The Secret to Mastering Your Own Style

Usually, I would say I’ve mastered my own style, but dealing with body fluctuations about a year ago, I was shopping for some post-pregnancy friendly clothes. I found a beautiful trench vest in a spicy orange-red. It was very similar to this one from Amazon. I thought it was beautiful. It would be a very versatile piece to add to my wardrobe and I wanted it to look beautiful on me. I tried it on. The result was not what I was hoping for.

Chances are, if you’re reading my blog, you’re unhappy with some aspect of your style. Maybe you put very little effort into getting dressed in the morning but want to look put together. Or maybe you have a closet full of clothes, but feel like you have nothing to wear. Perhaps you get dressed and you wonder who that person is staring back at you in the mirror.

You might tell me that you don’t have time to worry about what you wear because you have so many other responsibilities vying for your time. I get it. I’ve been there. Once you learn the elements of the style recipe and consider them when shopping, your wardrobe will be full of excellent choices that work for you. If you put in a little work on the front end, getting dressed in the morning will actually be a cinch. 

Do I have to be up on the latest trends to be stylish?

Let me fill you in on a style secret. You don’t have to wear the latest fashion to achieve a chic style. You don’t have to scour the trendy clothing websites or even hire a personal stylist to have great style. Great style is timeless and is achieved by what I like to call my “Style Recipe”.

When I look in the mirror, I want to be confident in what I see. I want to look my best and portray my inner self on the outside. I want an ensemble that balances by body, emphasizes by best features, is interesting and expresses who I am. It’s been said, “A picture is worth a thousand words,”. I believe that how you present yourself is worth at least twice that. Especially being an introvert where expressing myself with words is sometimes difficult, my appearance is an opportunity for me to communicate to the world who I am without even saying a word. It makes living in my own skin easier and it puts other people at ease when interacting with me.

What’s included in the style recipe?

When considering what to put on, we need to consider the 6 elements or principles of design. Let’s call them the ingredients in your recipe of style. You’re style will include a silhouette, line, pattern, texture and color which will all be displayed in certain proportions. Each element can be tailored uniquely to you. Here is a brief synopsis of the elements:

1. Silhouette– the outline of your outfit and how it plays with your body. Does it follow your body’s shape or have a lot of extra fullness? Where is the fullness located?
2. Line– If you were drawing a picture of your appearance, these are the lines that you would draw. They are a great tool to lead the eye.
3. Pattern– the print on the fabrics that you wear.
4. Texture– The feel of the surface of the fabric. This increases or decreases visual weight.
5. Color– Color is probably the first element that we see. Certain colors blend in, while others draw attention. You should always dress in colors within your season. If you don’t know your season, visit my services page to book a color consultation.
6. Proportion– This is the amounts that all the other elements are used. It’s like the measuring cup of the elements.
7. Understanding how to use the style recipe with your body shape.

Consider Yourself a Work of Art

Your appearance is a design; one that you get to rework every morning. What we wear is all about the movement of the eye. Artfully and thoughtfully crafting an outfit will enable you to lead the eye where you want it to go; to focus on your best qualities and overlook the rest. Much of what we talk about will involve balance and eye direction.

Basic Guidelines

But before we dive into the elements of design, let’s explore some basic guidelines in which these elements will operate.

• Whichever direction the eye travels will seem longer or wider. Increase the visual weight of an area by making the eye travel back and forth along it horizontally.
• Make something look longer by making the eye travel vertically. When something “looks” longer, it actually “appears” to be thinner too.
• If something naturally has more visual weight, break it into segments to help achieve balance.
• If something has too little visual weight, avoid breaking it into segments as this will make it appear smaller than it actually is.

Do you want to see all of these elements put into practice? Read on, to see how to make them work for you, your body shape, your personality and your style.

Spoiler alert:

I didn’t get the beautiful spicy orange-red trench vest. The lapels folded back to create two triangles that sat not so perfectly across the fullest part of my bust. This added extra visual weight and drew more attention to my already expanded and out of balance upper body. Because I’ve learned how to use the elements of design, I know how to select clothing that works for my figure. The trench vest would have been perfect for someone with a triangle or pear body shape. It would be perfect to balance out a larger hip.

You too can develop your own personal style recipe. You’ll learn what you need to do to highlight your best features and down-play the rest. In the next post, we’ll start looking at the individual ingredients in depth. In the meantime, check out my Style Recipe pinterest board.