Top 5 Ways To Define Your Own Personal Style
[ 9 May 2007 ]
5. Buy a decent-sized Moleskine notebook & start making a look book for yourself.
Stick into it any pictures of models, clothes, makeup that appeal to you. Copy into it quotes from anyone whose style you adore — like Karl Lagerfeld’s quote: “Good taste only tastes good to the people who think they have good taste; a good taste can be very uncreative & boring. Good taste is something very bourgeois, very established, so it needs fresh air.”
Read fashion history books & make notes in aforementioned Moleskine about things you like. Pillbox hats? Platform shoes? Sailor chic? Write it all down & don’t worry if it’s not “in fashion” now — remember that fashion is cyclical & besides which, constantly being “on the pulse” is boring.
Do your research. Read fashion websites (my preferred mode of obtaining information & inspiration) & buy magazines — not just Vogue but things like FRUiTS & Cutie too. Go to the library & look at stacks of fashion magazines from the 1970s & 80s if they have them. Take photocopies of anything you like. Watch movies with a strong aesthetic — say Amelie, The Virgin Suicides, Pulp Fiction, Bladerunner, The Addams Family etc.
4. Start borrowing clothes & accessories from your friends: experiment & find out what works for you.
I say borrow because it’s cheap! There’s no sense in buying something which you’re not sure about. A short-term loan from a friend is a great way to discover what suits you, & if you don’t like it, just give it back! (You should try to bribe your friend if there is anything you really love.) Allow your friend to dress you up if they’re game — you never know, they might just kit you out in something you adore. Fill a plastic bag with accessories that they no longer wear, take them home & work them into your outfits over the next couple of weeks. Do you look better in small, Lennon-esque sunglasses or huge, oversized shades? How does a cowboy hat suit you? A beret? Are you more comfortable with an enormous vintage doctor’s bag or a clutch? You get the idea.
3. Start taking daily outfit photos — I cannot stress the value of this enough.
Do it with a Polaroid camera if you can. Stick them in the back of your Moleskine. Write commentary alongside each one, including what was good, what wasn’t, & what you’d change if you wore it again. This will make such a difference to the way you dress yourself, & will teach you a lot about your colouring, shape & proportions.
2. Write yourself a rough style concept.
An example. It doesn’t need to be long, but flagrant use of adjectives can help solidify a picture in your head. You could start off simple, with “wide-leg pants & cropped cardigans“ but then expand it to “wear with geta & pearls“. Allow your imagination to roam, & if all else fails, go back to step five!
1. Be prepared to spend some time thinking about your look!
The most stylish people don’t magically conjure their outfits into existence: a lot of the time, their wardrobe is the cumulative effect of lots of list-making, hunting, haggling & a staunch attitude towards keeping weird old treasures. Feel free to make mistakes — if you’re not making mistakes, you’re not pushing the envelope hard enough. Finally, don’t be afraid to redefine your style concept — to make it wilder or more wearable. This will keep you from getting stale & is also a lot of fun!
P.S. Hello to all my new readers from Problogger!
Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala
Tags: aesthetic,
how to,
inspiration,
madame,
monsieur,
style tips Share this! + Email This + Del.icio.us
+ Facebook
+ Stumbleupon
+ Technorati
Comment
Read more tagged style tips...
Living It Up At Burning Man Style Tips -- 7th April 2007 Style Tips -- 8th March 2007 Style Tips -- 19th February 2007
Read more tagged how to...
How To Rock A Wig Living It Up At Burning Man Paparazzi Photos Destructive Relationships How To Keep Your Head Above Water (iCiNG Podcast #001 Transcript) Putting The 'Rave' In Travel Since 1983! Ballet Do's & Don'ts I'm So Jealous!
Read more tagged inspiration...
iCiNG's May Crush List Madame Pompadour Living It Up At Burning Man Flickr Favourites -- 27th April 2007 International Dress-Up Day #003 Pictures Again! More International Dress-Up Day #003 Pictures! Be Your Own Superhero International Dress-Up Day Reminder!
Read more tagged madame...
Small Questions How To Rock A Wig Eyelash Extensions! Burlesque Chic iCiNG's Definition Of Chic Modern Manners Marriage -- The Final Frontier Paparazzi Photos
Read more tagged monsieur...
Burlesque Chic iCiNG's Definition Of Chic Modern Manners Marriage -- The Final Frontier Paparazzi Photos Destructive Relationships In Bed With Your Parents International Dress-Up Day #002 Pictures!
Read more tagged aesthetic...
