? I say anyway you want!
I also feel like I need to take into account here that at this point in my blogging journey, I was being offered clothes by brands which meant I was able to wear clothes I wasn’t previously able to afford. I think this influenced my evolving style too as these items were catered towards people my age and although they were still bright and colorful they were also cut to a higher standard and more considered perhaps in their prints and tones.
It’s been a bit of a journey seeing how my style has evolved and changed over the past decade. and now I’m learning how to dress in your 30s. I’m kind of excited to see where it will be when I’m 40’s!
(some images by the wonderful Lauren Jayne Hall)
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One Response
Love being able to see your style change so much! I don’t think mine has changed much in recent years – having kids and my changing body shape has really killed my love of shopping. I find dressing myself in a way that feels comfortable and practical but yet still has a defined style really difficult. My pinterest boards are full of gorgeous outfits and a very clear look – which I struggle to translate into real life! q