What is Authentic Style
It's one of my central principals as my aim in life is to help you find a style that is authentic to you, It's why I don't do lots of "you must buy this garment" posts because just buying what I wear or what I recommend is unlikely to be authentic to you and in the end is wasteful rather than being helpful.
Jill Chivers of 16 Style Types and I discuss the idea of how to find your authentic style in this video - watch it now!
Are You Sick of Making Style Mistakes?
This is one of the reasons the you may really be here, as you're sick of making mistakes and you're scared of going too far, you've bought the wrong items time and again and they either sit in your wardrobe unworn, or you wear but never feel comfortable in your clothing. This can make you close down your style as you are too scared to go wrong again and waste more (and guilt can consume how you feel about these shopping mistakes, as if you are wrong, rather than you don't have the style education you need to make great choices for you - it's really not your fault!).
It may be hard for you to believe, but leopard print wasn't always in Jill's wardrobe, and it wasn't a signature print until she discovered how well it suit her patterned skin and how she feels totally authentic wearing it.
Clothes are Incredibly Personal
This is because they touch your skin, in the most intimate places and they stop you from being naked. They are armor in a way.
When you have to wear clothes that you didn't choose, they often don't feel right - they are not "yours" and you didn't "choose" them. They don't feel authentic to you and your style.
Hot pink has always been a colour I feel authentic wearing and statement necklaces are now a very authentic part of my style, I like different styles of jewellery, some a little quirky that express my personality.
Ponder These Questions
- If you don't believe you have an authentic style right now, why is that?
- Are you following someone else's formula?
- Are you copying someone else's style?
- When you're wearing a garment that others compliment you on, but it never feels right on your body, why is that?
- What has gotten in the way of you expressing your authentic style?
Awareness precedes choices, without that knowledge you can't make a better choice.
Your style journey didn't start this instant, you've got decades leading up to it. There have been hurdles to you developing your style, they can be messages from the past, or old/out-of-date style rules. If you never shine a light on what's holding you back, you can't let go of those pieces of information and move forward developing a personal style that is authentic to you.
- Where do you want to go with your style?
- What do you like about what you are seeing in the mirror?
Finding Your Authentic Style
You have to have a starting point to your style, and finding something that you like isn't about vanity, it's about you and the energy and your essence that you bring to the world.
When you're looking for your authentic identity, style is a visual communication all about who you are, where you are, what you want, where you're going, and what you value. What is fantastic is that you have so much control over so much of this as you get to choose most of what you wear (unless you have to wear a uniform which you have no choice over).
What we aim to do in our Your Type of Style program is help you take your Style Essence (the inner you) and help you figure out how to translate that into your Style Expression (the concrete format of the actual clothes and accessories you choose to wear), in a way that feels completely authentic to you.
We are not taught this at school or growing up. Most of the time we're stumbling around in the dark trying all sorts of different pieces of advice from fashion magazines, to friends, sales assistants, and family .... what we want to do for you is to help you turn on the light so you are no longer stumbling but instead can plot yourself a clear path.
We only open our Your Type of Style program once a year (August) so if you're interested in discovering just how to use your personality type to find your authentic style, then we'd love you to join us - find out more here.
