FASHION - Create Your Own “Signature Look”
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Summary -
If you want to make getting dressed and looking good as easy as possible, then you’ll want to create your own signature look. Regardless of whether fashion comes naturally to you or not, a signature look is the best starting point for any style journey. In this episode, you’ll learn everything you need to know about creating your own personalised uniform.
Things I Mention -
What is a signature look and why you should consider creating one
Famous personalities with well known signature looks
How to create multiple signature looks once you’ve created your first
PLUS, you’ll learn step by step how to create a signature look perfectly suited to your defined style, lifestyle and body shape.
Links & Helpful Resources -
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Some call it a repeat outfit, some call it a signature look - regardless of the name, a signature look is something you should 100% consider if you want to make getting dressed and looking good as easy as possible.
A signature look is the key to making sure you always have something to wear that you feel good in and that you know is flattering on your body shape. Having your own “look” is like having your own personalised uniform, it’s one of the biggest indicators of a defined style - it leaves a lasting impression on those around you and gives people something visual to remember you by. Think of a signature look as an outfit that people picture you wearing, when they think of you - the outfit that you would wear if you were made into a cartoon character.
Whether you are a complete newbie when it comes to fashion or a seasoned pro, a signature look is the best starting point for any style journey. The concept itself is not new. When you think about it, nearly every single style icon, from Audrey Hepburn to Twiggy had or has a strong signature that springs to mind. Having a signature look signifies a considerable amount of self-knowledge: you know what you like, who you are and what suits you. This confidence makes it all the more powerful.
Here are a few modern day examples of famous personalities who are well known for their signature looks -
EMMANUELLE ALT
Ankle Length Denim, Basic Tops, A Pair of Pumps, Minimal Accessories
KATE MIDDLETON
Pencil Dresses, Waist-cinching Garments, Neutral Clutches, Small Drop Earrings
DITA VON TEESE
Body-Hugging Pencil Dresses, 10-Inch Heels, Cat-Eye Sunglasses, A Red Lip, Winged Eye-Liner
VICTORIA BECKHAM
Button Up Shirts, Trousers, Coats/ Blazers, Clutch Bags, Pointed Heels, Smokey Eye Make-up
Now that you’ve defined your personal style and have identified your lifestyle (episode #49), it’s time to turn your attention to creating your own ‘signature look’. Why? Because having an outfit or two that you can fall back on time & time again, eliminates a common struggle that most women have when it comes to dressing and that’s not knowing what to wear plus a lack of time to even think about it!
To create your own signature look you have to dig deep into all that outfit inspiration you collected when defining your personal style (episode #46). You’re going to deconstruct that inspiration by finding 5 elements that reoccur in most of the images that inspired you.
So once you’ve listened to this podcast, take a look over your outfit inspiration. You’ll need to set some time aside to do this effectively. Jot down these 5 headings (these are the 5 elements) - clothing, colours, accessories, hair & make-up (that’s 1 heading) and finally, styling tweaks. Now looking at your inspiration images -
CLOTHING
What clothes can you see repeatedly popping up throughout your inspiration? Do you notice lots of skinny jeans, maxi dresses, basic tees or blazers? You’ll want to take note of any clothes that consistently reoccur because they will form your signature look. What happens though if you see something pop up just once or twice? In this case, I’d consider it a one-off which could be introduced to your wardrobe as a “trend” piece, rather than the clothes that make up your signature look.
COLOURS
Is there a dominant colour palette or a lot of the same colours? If your defined personal style is minimal, it’s likely that your inspiration would consist of neutral colours such as black, white, grey and tan. This tells you that your signature look should include black, white, grey & tan.
ACCESSORIES
Can you see a lot of the same accessories? You may notice a lot of clutch or large tote bags. Perhaps most of the shoes are either heels or ankle boots in classic styles and maybe there are lots of minimal sunglasses and belts. Again, we are looking for accessories that show up more than once or twice - at least 5+ times depending on how much inspiration you collected.
HAIR & MAKE-UP
Are there any similarities between the hair and make-up looks? Are most hairstyles worn out and effortless or tied back and polished? What make-up looks do you see? The make-up could be quite minimal but a bold lip is seen throughout. There might be no heavy make-up looks or creative faces, just simple, understated looks.
STYLING TWEAKS
A styling tweak is a way in which you can change the look & feel of an outfit by the way a garment is worn. Styling tweaks are often the difference between a garment working well on your body shape or not. These are things like shirt tucks, rolled sleeves, cuffed jeans & trousers, layered clothing, the way a bag is worn or how a scarf is tied. Without these styling tweaks, outfits don’t look as polished. Notice any styling tweaks that constantly show up throughout your inspiration and practice applying these to your own outfits.
After you’ve analysed your inspiration, you should have a small list of recurrences under each element's heading. From here, you can begin to create as few as 1 or as many as 3-4 outfits that you can use as your signature look. Ensure of course that you’ve chosen clothes & colours that suit your body shape and skin-tone and remember the outfits need to work with your lifestyle too.
T-Shirt, Skinny Jeans, Belt, Heels
Flowy Dress, Tote Bag, Sneakers
Camisole, Midi Skirt, Sunglasses, Sandals
Once you’ve established your signature look/s, the elements that contribute to those outfits (specific clothes, accessories, hair & make-up) should take top priority when shopping. In an ideal world, you’d aim to have about 3-4 variations of each piece of clothing and/or accessory to be able to mix & match and come up with different and exciting outfit combinations. Also, feel free to keep your signature looks exciting and on -trend by introducing different colours, prints, styles and fabrics per season.
And to finish, Arianna Huffington once said that "women already bear the cost of sleep-deprivation & burnout so celebrating and owning the idea of repeats is a great way to begin to close the gap, affording women the same freedom (in the form of time, money and thought) that men have in putting together their outfits for the day".