discover your personal style
I recently talked about getting your closet organized and how to determine what to keep and what to purge by asking yourself five questions about each item in your closet. One of the questions is: does the item reflect your personal style? But, what if you don’t know what your personal style is?
The first thing I do with every brand new client is conduct a style interview, the goal of which is to determine what your personal style is, or what you would like it to be. This is so important because, while it’s fun to see what new styles the fashion industry comes up with each season, it’s really about wearing what makes you feel great. I’d love to work with you one-on-one to help you determine your own personal style. In the meantime, here are some exercises you can do on your own.
Step 1: Create a Fashion Portfolio
Go through fashion magazines and catalogs and tear out pictures of anything you love. Anything! You are not buying these things. It doesn’t matter if an item has a $14,000 price tag on it. You just have to love it. You can also get images from online – print them out or create a Pinterest board. After you’ve created your portfolio, go through each image and try to describe what it is that attracts you to each.
Step 2: List Your Personal Preferences
Create two columns on a sheet of paper and label them: what I like and what I don’t like. Here is a chance to really vent. Do you like pastel colors and hate neutrals? Do you enjoy wearing prints but they have to be abstract prints and definitely not florals? Your answers are the only right answers. This is just about preference. Consider colors, textures, patterns, styles, details, fabrics, etc.
Step 3: Moving Away From, Moving Toward
In order to have a wardrobe that is just right for you, you need to know where you’re starting from and where you’re headed. Think about your style, your closet, getting dressed, the variety of things you have to choose from, etc. What are you having a hard time with? Those things are what you want to move away from. If those problems were gone, what are the solutions that would be in place of them? If your wardrobe worked for you 100%, what would it look like? Those are the things you’re moving toward.
As you complete these exercises, look for adjectives that keep coming up for you in the description of your preferences, images you like and ideals. These adjectives will be your style words. Use them as a road map as you build your wardrobe and outfits.
There are unlimited adjectives that you can use to describe your style but here are a few examples: adorable, classic, intelligent, conservative, creative, artsy, edgy, unique, dramatic, sophisticated, elegant, simple, luxurious, feminine, pretty, approachable, alluring, sporty, whimsical.
