Find Your Personal Style By Asking Yourself These 5 Questions

This is for those who love something a little off-kilter, the Tilda Swintons of the style spectrum who find themselves gravitating towards Margiela’s Tabi shoes, Issey Miyake’s asymmetrical pleats, or Rick Owen’s torn gowns. The Adidas Sambas are too mainstream for them.

Stella McCartney Polo Knit

Maison Margiela Tabi Shoes

2. Dress For Your Body Shape

As much as I love the look of a pair of straight-legged jeans and how they can be worn with oversized tops, given my body shape (I’m a pear), every single time I’ve bought straight-legged trousers, they sit in my closet collecting dust. Of course, we’re all entitled to wear whatever the hell we want, but the truth is, certain styles fit our body shapes better and therefore help us feel more confident when we step outside. Once you’ve chosen your style type(s), understanding the fits of clothing that you like yourself in helps you narrow down the plethora of choices. If you don’t feel confident in it, regardless of how much you like it on the hanger, maybe you just have to make like Elsa and let it go.

Pro tip: To know if something really looks good on me, I take a full-length mirror selfie without my face in it—that allows me to look at the outfit more objectively. Do try it at home!

3. Love It or Hate It

Having relatively small feet for my height, I’ve always liked the way I looked better in pointy shoes that elongated my silhouette. That’s just a personal preference that I try to apply to any trend that comes along. For instance, ballet flats were all the rage this summer, and while I very much wanted to participate in the trend, I decided to hold out for pointier or more slimming styles that I knew would look better on me. Similarly, I’ve never liked the look of chunky shoes, so while the dad trainer was making a comeback, I steered clear of it altogether. Don’t try to force yourself into trends if they don’t resonate with your core style.

Image may contain Jurnee Smollett Grace Carter Clothing Footwear Shoe Adult Person Groupshot Sandal and Accessories

Christian Vierig/Getty Images

4. Let’s Be Realistic

Sometimes the needs of our busy lives end up dictating many elements of our style. Does your job require a long commute or running to meetings outside of the office? Those things factor heavily into what we end up wearing every day. No matter our style preferences, we still need to be realistic. Consider the most worn items in your closet, which will be good indicators for what you actually reach for when you need to get dressed in the dark, then try to find elevated versions of that. Is your go-to jumper a tomato red high street find? Next season maybe invest in an accessible luxury version that you now know you’ll cherish.

Scroll to Top