A sense of style is personal and unique for each person, and it is important to start developing it from an early age. Style, therefore, is what you are the most comfortable in, and what makes you feel your best. As a parent, you can guide your children on how they can develop a sense of style using the following tips.

Give Them Guidelines

Most children start to develop a sense of style as early as when they turn five years old. This means that they will likely want to pick out the clothes they wear to school. At this point, it is important to work with them to find the best clothes for school and those that adhere to the school rules while still letting your child’s personality shine through. When going shopping or out to have fun, the style can be a lot more relaxed and playful, as long as it’s something they want.

Give Them Variety

While children are still young, a great way for parents to help them develop their style is by giving them a variety of options. Consider what they consistently pick and try to get more of that when getting them clothes. This way, they will have more of what they love and will enjoy getting dressed to go places.

Let Them Choose

Since you are helping them develop their style, it is important to let them have a choice. While you will share guidelines with them and buy them the clothes at the end of the day, give them some space to let their choices shine through. Letting them make the decision will start to build their confidence, making them develop great self-esteem as well. If they have interests that can reflect on clothing, you could have them printed on t-shirts, for instance. This should be easy to do, with the printing industry being the 151st largest industry in America, making it easy to find a good print shop.

Show Them How to Match

While you are giving them guidelines for what is okay for school and different settings, you should also give them some tips on how to match outfits, both clothes and shoes. A few pointers include telling them that jeans go with pretty much everything else, and a solid bottom should be paired with a busy top, with shoes in a color complementing the bottom should be okay. After this, step back and let them have a hand at pairing their clothes, keeping in mind that their taste may be different from yours. As long as they are decent, let them know they did a good job and they will be happy to keep refining their taste over time. A whopping 82% of young men admitted to wearing odd socks at least one day a week, and so there’s no need to sweat the small stuff.

Help Them Accessorize

Many people make it into adulthood without learning the intricacies of accessories, so you can change this for your children. Let them have fun with colors and textures, for example, by getting them lapel pins. These are small pins they can wear on clothing to show their affiliation with a cause or affiliation they are passionate about. Think the environment, endangered animals, or even a rock band!

Helping children develop their own sense of style is a delicate balance of guiding and keeping your distance. Start small by letting them pick clothes they want to wear around the house, and soon enough they will be able to pick their school outfits. This will not only make you a proud parent, but it will also take off the pressure of having to pick their clothes out for them.