If You Want to Improve Your Style, Give It a Name
Hello You!
It may sound funny, but the truth is that the quest to improve your style and make it more authentic doesn’t start with the clothes you wear, but with a full and enlightened perception of who you are or the things you like.
We confuse fashion consumption with style, and perhaps that’s exactly why we’re dissatisfied with what we wear. Our dream is for someone to give us the protagonist’s “makeover,” take us shopping, and change our entire wardrobe (hello, “The Princess Diaries”!). But what about when Mia needs to buy something for herself? Will she really know how to continue this revolution that was created solely from consumption?
The difference is that the construction of style necessarily passes through the sieve of individuality, while fashion consumption, through perceived value and availability. You buy because it is available, because it is in fashion, but not necessarily because it represents you. And it is with this very fine line that the notion of our style becomes blurred, because we buy what promises to differentiate us — clothes —, but we do not, in fact, feel unique. Who hasn’t felt that way?
So, to adjust this order and improve your style, putting it before consumption, I share my “Posh” technique that helps you visualize who you are and where you want to go: NAME IT.
This extremely elaborate exercise (contains irony) consists of giving yourself a name that summarizes your fashion references and the style you like to wear today. Simple as I am 😉
1 – Time to hunt! Gather images from that Pinterest board of your favorite looks and think: “Can you compile all of this into one or two words?” Is it a more modern tone, Generation Z or hippie? Got it? Write it down and keep it separate!
2 – Time to look at yourself, your current style and what you like to wear today. Gather photos of the looks you liked the most and repeat the previous question to try to define them in one word. Are you colorful? Comfortable? Sporty? Delicate?
3 – Now put the two together and your style has a name and surname! You can be a colorful modern, a comfortable Generation Z, a delicate hippie… and see how this definition already brings more clarity to your process! When buying a new item, ask yourself: “Do these sneakers look colorful modern?” or “Does this bag have my delicate hippie vibe?” If the answer is no, perhaps your purchase is more influenced by consumption than by your own style, and so you will build an increasingly individual wardrobe.
It may seem trivial, but you can improve your style by understanding who you are before you buy, because this reverses the logic and conditions consumption to your personality, and not the other way around. You automatically no longer need to “buy to differentiate yourself”, because the differentiation of who you are is already clear at the time of purchase.
If you want to delve deeper, I recommend the book “Wear It Well”, by Allison Bornstein, which, in a different way, also advocates defining your personal style in words. It’s worth reading!
And finally, I like a phrase, whose author I don’t know, that says that “to name things is to bring them into existence” and in fashion, in this sea of things that already exist, creating something that is uniquely yours is magical.
Sending you Peace✌🏾Love ❤️ and Light ✨
I believe in you, Good Start!
