Share your experience developing your personal style! Pinterest boards? Trial and error? What worked and what didn't?

I am curious about how everyone went about developing their personal style without ending up with way too many clothes that didn't work. I'm especially curious about people whose styles don't neatly fit into one category (like goth or clean girl or super boho) but are a bit in between a bunch of different styles. What worked for you? What didn't? How do you reconcile a personal style with various activities you do (like does your work wardrobe exist separately from your life wardrobe, what about athletic wear? or do you prioritize your activities when determining your style?)