We, at Bowties and Bones, are not big on resolutions. But keeping in mind, rising credit card bills and unfulfilled travel dreams, we decided to put together Bowties and Bones’ 2017 Style Resolutions. There are 17 of them, aptly so.

Now that the annual “New Year, New Me” resolutions and memes have died down, well over a fortnight into 2017, we decided to take a hard look at our wardrobe and make some Style Resolutions. My wardrobe (and life) was all over the place in 2016 and that is something I intend to fix in 2017. As I began to write this piece, I realised how much of my personal life was seeping into this post. which is why I added a few resolutions I hold close to my heart.

And with that, let us begin our “listicle“, shall we?

1. Cut down on colors – I have a myriad range of colors in my wardrobe. Be it my watches, sneakers, tees or denims. So my first 2017 Style Resolution is going to be cutting down on colors and embracing my love for normcore and minimal style.This video right here, of my first ever shopping haul of 2017 should give you an idea!

2. Keep my outfits prim and proper – I sure am very specific when it comes to the maintenance of my sneakers. After each use, they are washed/cleaned, sun dried and put back into boxes. But I have been beating up my tees a lot. At times, I go to sleep in the same tee I wore all day. Worse still, if it is on a weekend I spend the rest of the next day home in it. This year on, I am going to wear them easy and get out of them once home and set them aside for cleaning. That way, they will look good and last longer which would minimise my need to shop frequently.

3. Challenge my personal style – While I pushed myself on the sneaker scene in 2016, this year is going to involve challenging myself to be in front of the camera bringing streetwear to the forefront. I mean, images of an entire outfit and not just sneakers. Because I am camera shy, I spent most of last year with the focus being below my knee. But in 2017, I will look at putting together a bunch of norm core looks and that would mean I also push some boundaries when it comes to my personal style.

4. Push forth relevant brands associated with streetwear culture in the Indian market – The likes of Thrasher and HUF. I want to introduce the Indian market to the streetwear culture. Last year I rode the sneaker culture wave and while I continue to do so, Streetwear is going to be my focus in 2017. What do I get out of it, considering these brands don’t even know of my existence (hence not sponsored) and acquiring these pieces is going to cost me a bomb? The opportunity to bring to your attention everything that is relevant and cool, as has always been! I do this for my readers, after all.

5. Clean out my wardrobe of random outfits and donate to charity – I have the habit of hoarding. It is not healthy, I have been aware of it for over 7 years now. But in the first 6 months of 2017 I intend to clean out my wardrobe and the house and get rid of random outfits, sneakers that are not very relevant. These would then be given away to charity. If i have not used it in 3 months, it deserves to be given away.

6. Consume more of streetwear labels – I don’t know if I can call them streetwear labels. I guess skate brands would be a more appropriate term. Brands like Stussy, Palace, HUF, Carhartt WIP, Obey, Undefeated and Thrasher are some of the brands I would want to induct into my collection. This will then help put together some fits which I can bring to my readers.

7. Shop in Japan / Hong Kong – This is a far fetch but from all the stuff I have been seeing on websites like Hypebeast and High Snobiety, these countries are like my dream destination. It involves a lot more than you think necessary, having to save a whole lot of cash first which is something I am pretty lousy at. But it is going to be a conscious move and I will do my best to achieve it.

8. Go easy on the shopping and save money, stick to only the grails/hype – I will need to ease up on random shopping and purchases. I will still need to buy some outfits but will stick to limited edition pieces or grails primarily. I am fortunate to get merch sent through by Brands every now and then and I am hoping the trend continues this year which would save me some much needed cash money. Same goes for sneakers. Only limited collection drops or collaborations will get a share of my wallet.

9. Buy 1 item that may be ridiculous in price but high on hype – The one thing I have wanted for a while are the box logo tees from Supreme. But I have had a tough time deciding between the impracticality of reseller prices and the desire to own one. However, at some point in 2017 I intend to get my hands on a piece.

Those were my style resolutions. What do yours look like? Continue reading to see the resolutions I made from a personal aspect.

10. Ease out on my social media use/dependency – The bane of our existence, social media, is something that at times manages to drain out your joy and ability to focus on the now. We often look to our likes / growing followers for that hit of dopamine, we are on our phones when out with friends or at work and even on the pot! Especially me, because I am always on YouTube or Instagram looking for inspiration or checking on how my posts are performing. Which is why I have decided that I will not check my social media pages for the first few hours of the day and instead focus on my workout, my dog Scratch and my friends (whenever they are around).

11. Spend time with friends and family – I missed the wedding of one of my closest friends, Manoj in 2016. And I have missed my older brother’s 10 year wedding Anniversary in Jan 2017 as of this post going live. Safe to say I am doing a shit job of this resolution. But I will fix this soon enough. It is my inability to plan my finances, backed with the lack of approved holidays at work that did this to me. It has to change if I intend to keep the resolution.

12. Focus on building my personal brand – Work and my website keep me busy 7 days of the week. Also, I use all of my free time researching or working on the next story. I seldom go out, attend events or network. All of which, are part of building your personal brand. That is changing in 2017.

13. Launch a brand of my own – Something that has been on hold since mid-2015. I have been going back and forth with my ideas, shared it with a person I thought would not plagiarise it but was proven horridly wrong. It is about time I did something about it. Perhaps I will begin by collaborating with some brands and dropping capsule collections.

14. Travel a lot more – Last year was perhaps the most I traveled overseas. There was Sri Lanka in January, Malaysia and Vietnam in August and Malaysia again in October. Intend to keep that going in 2017.

15. Hug my partner 5 times a day (at least) – They say hugs are good for health, increasing serotonin production and improving self-esteem. Which is why I shall dole out a minimum of 5 hugs every single day (that I am not mad).

16. Stop taking shit (from anyone) – Yup.

17. Stand by my words, like I always do – This, I am carrying forward from all these years. If I have a point and I believe it, I won’t back down unless in the face of evidence to the contrary. So you can trust me to be as outspoken, brutally brazen and unabashedly forthright as I always have.

So those are our 17 Resolutions for 2017. What about you folks? I am interested in listening to yours. Let me know through the comments.

And remember, as always, make this year count. Make 2017 count!