Can you name your style? Can you identify your style in a way that you can actually name it?
I’m *not* talking about “my style is cute, comfy, and easy.” No, not that. I’m talking about can you actually identify different style characteristics like Edgy, Romantic, Whimsical, etc. and name YOUR unique mix?
For the longest time, whenever someone asked me to describe my style, I didn’t know what to say. I could identify some things I liked and didn’t like. You know, stripes, leopard print, a good pair of dark wash jeans, and a pop of yellow. 😜 I could say, “I like to be cute and comfy,” but, I couldn’t name my style.
There’s a huge difference.
When I started writing lessons for Simply Put Together, I dove into creating a system to help women define their styles. It took me a while to figure out the right system, but once it was finished, it became SO easy for me to articulate my own style–AND help others nail their own.
Now, whenever someone asks what my style is, this rolls off my tongue: “My style is Relaxed Classic with a touch of Edgy and a hint of Romantic.” It’s so fun to say!
And, I can say things like this to my friend with hardly any thought:
and she’d respond with this:
It’s SO FUN to be able to name your style (and other people’s). But, keenly knowing your style has other important benefits, too. It’s proven to be quite helpful among the students in Simply Put Together for a lot of reasons!
Let me share why they’ve found it helpful to be able to identify their style!
1. It makes you love your closet because it actually feels like YOU.
Many women see something on someone else, like a blogger or Instagrammer, and buy it because it looks cute on that person, only to realize late that it doesn’t feel like them. Can you relate? I’ve done it too!
When you do that, you often end up wearing it and not really feeling like yourself or not wearing it and feeling guilty that a perfectly good piece is sitting in your closet. Knowing your style helps you cultivate a wardrobe that truly feels like you–and steer away from mistakingly buying pieces that look good on others but ultimately don’t feel like you.
2. It makes your closet more cohesive.
When you are clear on your style, your closet becomes more consistent. You don’t have a mismatch of random items (that again, looked good on other people but not on you.) Your closet becomes grounded–grounded in who YOU are. And that helps it become more cohesive!
3. You make smarter purchasing decisions. (And save money in the long run!)
When you know your style, it’s empowering. This is what I call being “style empowered.” Instead of wasting money buying things that look cute on someone else only to realize way later that you actually never wear them because they don’t look like you, you are clear on your own style and can pass up the things that you KNOW don’t fit with your style. When you can name your style, you can appreciate something on someone else but can also recognize, “It’s cute, but it’s really Preppy Romantic, and that actually doesn’t fit with my Relaxed Classic with a touch of Edgy vibe.”
4. Shopping becomes easier and quicker because you don’t waste time considering pieces you know you won’t like, and you shop with more intention.
You can easily pass up allllll the items you know don’t fit your style and hone in on the ones that do. It makes shopping WAY less overwhelming to narrow down your options like that!
5. You feel more confident because your clothes reflect who YOU are instead of feeling like you’re trying to be someone else.
Style is an extension of who we are. Plain and simple. It’s a way to communicate and express who we are inside, on the outside. If your clothes don’t align with YOUR personality, then it’s easy to not fully feel like yourself. When you know your Style Personality and create a wardrobe that feels like YOU, you can show up in the world confidently as your full self!
It’s been beautiful to hear women in SPT say things like, “I used to buy things that look good on Audrey but never ended up wearing because they didn’t feel like me. Now I say no to those and only buy what feels like MY style.” I LOVE when women say this because it tells me that they have become empowered in their own style. And helping women become style empowered is one of my goals with SPT. It’s necessary for building a wardrobe you genuinely love and actually want to wear!
Hopefully you’re convinced that knowing your Style Personality will be majorly helpful!
Earlier I told you it took me a while to develop the right system to help women define their styles. In case you want a framework for how to identify your style, I’ll share with you the 3-part system that we dive into inside of Simply Put Together:
- Describe Yourself – a quick, reflective exercise so that your style reflects you
- The Pinterest Board Analysis – to help identify your tastes through a detailed analysis
- Style Types Comparison Chart – a concrete walk through of different style types and their clothing characteristics (Edgy, Romantic, Whimsical, etc.), and descriptors to help you finally name your style (this is my favorite exercise in SPT!)
And, here’s one of my biggest tips: The more clearly you can articulate your style, the more empowered you will be.
The last exercise with the Style Types comparison is my favorite, as it is the most clarifying. It’s what helps go beyond just saying, “I like stripes, the color yellow, and leopard print” to finally being able to name your style and know exactly what those styles mean in clothing characteristics. And that acuity is what helps you make more informed decisions about what to look for so that you actually LOVE and connect with what you buy.
Think about it–you might already have an idea of what you do or don’t like similar to, “I like floral, I like stripes, I don’t like yellow.” But if that has still not given you enough clarity to be able to discern that what looks cute on someone else may not feel right on you, if you still have tons of perfectly good clothes hanging in your closet that you don’t wear, then you need an even sharper sense of what your style is. That will really inform your shopping decisions and make your closet better!
Feel free to try this framework on your own to nail down your style! Or of course, if you’d like to get straight to it with more hands-on guidance and the exact tools we use inside of Simply Put Together, consider joining us when it opens again in a few weeks! (Click HERE to get notified when it opens.)
Either way, spend time reflecting on your likes and dislikes, spend time learning different style types so you can clarify yours, and strive to be able to name your style. It will make you love your wardrobe so much more!
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