Have you ever felt like you’ve lost your sense of style or that you never had one to begin with? Life can get busy, and sometimes our personal style takes a backseat. But don’t worry, you’re not alone. Here we’ll explore practical tips and strategies to help you rediscover and refine your fashion identity.
Find Your Sense of Style
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Having lost your sense of style can put you at the mercy of influencers, from social media influences to celebrity style and fashion magazines and even the shop assistant when you’re out trying things on.
1. The Influence of Fashion Trends and External Opinions
Do you find yourself at the mercy of fashion trends and other people’s agendas when it comes to style? Your style can easily become not your style, when you turn to sources of style information that don’t take into consideration who you are, from social media influences to celebrity style and fashion magazines and even the shop assistant when you’re out trying things on.
It’s time to break free from external influences and embrace your own unique fashion journey.
2. The Magic Wand: Your Style Education
Ever wished for a magic wand to solve your style dilemmas? Look no further than getting a style education.
Are you attracted or repelled by colourful outfits and pattern mixing? This will tell you something about your personal style
Understanding what works for you, your personality traits, and how you want to be perceived is key to developing your sense of style.
Your personal style should be a reflection of your authentic self, not just a mimicry of trends or celebrity fashion choices.
If you’re unsure of who you are, how you want to be perceived and what you want to express, it’s all too easy to be influenced by others and this is not good for your style, wardrobe or budget, as you’ll end up spending lots on clothes that aren’t really you.
3. Personality Traits and Clothing
There is a really strong correlation between personality and the styles of clothing and accessories you choose. From fabrics to patterns, from structure to fit, everything you love to wear, and what you hate is all impacted by your personality traits. What’s great is that you can explore the correlation between personality traits and clothing styles.
Do you prefer a more relaxed and discreet style, to blend in rather than stand out?
- If you lean towards traditional or conservative traits, classic and structured pieces may resonate with you.
- Feminine individuals might gravitate towards curvy silhouettes, delicate details, and lighter fabrics.
- Relaxed and casual personalities often prefer comfortable, nature-inspired colors and low-maintenance clothing.
These are just three examples of how personality influences style choices, though there is so much more to this topic than what I’ve mentioned here, which is why we dive deep into this topic in my 7 Steps to Style program as it’s such an important step in finding your style.
4. Personality and Sense of Self
Losing your sense of style can often lead to a loss of identity. Alternatively, major life changes like retirement, leaving work and having a child, or changing industries at work where dress codes are very different, are times when often there is a feeling of struggling with your style, as what had worked is now no longer what works for you right now but you don’t know which way to turn and what to wear.
Personality plays a crucial role in finding or refining your style. This is because there is such a correlation between personality traits and what you enjoy wearing, what feels like you. When you dive deep into understanding who you are through self-reflection and embrace your true self and then get the education in style you need, you’ll actually find that your style is something that becomes more innate as you are discovering that part of you that was already there and learn how to express it through your outfits.
5. Stripping Back and Building From the Core
Something I’ve really noticed when working with clients, is that so often there are many layers (like layers of old wallpaper stuck on top of each other) that need to be stripped away to reveal who you really are at your core. There are so many preconceived notions, such as “what you should wear” to body image issues, that can hamper you to finding your true style. You want to step back and strip away those external filters to reveal your core identity.
So often women tell me one thing they struggle with is that people, where they live, wear a certain style of clothing and that they feel that they don’t want to just wear that, but don’t know how to have their own style yet fit in to their environment. This is why it’s so important to separate your style preferences from factors like body shape, coloring, lifestyle, and location, so that you can see what is you, and what are those external pressures or expectations.
If you don’t strip away all the body image issues and outside influences, you’ll never be able to identify your sense of style.
Maybe you prefer a more Classic style – and love a blazer, or something more dramatic like wearing the color red and high contrasts?
One way to uncover your aesthetic and personal loves, free from constraints, to build a genuine sense of style is to do my Visualise Your Style mini-course – which walks you through some simple but incredibly powerful steps to help you find your core and then discover your true style preferences without all those external filters you’ve been applying without realising it.
6. Fashion vs. Style
Understand the distinction between fashion and style. Fashion is just one of the tools in your style toolbox; it’s not the be-all and end-all of style. Fashion is what is currently available in stores. Style is your own expression of self that you show the world through your outfit choices.
Style is an expression of your identity, and it goes beyond following someone else’s formula or wearing the latest fashion trends.
Style takes you into account, your body, your colouring, your preferences, whilst fashion takes none of this into account, which is one of the reasons shopping for clothes can be so frustrating, because what fashion is serving up doesn’t relate to you and so you end up buying the “least worst” items you can find and this results in an “it’ll do” wardrobe, which is not ever going to make you feel stylish.
7. Developing Your Style Recipe
Discover the power of a style recipe, a personalized guide for your fashion choices. It’s been described by some of my 7 Steps to Style members as their North Star, because it’s such an incredibly useful tool that assists you when you’re shopping, when you’re putting outfits together, and in fact, ideally will be a guide for everything you choose and flow across your whole life.
However, creating a style recipe is challenging without a clear understanding of your identity. This is why you need to focus on getting back to basics and defining your core identity to create a style recipe that truly resonates with you.
8. The Importance of Style Education
Recognize the value of a style education. This is because fashion is not going to help you, as I mentioned before fashion doesn’t take into account who you are and what you like, and what actually works for you. It’s a tool, like a hammer, which is a useful tool, but you need more than a hammer to build your style house.
Style is a science that can be learned and mastered, even if you weren’t born with an innate sense of style. You don’t have to be born with style, which is fabulous, because I definitely wasn’t born with style! This is why I’m a great style educator and teacher, because I’ve struggled myself and understand many of the pitfalls that you too may be experiencing.
I want you to gain confidence, enhanced self-esteem, and feel empowered to make fashion choices that align with who you are. This will give you more courage to do the things you want to do in your life. It helps you feel more comfortable standing out, or even speaking up or engaging with others as you’re not lacking confidence because you feel your style is holding you back.
Your sense of style is an integral part of your self-expression. By embarking on a style education journey, you’ll discover the joy of expressing your authentic self through clothing. Remember, fashion trends may come and go, but your personal style is timeless. Embrace the opportunity to refine your sense of style and present the most amazing version of yourself to the world.
I’d love to hear about your style struggles and help you find your sense of style. Together, let’s create a personal brand image that reflects who you truly are!
