Style it out
We all know someone who has a great sense of style. As you read those words, someone pops into your head. It's a look they seem to pull together effortlessly every day. There are different versions of it too; dress down, dress up, or even with a cherry on top. What is their secret? Were they born with this certain, as the French say, ‘Je ne sais quoi’ or is there something more thought out underneath all that chic?
It's true that some people are naturally creative, and everything they touch turns to gold, but for the most part, fine tuning your Personal Style can require a little work. I just need to mention the words 'Style Personality' to my clients and their hands cover their eyes and they start to grimace. There is something about focusing on ourselves which can make even the most confident amongst us feel bashful. It time to take off the masks and reveal the authentic you.
I do appreciate how daunting it can be if you decide to buck the copycat culture which is all around us and embrace your own style identity. If this is, you, then I am hoping this blog will help you. If we think basically, you can wear whatever you want to avoid walking around naked. So dressing ourselves is just like wrapping a present. You can play it safe and choose not to let your personal style shine through or you can delve deep, bring out your own identity, let it be unique to you and identifiable to others. As Isis Apfel said,
'Great style is extreme curiosity about yourself.'
So, let’s get curious. To help my clients explore their style personality, I follow a two-step process. First, you create a mood board, and then in the second step, you describe your style in words. The mood board captures your overall style, while the written summary highlights the key qualities. Style profiles need to be inspiring and practical at the same time. Mood boards depict your style as a whole, an expression of your imagination, and written summaries put words to it. So not complicated at all.
Before we dive in, a word of advice. It's helpful if you know which colours suits your complexion, see (Colour Code) and which styles and shapes of clothing suit your body shape, see Shape and Style . By doing this, you will be able to nail your signature style more easily. If you haven't done your 'colours' yet and aren't sure what shapes or styles work for you, still get started. You might want to think about it in the future.
1 - The Mood Board
A mood board is a common and creative way to express your ideas. Today, the mood board focuses solely on you. It's a collection of images which will help you visualize abstract ideas and pictures. The process is just as important as the final product. Your goal is to have something you can use as a visual reference to your style, but choosing and arranging the images will give you a sense of how everything works together.
You can create a mood board the old-fashioned way, cutting, sticking, and collating. This is my favourite way. Stick the images that represent your style to a piece of cardboard. There's something quite therapeutic about this basic process. It could look like the below.
A more digital option is to download an app called Canva, where you can save your images and then upload them. The major advantage of this is that it is faster and can be shared, but the old-fashioned method above allows time for consideration. Here's an example of a mood board on Canva.
You can also make a mood board using an app called Pinterest, which you're probably familiar with. As a downside, you cannot arrange your images side by side, so the entire image collection isn't accurately portrayed. But its a great resource and can help get you started. I use this alot to share images with my clients.
Tips for selecting images
1 - Use images that show all the elements of your style, including colour, material, and style.
2 - Show the overall feeling of the look you are aiming for with your image selection
To meet both criteria, focus on each image one by one, starting with the individual components of your style. Make a list the list of colours, themes, silhouettes, styling techniques and materials and then find a picture which best represents all of them.
Fine tuning your mood board
Having chosen your images, now it is time to arrange them onto your canvas according to the style you are envisioning. Consider this quote by Rachel Zoe when looking at your board.
‘Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak’
Do you think your board is true representation of what you would like others to see? Give each aspect of your style a proportionate amount of space on your mood board based on how important they are. In some cases, colours, silhouettes, or materials are absolutely essential, and in others, they are merely accents. Give the ideas and elements that truly represent your style a centre spot or use several examples to demonstrate them. Accent pieces and ideas should be placed near the edge. Keep tweaking your mood board until it represents exactly what you want. You can add images, take some away, until you feel you have a true reflection of what you were trying to convey.
2 - The written summary
Don’t be afraid. It gets easier the more words you put down. As you write a summary of your style, you are providing yourself with something concrete and tangible to refer to as you tailor your wardrobe. The mood board will have helped you get a sense of your style. When you look at your mood board, do you notice a theme? Or perhaps your board includes repeating patterns, materials, or colours. Use the board to answer the questions below and jot down some answers.
· What’s the overall feeling of this style?
· What are the most important pieces?
· Which colours am I drawn to the most?
· Which silhouettes, cuts and fits of clothing work with my body shape?
