Marina | February 27, 2014 | Fashion |

The key to looking great is being confident about yourself and the clothes that you are wearing. In fashion, there are lots of things to consider when picking out which clothes to choose, buy and use. A lot of us women have a certain style that we’ve worn for years. We tend to stick to the same style because it looks good on us and we’ve grown so used to it that we call pull it off even in our sleep. When it comes to fashion and your fashion sense, it’s always a great idea to have that one foolproof style you can wear flawlessly on a regular everyday basis but it’s not so bad to keep experimenting either. Exploring different styles is a great way for you to shake things up and keep your wardrobe updated. Here are 4 ways to broaden your sense of fashion.

• Get out of your comfort zone – this is the first step to exploring different styles in fashion. You will never be able to truly appreciate other trends if you continue to stick to your current style. When it comes to stepping out of your comfort zone, you don’t need to take one big leap from a fashion style to the next. You can always start with baby steps. If, for example, you have a current color you’re wearing that you discovered looks really good on you, stepping out of your comfort zone can simply be trying out other colors or adding different hues to your outfit through accessories. What’s important here is that you try out new things. You may not like everything you try out but the good thing is that you’re not obliged to keep those that don’t please you.

• Forget about the designer labels and the name brands – one of the most common things that hold a lot of us back from experimenting with fashion are the designer labels and name brands we prefer. While there’s nothing completely wrong about being loyal to a certain brand, reaching out for a piece from a different designer isn’t so bad either. You would be able to explore fashion and style even more if you just forget about all the labels and brands and go for those unnamed, unbranded pieces from smaller scale boutiques and shops

• Look out for smaller, lesser known indie designers – you know what the problem is with popular designer brands and labels? They give us the same thing at an incredulously high price just because of the name slapped on the labels. If you want to have a wider array of choices for fashion styles and trends, look out for smaller, lesser known indie designers. These are the designers who come up with stylish pieces and put out their best because they’re still struggling to get their names out there. Take advantage of this while you can.

• Shop smart – so you think the best place to find awesome deals is at the mall at outlet stores, huh? Well, let me tell you something. There are far more accessible places out there where you can get great finds from at unbelievably low prices like Ebay, Etsy and thrift shops. Yep, you read that right. Thrift shops. The perfect place to go if you need an unlimited selection of stylish pieces while you’re on a limited budget. Plus, the collections from these places are often so diverse you’ll find everything from girly to grungy to goth to anything you could think of all in one store.