How Does One Find Inspiration For Their Style?

Hi, There,

I received this question from my client Jeni a few months ago.

Hi lovely!  Miss you soooo much!  Love your blog!!  Jeans, shoes… always super helpful. It still helps to have you hold my hand to go through it though! 

Ok another question to add to the pile!  How does one find inspiration for their style?  I would love to keep putting great outfits of things we bought together in new fresh ways, but I still don’t have a clue.   What websites, for me, would you recommend? Celebrities I should follow etc.? 

Side question: Example you said in last blog to create a “shoe list”, but I need the step before that one of what shoes do I even look for what’s missing in my wardrobe to make it work – which just lets me know it’s time for another clothes audit with you!

Massive love and thanks,
Jeni

I answered Jeni’s side question in my March 18th newsletter/blog. Today, I am going to answer her first question, or should I say her first series of questions:

How does one find inspiration for their style?  I would love to keep putting great outfits of things we bought together in new fresh ways, but I still don’t have a clue. What websites, for me, would you recommend? Celebrities I should follow etc.? 

Thanks Jeni for so wanting to look your best and getting the most out of your wardrobe. You have brought up some great questions!

The first thing one needs to do is to know their style. Since Jeni and I have worked together before, Jeni knows her style. What I mean by this is that she has discovered that by knowing herself, her Personality is a reflection of her style and vice versa. Most women and men fall into the category of having a “Core Style” (I call it your “Umbrella style”) with one or two “Sub Styles that support her/his “Core Style.”

The reason that we have supporting “Sub Styles” is because most of us are multi dimensional – our Life-Style Requirements can vary. For Example, a man or woman who prefers to play it safe in the fashion world, enjoys making smart fashion choices, or wants styles that create a polished look, and their job demands that they dress very professionally for work, will most likely have a “Classic” Personality as their “Core Style.”

However, that same man or woman may also love the outdoors and be very active in sports, or has young children at home who love to get down and dirty on the weekends. So having a “Casual Sub Style” in looks that are “Classic” supports their active Life-Style Requirements of hiking the great outdoors or going to the park and playing with their children.

However, just because one knows their style doesn’t mean that they are always going to be creative with their style. In all of our busy lives we can sometimes get in a fashion rut.  And some of us can even get lazy when it comes to getting dressed because it does take some effort and time to be creative in our closets. So to make our lives easy we sometimes just default to what we know works.

The problem with that is that it can get awfully boring. Even though I am in the fashion business I too can get bored with my clothing so I am constantly looking for new ways to keep my wardrobe looking fresh and exciting to me.  And the solution isn’t necessarily going shopping and buying an entire new wardrobe or many new pieces to give our closets or our spirits an uplift.

When we find an outfit that we love, we wear it over and over again, right? And then at some point even though the outfit suits our Personality and our Life-Style Requirements, we get tired of wearing that same outfit. What I have discovered for myself and from working with hundreds of clients, is that we aren’t necessarily tired of the pieces that make the outfit, it is that we are tired of wearing that same outfit over and over again. Are you with me?

So how do we find inspiration and new fresh ways to put outfits together? 

Here are a few tips:

• Be very familiar with your wardrobe. The way to do this is to first make sure that all of the pieces you have you love. Then make sure that you can easily see them and get to them. I wrote about this in my newsletter/blog dated March 4th. Once these two steps are complete, take the outfit that you have worn over and over again, separate the pieces, and find new pieces that you already own that would work well with each piece creating another 2+ more outfits. I can’t tell you how many times, I have put together an outfit that a client loved, out of two pieces that the client already owned and had never had worn together before. Voila! All of a sudden when they have a new way to wear these pieces, a breath of fresh fashion air just got created in their closet! I have no doubt you can experience this in your closet too!
• “Play” in your closet. Every few months take some time (you deserve it!), put on some great music that inspires you, pull out a few items that you love but have not been wearing lately and find mates to create a new outfit that you have never put together before. (By the way, I personally do this as often as I can!) Think out of the box and toss aside your limitations, putting together pieces that you wouldn’t dream of ever putting together. Here are some examples:
  • Wear two shirts layered – put a colorful or printed silk blouse under a sheer silk blouse for a cool effect.
  • Throw a Tee-shirt or a tank over a blouse.
  • Combine two colorful tees of different sleeve lengths and neck openings for a dimensional effect.
  • Layer a short skirt over a long one or a skirt over a dress (This is a HOT trend for this season!)
  • Thrown on a dress over pants – a throwback to the 80’s!

