As the seasons start to change they bring with them a whole new set of styles, trends and thoughts about how next season's wardrobes will look. The transitions from summer to autumn and from winter to spring are some of my favourites times of years. In terms of fashion, they are the most exciting with Fashion Month bookending the period quite nicely, offering up new inspiration and the stores bringing in new lines with different cuts, lighter materials and injections of colour. Spending hours on Pinterest and Instagram gathering inspirations for looks and browsing the rails deciding how I want to build my wardrobe for the next season is one of my favourite ways to spend my time. I could easily indulge in a massive shopping spree, making the most of all of the new lines to hit down and playing around with style to no end, but in reality this isn't the way how I play it. Over the past few seasons I have learnt a lot about my personal style, what I love, what doesn't suit me and how I want to alter my wardrobe moving forward. Of these lessons there are a few that I'm going to be bearing in mind as we enter spring.

Just Have Fun

Fashion and personal style is meant to be fun. You're meant to experiment with different patterns, textures and cuts and enjoy the process. Sure you may look back in a few years and think 'WHAT was I thinking' but honestly that's probably going to happen anyway. It's better to look back and laugh a little than look back and be bored by what you see and wish you had embraced everything a little more. Fashion gives us the opportunity to express ourselves different every day so have some fun with it and enjoy trying different things. You don't have to buy everything, even just trying things on can be a fun way to add a twist to your style and refresh things a little. If they trend is particularly seasonal then don't invest a lot into it, the high street brands do great inspired-by pieces and more wearable takes on trends, if you spend less and decide it isn't for you then it's not so much of a waste.

Colour Isn't The Enemy

Over the past 12 months I have become much better at introducing more colour into my wardrobe and I've been loving it. I'm still a loyal fan of an all black/monochrome outfit but sometimes it's just fun to add in a shot of colour and to change things up a little. By picking the tones carefully and ensuring that they are still a cut and material that suits me I have managed to maintain the same core style to my wardrobe but with a little more colour. Accessories and tops are some of the easiest ways to introduce colour. I still prefer to invest in more monochrome/simple basics like denim, white shits and black jackets, but injecting colour through a different blouse or a  brighter bag is an easy way of staying true to your preferred style whilst still keeping it fun.

If you don't love it then return it

If you do not look and feel amazing when you put and item on then return it straight away. There is no point in hanging onto items that do not flatter you and do not leave you feeling confident. It doesn't matter if it's the latest trend or was a total bargain, if you don't feel good then you'll always avoid wearing it or just wear it and feel less than great, there is no point. Return whatever it is and invest your money back into something you do feel great in. That's not to say that you have to re-invest that money back into something that's boring or safely within your comfort zone if you don't want to, just make sure you spend your hard-earned cash on things that make you feel as great as you should.

It's all about the cut

The cut and shape of an item really is key and can make or break your entire look in a matter of seconds. There's no harm in playing around with different cuts and styles but know what does and doesn't suit you. If it doesn't flatter you then you will always find an excuse not to wear it. Whenever you go to buy something try it on and assess whether it actually looks how you thought it would, if it suits you and if it's comfortable. If it isn't then the chances are that you'll never get the wear out of it.

Playing with your style can be so much fun, enjoy it, embrace trends but make sure that ultimately you're still picking things that suit you, are cut well and generally flatter you. You'll get so much more out of your wardrobe and the items you already own plus you'll invest more wisely in anything else that you add into the mix.