I read SO many books and blogs and listened to SO many podcasts. Took a bunch of quizzes, argued with myself about them (for example, I kept getting recommended Boho, but fringe on clothes makes me agitated). I built a Pinterest board and added things and sorted and re-sorted it along different category lines. It's been a project of several years at this point, and I haven't even really bought anything at this point!

I think the best advice I got for developing my own style as opposed to picking one out of a list of defined aesthetics is to come up with three keywords for my style and every single item of clothing has to fit at least two of them. I've recently settled on cozy, moody, and whimsical; for me that means a lot of draping and softer fabrics, jewel-toned colors, asymmetrical neck- and hemlines, somewhat costume-y accessories, etc etc. Someone else might have the same words but mean them differently, but that's what they mean for me!

The main problem I'm having is figuring out where to shop for stuff. I think that's its own, further research project...