Have fun, take a risk, laugh at yourself, and be amazed at your creativity! Once you have on an outfit that you love, take a selfie. This is so important because you would be surprised how many great outfits are forgotten once they are discovered and worn.

• Shop for one new piece. Sometimes all it takes is one piece to add to your wardrobe that can be the catalyst that pulls it together for other pieces to come together in new outfits. Discover what that piece is and you could create several more outfits. It is usually a “Core Basic, ” and what I call the “third piece.” Perhaps it is a new jacket or cardigan to replace an older one that will be that “third piece” over your favorite pants and tops. But it can also be something colorful and fun that adds a “pop of color” to basic outfits, taking them from “boring” to “bold.”
• Follow a Blogger. There are many wonderful fashion bloggers out there, so if you can find one that suits or matches your Personality, follow that blogger. Just remember, most successful bloggers have lots of clothing items to mix up in so many different ways so try not to compare how many items they have to work with compared to your closet. Just seek to find inspiration by seeing how creative they mix together prints and patterns with each other or solid “core basics.” See how they think creatively by pairing unexpected items.
• Check out what the celebs are doing. Jeni, celebrities can be a wonderful inspiration. Look back at the list of your “style icons” that you picked during our first style session together. Are they still working for you? Are you still inspired by them? If not, choose new ones. Our style rarely changes that drastically** but like anything we might just need to find new celebrities to inspire us. Take some time to think about whose style you love and Google that person.
  • If you haven’t worked with me, do the same and find celebrities who also inspire you with their style. The caveat is that you want to remember that unless your Body-Type is also the same as the celebrity style that you are coveting, you may look differently in an outfit that you put together that is similar to your “style icon,” and it may or may not work for you.

Bonus tips!

1. Join Pinterest. Pinterest is my favorite way to get inspired. I love getting on Pinterest and looking up street fashion and seeing how ordinary people spice up their outfits. Start your own Pinterest board and collect photos of outfits that inspire you to create similar outfits.
2. Pair the unexpected. Pair unexpected colors or patterns to create a visually exciting outfit:
   • Don’t be afraid to add more than one color into your outfit. Most people pair one or two neutrals with a color. Try pairing two solid colors with a neutral. Pick two shades of green, or a red and a violet to wear together with a neutral. Experiment!
   • Pattern mixing can be fun and interesting too. To make this work, pick two patterns that have at least one color in common, and the patterns are not the same size. This helps give ease to the eye so that one pattern isn’t’ trying to dominate over the other.
3. Try on something different. If you do decide to go shopping, still keep in mind, your Personality, Life-Style Requirements, Body-Type, Style Mantra and your personal Coloring. Then toss aside your limitations again and pick something that you would never pick, go into the dressing room and try it on. Again, I can’t tell you how many times clients have said they loved an item that I have picked out for them, that they would have walked right by and never given a second or even a first glance. Try it! It could be the best thing your closet has had in it in months, and just what your wardrobe needs to put outfits together in a new fresh way!

We all know fashion styles change. However, your **Life-Style Requirements and Personality may change too, especially if you make a career change that affects your clothing choices. We all know that our bodies can change even though it is rare that your Body-Type does. Believe it or not, your personal Coloring can change too especially as you age. Taking all of this into consideration, building and maintaining your wardrobe and keeping it inspiring and exciting is always a work in progress.

All of these changes doesn’t mean that you necessarily need to shop for new pieces all of the time. Even if you have all of the right “Core Basics,” sometimes you just need to get creative with your closet. So be patient and have some fun with the tips I have shared!

Now, it’s your turn. I’d love to hear from you.  Your insights and inspiration are appreciated so please share your stories in the comments below.

Blog me.

Love,

~Michelle