Madame Pompadour How To Rock A Wig Living It Up At Burning Man Flickr Favourites -- 27th April 2007 Burlesque Chic Apartment Living & The Single Gal Miss Sixty Fall 2007 Urban Bohemian
awesome post!! I have been actively working towards defining my own style for the past six months or so—and I’m finding its very much a fluid process that is constantly needing to be reevaluated and updated! but then again, I get bored with any given look after about five months (I’ve gone from 1950s cute, to california beachy, to 1940s pin-up and bright-modern-artist in the past year alone!!). I think that lately though, due to a lot of helpful tips I’ve been coming across (especially this post—great ideas!!), I’m becoming a bit more set in the look I’m doing now. :) thanks for all the great ideas/tips!!
this is such a great post! i especially like the idea of your daily outfit photos – it’s easier to see how you look in a photo than in the mirror, i think. & look books sound like a great way to get creative!
thank you so much for writing this. you rock <3
these are all great ideas. i use a lot of the same ideas for my house design book (although i use a three ring binder to hold it all).
taking a daily outfit photo is a really great way to start taking more notice of personal style. even though i don’t post them online (i have thought about it) just having the record is amazing. it’s so much fun to go back and see what looked good, what didn’t work, and what really “looked like myself”.
I do all of these things – I invest the most time and energy in steps 1 and 5 (although I use cheap utilitarian clear-file folders)
wow. i’ve been doing that look book thing for years, since middle-school i think. and i swear, for the past few hours, i had just been going through magazines (i still have 3 piles to go, 1 metre tall each!) and cutting everything that had interested me.
i keep photos of myself too. not everyday, but whenever i go out. and i get a photo taken in one of those photo booths everytime i get a new haircut/color, and every birthday. i’ve been doing that forever.
it’s great to find so many similar people here. i thought i was the only one taking weird photos of myself on camera. :)
ps: i don’t know if you get it down under, but check out this magazine called so-en. it’s one of the best japanese magazines to get, not of high-street fashion, but of the best of japan’s designers… half of whom are all great alumni of my school, bunka fashion college. (most of the comme des garcons gang etc)
Wow. This is an absolutely fabulous post. I know you have mentioned most of these things before, but having them all outlined like this really makes the whole concept a lot easier to deal with.
Très bien!
Thanks everyone!
Gilda — I love the idea of taking photobooth documentation of new haircuts! That’s brilliant! So-En sounds great, I’ve never seen it though. I buy some Japanese fashion magazines but they’re always wrapped in plastic & you never know how good they are until you’ve bought them & opened up the plastic bag!
oh the new haircuts/color thing is REALLY good for someone like me who changes every month. when people run outta ideas they bring magazine clippings to the salon; i bring me:)
i have no idea why they always wrap the mags up. the japanese love to wrap things. do forgive them. haha
It makes for great presentation but it does become a problem when a girl like me, who doesn’t speak Japanese, wants to buy one… all I have to go on is the picture on the front!
thanks gala amazing tips. it is true “if you’re not making mistakes, you’re not pushing the envelope hard enough” dare to be different….You are the best stylist to express yourself :)
buying clothing and accessories at thrift stores is another cheap way to experiment. you can find really unique and one of a kind stuff.
http://www.swapstyle.com
you should check out this website. it has a cool concept. i haven’t swapped anything on there yet, but browsing can be fun too.
This is a real nice post. I don’t know if it can work for me but I’m going to try it out anyway!
Gala, I found your website about a month ago and I love it! Your style and your ideas are amazing. :D
You mentioned a Karl Lagerfeld quote, and another one of his quotes happens to be one of my favorites. I think it applies to you really well. :)
“Eccentric? Perhaps I am. But then I know only how I am, not how others are. I never compare, I never compete.”
Rebecca — I found http://www.flickr.com/groups/swapshop/ yesterday & it looks like a similar concept!
Valerie — Thank you honey! I loooove that quote. Karl Lagerfeld is amazing. He has truly great insights.
Fantastic blog design,
nice post!
I loved this post. It really helped organised some thoughts for a fashion subculture for one of my story characters. :) Thank you!
I run a program on helping people discover their unique style, and am very impressed with your tips. Thanks x
I was just redirected to this post from your “O Magazine and Ellen Barkin” post and I just wanted to say thanks for writing such great advice. I first read this when I had recently begun photographing my outfits and posting them on the Wardrobe Remix group on flickr. It was great inspiration to keep going and exploring style! I absolutely adore your site!
erin — Thank you so much! I’m glad it helped you out & gave you a little boost! Kiss kiss!
You are so right, again! I always thought my little sis was just naturally more stylish than me but now I think it’s because she just spends loads of time thinking about what looks good on her and going through magazines and shopping! I never do any of these things, I must start!
Xxx
this is an awesome post…. it is soo helpful! <3 this website imm addicteddd :D
_xx
j’aime bien jouer jeux a la monde
i have been re-listening to your raw dialogue with karen and it kept running thru my mind…‘who is this gala person’...so i finaly took a look into your site..and WOW...this article is the first i’ve read and i literally picked up a journal and started taking notes and can’t wait to put this stuff into practice…i look forward to reading past articles, future ones and possibly another chapter in the raw food quest…thanks!!