Should we instinctively know how to be stylish?
/The other day reading through the results of a survey I compiled, I discovered a new insight that resonated with me completely.
“As a woman, I should know what looks good on me.”
There is a pressure on us to understand about things like style. And yet, why do we assume that we should all have this innate skill? As children, we learn from the women we are surrounded by – our Mothers, Grandmothers, Aunts and our Mum’s friends. As teens and young adults, we learn from our peers by and probably more so now, from celebrities and YouTube (I really wish I could have found a tutorial on applying my Rimmel blue eyeliner or how much rouge was too much!).
But what if we had Mums who didn’t particularly care about style and cared far more about banning the bomb and burning their bra? Or Grandmothers who wore a polyester checked housecoat all the time (apart from on Sundays to go to chapel)? I’ll give my other Grandmother props for always being incredibly smart and fostering my love of shoes and in particular a knee-high boot.
So if we haven’t learnt much about style at a young age or ever enjoyed shopping with our friends as teens, why should we know all about it when we “grow up”?
It’s not innate, it’s learnt.
There is no shame in not fully ‘getting’ style or having the desire to learn about your style at any age – seriously ALL the most stylish people I see whenever I go into London are in their 60s and they put the 20-somethings to shame. There is a bravery and vulnerability in owning up to the fact that you need a bit of help and then seeking out that help.
If you unpick the elements of what makes up being stylish, it can be quite a complicated puzzle. It takes time to get it. It takes effort to be engaged in learning more, applying it to yourself and making mistakes along the way.
But it is most definitely something that can be learnt.
Style is both a science and an art and the good news is that you don’t have to be particularly creative to learn all about it. You can learn some quite scientific formulas and tricks to help!
A personal stylist can fast-track you to a place of more confidence by giving you the information and science behind the style puzzle that is tailored to you. It’s my aim to help you understand more about yourself rather than just taking you shopping and buying things I like! It’s my aim to give you the tools for you to use to continue to develop your style and make getting dressed easier.
As one of my clients said,
“Rebecca has given me a set of tools to always refer to when buying clothes and pulling together outfits, so I honestly don’t foresee ever feeling as sad or confused about my wardrobe as I did pre-Rebecca’s “magic”.
Picking out clothes each day is A LOT easier, less stressful and FUN.”
Here are some of the things to consider learning about your own style, which will help make the puzzle fall into place more easily:
Personality
How do you want to be perceived in a way that expresses who you are?
Colour
What colours suit you, how to wear colour and what colours look good together? (Tip: if you have a colour analysis, your swatch can help you with creative colour combinations)
Lifestyle
Does your wardrobe reflect your lifestyle?
Fit
Does each item in your wardrobe fit you well TODAY?
Is your outfit current?
Current but not slavishly in fashion.
Grooming
Yes, there’s no point having a fabulous outfit on if you haven’t brushed your hair!
Good quality
You don’t have to pay designer prices for something to look good quality.