FASHION - Do You Even Have A Style?
(Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeart or TuneIn)
Summary -
Do you even have a style? It sounds like such a simple question but the answer to this has the potential to create a real knock-on effect that negatively impacts your wardrobe, your finances and ultimately, the way you look and feel about yourself.
Things I Mention -
Receive a crystal clear answer to the question - Do you even have a style?
If you discover that you have a style but still feel that something's a miss? Find out why!
Learn the process to unlock what does and doesn’t speak to you when it comes to style
PLUS, I teach you how to create a name for your new defined personal style that will make shopping more successful in the future.
Links & Helpful Resources -
Join FEEL BE LOOK & improve the way you feel, be & look!
Download your FREE preview of my eBook - ‘The A to Z of Confidence’
Improve your personal style with my individual Body Shape eBooks
Think it’s impossible to improve the way you feel, be & look in just 30 days? Download my FREE 30 Day Challenge
Follow me on Instagram - @elishacasagrande
Define your personal style by browsing my Pinterest for outfit inspiration
Cull & organise your wardrobe with my new digital course - Cull Your Wardrobe Like A Stylist
Make sure you hit SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss out on any of my practical tips & tricks and if you enjoyed this episode, please leave me a rating and a review? Thanks!
I touched on the concept of a defined personal style when we discussed why your wardrobe doesn’t mix & match back in episode #16. Today though, we are going to explore this concept in a lot more detail and by the end of this episode, you’ll know whether you do or don’t have a style and if you don't, you’ll be on your way to creating one.
We all seem to want the same things - more wear out of our wardrobes, more versatility and more bang for our buck, yet most of us have trouble describing our style or more importantly, giving it a name. The catch though is that to achieve more wear, more versatility and more bang for your buck, you’ll need to know what your defined style is.
Your defined personal style can be summed up as a particular look that speaks to you the most - the one that consistently makes you feel comfortable & confident. Your go-to style! Aside from the time-saving, stress-reducing, financial freedom that comes with having a defined style, it’s also the strongest way to announce how you’d like to be recognised by others.
Having a defined style though doesn’t mean you need to wear the same outfit over & over again. You are allowed to try new things. Think of your defined style as your ‘base’ (or foundation) and from here, you can play with exciting new colours, fabrics, trend pieces, different accessories or even borrow from a friend/ partner if it suits. The goal is not to change your entire style dramatically. You want to avoid loving all things boho one year, then all things classic the next, then this season you’ve decided to channel those 1970’s vibes. Your defined style should remain consistent and evolve slightly with the changes happening in your life. Changing styles completely is the quickest way to become stuck in a rut.
Now bare with me, because I’m going to go ahead and compare working out what your style is, with learning to drive a car. You see, at first, learning to drive seems quite daunting, but when you get given a place to start, like learning the road rules for example, the impossible starts to seem somewhat possible. Our style is much the same and at first always seems very overwhelming to most and for good reason, it’s a topic full of conflicting advice & opinions. Having said this though, I’m about to give you a great place to start which is a crystal clear answer to the question … do you even have a defined personal style?
Ok, so answer me this -
Can your style be summed up in just 3 words? If the answer is no, then you have no defined style.
If yes, budget aside, could you easily put together a few outfits for yourself? No, then you have no defined style.
If yes, do you shop mostly from the same brands/ stores? No, then you have no defined style.
If yes, do you often wear the same sorts of outfits? If no, then you have no defined style.
If yes, do you spend less on items considered “on trend”? If you answered yes to this one, then do a little happy dance because you have a defined style which essentially means that the hardest part of getting dressed, looking great and feeling confident is already done. Don’t worry though if you answered yes but feel that somethings still a miss? It could be that -
The clothes in your wardrobe don’t reflect your lifestyle or climate (more on that in a future episode)
The way you shop needs some attention
You need to experiment a little more with styling your existing clothes.
Your wardrobe needs to be culled or re-organised - (speaking of which, if you haven’t heard about my new digital course - how to cull your wardrobe like a stylist, definitely check that one out at www.elishacasagrande.com.au/shop. I’ll leave a link in the show notes too!)
Now, if you don’t have a defined personal style, all is not lost, you’ve just got some homework to do but let me tell you, you’ll actually enjoy this kind of homework.
The process of unlocking a style that speaks to you the most, starts by collecting inspiration online to discover what clothes, colours, accessories, styling and outfits appeal to you. This could take you a few hours or it could take you weeks - there is no time limit. To do this, you’ll want to set some time aside to browse either Pinterest or Instagram for outfit inspiration. To help you out with this, you can jump over to my Pinterest account (@ecstylist) and I’ve created separate boards for 9 of the most common personal styles and they’re full of outfit inspiration. Don’t feel like you are limited to those 2x platforms though, you can also search online magazines, blogs, google famous personalities or visit some of your favourite brands websites.
As you do this, you’ll want to save any images that inspire you and that you would actually wear yourself. Remember to think about your lifestyle & climate too. Before saving an image, ask yourself- would I actually wear something like this and could I wear it comfortably doing what I spend most of my time doing?
Once you’ve saved a stack of inspiration, the next step is to cull your inspiration images. Any image that you second guess, question, can’t see yourself wearing anymore or isn’t on the money for whatever reason, needs to go. The goal is to cull all of your images down to a more manageable number so you can then transform this inspiration into an actual style specifically suited to you, your lifestyle and your climate.
Once complete, it’s time to jot down any words that spring to mind to describe the final set of inspiration images you’ve collected. Go to town here and write whatever pops into your head. For eg. minimal, boho, romantic, classic, retro, formal, bright, masculine, parisian, casual, coastal, relaxed, pretty, girly, active etc.
Once you’ve got a few words written down, finish off by circling the top 2 words that really resonate with you. These 2 words will form the name of your defined personal style. The name doesn’t need to make sense to anyone but you. Giving your style a name is more about giving you something to visualise to make buying more successful in the future. If a particular garment, accessory or outfit doesn’t fit within these 2 words, you’ll know it’s not worth the investment.
Honestly, have fun with this process. Just an FYI though, this episode will contribute to so many others to come so if there’s one episode to take inspired action from, it’s this one. Happy Browsing!