As a follow-on from yesterday’s Style vs. Fashion article, today I’ll explain how to define your own personal style!

Keeping in mind that the evolution of your style is a personal and ephemeral process, there are no hard-and-fast rules for achieving something that, essentially, is different for every one of us. Fashion might spout off 10 Things You Must Buy this Winter!, but style is more about refining your vision over time and creating a look that empowers you and makes you feel good. Below is a comprehensive guide to help you unleash your inner style icon!

1. Make a list of people whose style you admire

These can be fictional or real people, movie characters, celebrities, or people you know. Determine which elements of their style you love — is it the fact that their hair always looks slightly messy and ‘undone’, or does the contrast of their pale skin and signature ruby lips make you swoon?

Collect photos of your icons — tear pages out of magazines and print pics from the web (sites like Flickr, The Sartorialist or Foto Decadent are all fantastic sources of inspiration). Be wary of copying a look head-to-toe — becoming a clone is not the objective! Instead, identify the elements of their style that you think will translate well for you (for example, their penchant for heavy black eyeliner or 50’s style frocks), and add your own unique flavour to make the look all yours!

Extra tidbit:

• Check out the Vogue Cover archive for hair, make-up & artistic inspiration… I love trawling through this!

2. Create a Personal Style Book

Page from my Personal Style Notebook

Because I had access to every fashion magazine under the sun at my last job, I used to have a ring binder folder (with plastic sleeves) filled with hundreds of magazine tear-outs, quotes from designers (Coco Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld et al), mood/ trend board print outs, and other interesting things such as make-up and hairstyles I coveted, unusual design elements and great colour combinations.

While the binder allowed me to easily slip in new tear-outs, it ended up becoming a hulking beast of a thing — and unless you have somewhere to display a binder so that you can flick through it on a regular basis, my suggestion is to create a style notebook instead.

Start by ripping out everything you love from your favourite magazines and printing pictures from websites. Amazing photoshoots, outfits you adore, interesting words, beautiful shoes or accessories to die for… it all belongs in your style book. You might like to break the book up into seasons, and have pages dedicated to warm and cold weather looks. Alternatively, you might like to follow Nubby Twiglet’s lead and produce collages with various themes — for instance, monochrome, or pink, or stripes and swirls! Anything goes — be creative!

Also, think about hair and make-up. Stick in pictures of made up faces that you think look amazing (you can get ideas from the beauty pages of magazines, and the M.A.C website has some beautiful illustrations as well). Brush a few strokes of your favourite nailpolish shades on the pages of your style book, and make a list of products you need to round out your beauty collection.

Example of Style Board

Extra tidbits:

• Make a style board (I used to do this by creating collages in Photoshop, using pictures from websites and scanned images from magazines — see above). Stick on the door of your closet for ample inspiration!
• Start an inspiration file on your computer. You might like to organize your folders according to the type of item, or colour, or whatever!
• In the same vein, why not stick images on a cork board and hang your bedroom wall?

3. Write a style statement

Style Statement written on front of Style Notebook

Personal branding outfit Carrie McCarthy and Danielle LaPorte, authors of ‘Style Statement: Live by Your Own Design’ (you can also find them here) have made a business out of creating a two-word lifestyle map — that is, the style statement that, they say, can give you direction in personal style, career and your relationships. According to Carrieanddanielle.com, “Your Style Statement is your life trademark. It is a compass for designing a life that reflects your best self.” They ask their clients a multitude of questions and, through pattern recognition, they come up with a statement that ultimately defines the clients’ core (first word) and secondly, their creative edge. LaPorte’s statement is Sacred Dramatic; McCarthy’s is Refined Treasure. So, taking a leaf out of the successful duo’s book, why don’t you come up with your very own style statement? I don’t necessarily think this should be limited to two words (but it can be!) — you might prefer to come up with a sentence /paragraph that reflects your personality and your style direction. Grab a thesaurus and get writing!

Extra tidbits:

• Once you are done, write your style statement in big letters on the front of your style book!
• If you are feeling really creative, write a style statement poem (or haiku!)

4. Create outfits in Polyvore

Outfits created in Polyvore

For those of you that aren’t familiar with it yet, Polyvore is an amazing site that allows you to create and save virtual outfits. It’s the ultimate ‘try before you buy’ tool, as it allows you to import images from around the web, or search the extensive Polyvore catalogue, and mix it all up to see how different pieces look together. Genius! Use it to create a wishlist to take on your next shopping spree! 

5. Remind yourself of the power of good accessories!

Accessorise it!