Now that you've got a few words down, you're off to a good start! Here's where the fun begins. Let your imagination run wild as you put pen to paper with a creative licence. Let the questions below serve as a prompt. For a bit of inspiration, I've put examples under each question of what my previous client wrote. She loved this process and was happy to share her musings. And some of her most loved pieces are below.
Your prompts…
· Can you put a name to your Style?
Feminine and colourful with a laidback sense of style and an easy-going attitude in the day and heightened glam for evening wear.
· Could you summarize your style in a few sentences?
My personal style is based on small patterned, feminine pieces combined with modern, clean and fitted staples. I like a colourful palette and accessories are an important part of my look.
· The typical outfit for this style looks like this:
A long, colourful, patterned, ditsy print maxi skirt in a crepe or silk. A tight crew neck jumper in a neutral colour, chunky costume jewellery and suede ankle boots.
· How does this style reflect the wearer's personality? How would you describe it in three words?
Creative, feminine and she puts thought and time into what she is wearing.
· The key pieces of this style are:
Feminine dresses, skinny jeans, interesting jumpers, leather jackets, costume jewellery and converse pumps.
· What are the dominant colours?
Charcoal grey, light navy, coral, mint, teal, geranium, and gold
· Which styles and cuts of clothing work with this style?
Fit and flare dresses, tops which have a V shape neckline and end above the hip bone, fitted jackets, skinny jeans and chunky footwear.
· What type of fabrics work well with this style?
Cotton, wool blends, stretch denim.
· Can you describe the styling?
Accessorises with thick waist belts, costume jewellery, leather jackets, colourful heels, white wedge converse or chunky boots.
The meeting of two styles. Peace or war?
When people ask me if two styles can be blended together, my answer is YES! Absolutely! The key to defining your own personal style lies in finding out what works for your body shape and translating that into a look that is uniquely you. There are many words used to describe style, such as boho, preppy, classic, minimalist, euro chic, etc but i think that make us feel like we must adhere to these confines. If your style is French chic meets punk rock, then fabulous, we can make it work! In analysing both styles, it's important to look at the elements as a whole - colours, shapes, textures, etc. Choose pieces that work well together, and you've got your own French chic meets punk rock style.
Now for naming your Personal Style!
The good thing is that no one needs to see this bit, it's just for your own clarity. No matter how uncomfortable the words seem together, don't worry. We're just providing you with some concrete clarity here... not a new heading for the Daily Mail. Some ideas
An urban twist on preppy
Leisure wear with 60’s spin
Bohemian and hippy chic meets country classic
A dress down vibe with weekday city chic fabrics
Easy to wear, eclectic glam
Country men's wear with a colourful twist
Casual street style meets Miami
Urban minimalism
Today's Audrey Hepburn
Modern bohemian
Cosmopolitan, stylish, and colourful
Chic Euro natural and relaxed
The essence of femininity and romance
This list is endless, and as you can see anything goes. It’s all about your style and what describes you. So, get messy and put down whatever words mean something to you. Change it as many times as you need to.
It’s a wrap!
When you're done with your style profile, pat yourself on the back! You have nailed down the ‘definition of your style’ and are now on the way to creating your perfect wardrobe styled stamped by you. But…. before you jump in the car and head for the high street, take a breath and think about the ending of this chapter and what the beginning of the next one might look like.
With all the cemented knowledge about yourself, it’s time to take a peek into your current wardrobe and see what you are going to be working with when you move onto putting these ideas into a physical reality. Can you see which aspects of your current wardrobe are different from those in your ideal wardrobe?
I am going to cover how to do a wardrobe edit in another blog, but the task for now is to focus is to on what to keep and what to rehome. You can keep the momentum up without all exact information on how to go about it. I don’t recommend emptying your wardrobe in one go, so make sure you have the basic pieces covered to tide you over, its chilly outside! You can start to dream about the parts you want to revamp and make plans for choosing new pieces in the New Year. Your future wardrobe will say, I know who I am and I understand that real style is never right or wrong. I am being my self on purpose. I choose to buy wisely, choose well and make it last!
Working with me
For many people, understanding how to dress to look their best can make a big difference to their self confidence. If you like to understand more about your body shape and what styles of other clothes would suit you, then head to the Shape and Style section on my website.
To make an appointment with me, head to the ‘Work with me’ section on my website.