We’ve all seen the articles, blog posts, and instructional videos that some women rely on when choosing what to shop for.

The Best Bikini for Your Shape

How to Dress for Your Body Type

Outfits That Will Drive Him Crazy…

Often found in a fashion magazine or read about it in a personal style book, these pieces of “advice” are intriguing, and may provide a temporary feeling of safety, but don’t believe everything you read.

For a while, I found these guides as my shameless salvation. I listened, I learned, and I bought clothes based on what I was told would look good on me and the promises of success and ultimate nirvana that came with the perfect little black dress. Admittedly, it made shopping easy because I thought I knew exactly what I was looking for—but after a while, it no longer fun or exciting, it was mundane. Instead of an expression of my own personal style, fashion became about obedience. I didn’t decide what looked best on my body, someone else decided for me. Women are constantly being told how to dress for their significant other or how to wear only clothing that’s “flattering,” on their shape, and it’s brainwashed us into thinking that we need to be how to look good instead of figuring it out the old fashioned way: through trial, error, and acceptance. Shopping has become an endless tirade of following the rules instead of setting our own, and that ends now.

Sure, there are trusted fashion insiders who get paid to tell women what looks good on their body and what does not, but every piece of fashion advice should be taken with a grain of salt. The biggest problem with body-specific fashion advice is the idea that every woman’s body type is categorized by a small handful of descriptions. They vary from “hourglass” and “curvy” to “petite” or “pear shaped,” yet neither one of these titles are completely accurate. No two figures are identical.

Why should we restrict ourselves to certain items of clothing because they are most “appropriate” for societies categorization of our body type? The size of your breasts should not determine whether you wear vertical or horizontal stripes. The length of your legs should not determine whether the hem of your dress is below the knee of above. Your size should not determine what you can and cannot wear. Style is not what is deemed acceptable—style is how you accept yourself. Attempting to limit certain people to certain clothing is not helping anyone, it is taking away the opportunity to choose and decide the clothes you want to wear. I’m done following the rules, and you should be, too.