I have been in the process of changing my career.
I am slowly, but surely, moving onto becoming a personal stylist.
I have spent weeks, days, hours, honing my skills and expanding my knowledge so that I can confidently help people dress the way that fully expresses who they are and makes them feel the way they choose to – confident, authoritative, cosy…you name it.
As anyone who dreams of some sort of career in fashion, I have been passionate about the subject since I can remember. With pleasure, I have followed the OG fashion content creators; read about all the new-ins and trends anywhere I could; seen the outtakes of the hottest fashion shows/red carpets/MET Galas; window shopped and went to fancy departments stores to try on some ridiculous outfits on myself; have scoured charity shops, then all possible second-hand online platforms; have put on countless amounts of outfits that have represented all the versions of me throughout the years.
At this point, I have spent decades loving and playing with fashion.
Still, the moment someone asks me what my personal style is, I have no clue how to answer this question.
Because what truly is a ‘personal style’?
There has been a lot of talk about it lately. This whole idea of taking what’s out there and making it yours, as opposed to, blindly following ever-changing trends (can you even keep up?)
Be you.
Be Authentic.
Find your three words.
Find your three fashion personalities.
Create your perfect capsule wardrobe that expresses your personal style.
But, what is the fashion ‘me’? How am I supposed to know this, and more importantly, how am I supposed to help others answer this question confidently?
I might sound very dramatic at this point as, more or less, we all know who we are, what we do, what we like and don’t.
We know what colours and silhouettes look good on us and what makes us feel confident and comfortable. We have dress codes we need to stick to for work and events. We have our home clothes and going out clothes. Things we wear almost every day and accessories we cannot get enough of.
So…why am I being so confused about such a simple question?
Because here is what I am thinking: are you the same person every single day? Are you the same person you were a year ago, let alone, 4 years prior? Are you the same person you are going to be in October next year?
Today is Wednesday, the day where I must run errands, organise and clean my house and then go to teach. I am wearing a pair of black jeans, a simple black V-neck t-shirt and a pair of red loafers. Today, I am a teacher and a housewife and this is how I express that state of mind.
Yesterday, I had my day off – I wore a pair of quirky, oversized jeans, a top with its seams inside out and an oversized jacket in which I was almost swimming. I looked like an artist on the way to their studio. Clearly, not the same vibe as today’s.
Tomorrow is Thursday, yet another teaching day but slightly different as I am going to spend most of it working on my business idea. Who am I going to channel then? A teacher, for sure, but even now I know I won’t be feeling right wearing jeans and a t-shirt – it feels more like a layered autumnal outfit taken out of Ralph Lauren country club catalogue (khaki dress, grey cashmere jumper, brown tights and the same red loafers).
It seems like a completely different person from the ones above again.
All of these people are me. And, yes, there would be similarities between the outfits that represent them (fabrics, cuts, colours even) but I would need more than 3 words to express what my personal style is; let alone, what my fashion personality is. And that’s barely half of my week!
There is so much advice out there on what to wear and how to channel ‘you’. There is a lot of talk how not to listen to the aforementioned suggestions and just BE you.
All great! We have choices. But my question is, does it have to be that deep? Can I dress without making it so intellectual?
Can I dress intuitively and still call it my personal style?
Maybe I am being completely ridiculous. It’s just clothes!
However, I am genuinely curious – what is your take on the whole concept?