With so many fashion choices today, it seems many styles of clothing are becoming streamlined.  With t-shirts emblazoned with “retro” styles and special-fade jeans, it seems nearly everyone has adopted one form of a trend or another.  So how can you stand out with your outfit?  Even with brand names as part of your wardrobe, you can still create your own unique style.  Or you can just start your personal wardrobe from scratch!

New T-Shirts

New t-shirts are great to experiment with, but don’t you dare go to the mall for them!  Go to a craft store, like Michael’s, and buy a colourful batch of their plain t-shirts for around $5 each.  Now you won’t feel bad about “wrecking” a nice pre-designed shirt.  Get creative by buying a handful of fabric paint and markers.  Now get painting!  Make sure you put a piece of cardboard inside the t-shirt so the paint doesn’t soak through to the other side.

Keep in mind, this isn’t a huge investment, so feel free to start over.  My suggestion though, is to keep going until the end.  You never know how well modifying a painting or adding a few strokes will work.  Best of all, no matter how it turns out, you can always call it your very own abstract work.  This can be based on almost anything, like your favourite photograph or even portraits.  The point is to go nuts with what you have and then take it a little further.

The T-Shirts in Your Closet

You don’t have to wreck these.  There is plenty you can do to put your name on them (figuratively, of course!).  The simplest way is to pair them up with other pieces, like blazers.  Say you have a Hollister t-shirt.  Everyone seems to be donning them these days.  To make it different, wear a fitted blazer over top or something else to layer over it.  For a more casual look, try a cardigan or even a fitted, collared shirt.

Something else you can try is, well, a little more radical.  Try ditching these popular styles altogether!  It seems drastic, but you don’t necessarily have to throw them away.  Keep these pieces tucked in a drawer so you can go back to them anytime you want, but take a week and just wear your custom creations.  You may feel liberated and that much more proud of yourself for coming up with a getup all your own.