A killer pair of shoes, an elegant scarf, interesting jewellery, sunglasses or belts, and a timeless bag all have the power to take a plain outfit from drab to instantly fabulous!

A great pair of heels can dramatically change your mood, your posture and your attitude. Yes please! Likewise, statement pieces of jewellery can be used to totally transform your look and emphasise your individuality. Play around with accessories to see what suits you and what you feel comfortable wearing. The great thing about accessorizing is that it doesn’t have to break the bank. Focus on building up a collection of classic and vintage pieces, but don’t be afraid to dabble with playful, inexpensive pieces to update your look here and there! It’s all about mixin’ and matchin’ baby!

6. Play around with make-up and hairstyles

Dolling yourself up and experimenting with hairstyles is so much fun! Invite a friend over and play around with different make-up styles (feminine pastels or perhaps La Sultry Minx, complete with smoky eyes and attention-grabbing lashes!) Decide what works best for you, and take lots of happy snaps so you can pour over them when you are feeling uninspired.

My advice is to buy a really informative beauty book. I picked up a copy of Rae Morris’ ‘Make Up: The Ultimate Guide’ a few months ago, which is fantastic and full of really helpful tips. Another great one is ‘The Truth About Beauty: Transform Your Looks And Your Life From The Inside Out’ by Kat James, which looks at beauty as a by-product of what’s happening on the inside. Lots of great advice on skin care and healthy eating!

7. Conduct a Wardobe Audit

You might need to set aside a day or two to do this (also great if your closet has gotten to that hideous stage where you can’t find anything!) Think about your style statement and refer to your style book — are the items in your wardrobe consistent with the direction you are steering your personal aesthetic? I’m pretty ruthless when it comes to throwing out things I don’t wear (in fact, perhaps a little TOO ruthless sometimes!) but use your own discretion here. Some items of clothing have the tendency to really overstay their welcome when we start the old “But… what if I need it for this, or this, or this?” routine. If you’re over it and it doesn’t make you feel good about yourself, do yourself a favour and donate it to your nearest second-hand store! While you’re undertaking your closet purging exercise, also identify pieces that may be fixed and customized at the hand of a good tailor.

Extra tidbit:

• While we are on the topic of tailoring, finding a good one is an absolute godsend! Quite a while back, I found an excellent dressmaker and I have since had her whip me up several dresses and other pieces for special occasions. The results have been wonderful! I just design them up and away she goes! So good! Who doesn’t love one-off pieces, made exactly to order?!

8. Document fabulous outfits!

Looking extra special before a big night out, or have you just thrown together a work outfit that looks unexpectedly cool? Don’t let the opportunity to document your sartorial brilliance pass you by — grab a camera and start posing! Use a self-timer or ask your partner/ flatmate/ family member to help you out. If you don’t have a camera handy, make a note of what you wore in the back of your style book. Taking snaps of fab outfits is a wonderful antidote for those mornings when you roll sleepily out of bed and realize you have 10 minutes to be out the door! It reminds you of the way certain items fit your body; the way the blue in that forgotten tee brings out your eyes; or the way that black skirt and black heels combo really emphasizes your super long legs!

Extra tidbit:

• Daily outfit photos have become a phenomenon on the net — just check out the Wardrobe_Remix group on Flickr for proof!

Even if you haven’t gotten to a point where your personal style is easily definable, there may be elements that are bubbling under the surface or that other people associate with you. For example, I’m a HUGE fan of any shade of blue — particularly turquoise — and when I’m wearing it, or shopping with friends, the comments I continually receive are “That’s such a YOU colour!”

Work with colours, shapes, styles, patterns and materials that compliment your body. Your style will undoubtedly change as you as an individual change, and particularly, as your relationship with the world changes. Be adventurous. Don’t assume that what has worked for you in the past is working for you now. Developing a personal style is a process of evolution, of continual refinement and of fine-tuning — and the best bit — it’s a lot of fun! The achievement of a personal style means following your inspiration and vision, being creative, trusting your instincts, learning to take chances and making your own rules. This represents the journey towards a true style, a style that no one else has, a style that is unique to you: a personal style.

Extra Reading:

• ‘Style from A to Zoe: The Art of Fashion, Beauty, & Everything Glamour’ by Rachel Zoe & Rose Apodaca
• Nina Garcia’s ‘The Little Black Book of Style.’ I love this quote by Nina (taken from Elle magazine): “Another way to spot a fashion victim is to count all the designer pieces she is wearing. She’ll usually help you out by putting all the labels on conspicuous display.”

So true!

Huge love & air kisses!

Rach xxx