How I Found My Personal Style
A non-scientific process.
A few weeks ago, a reader asked if I’d write a piece about how I found my personal style. People have asked me this question before and to be honest, it’s always left me a little stumped. How do you begin to describe something that has evolved — and continues to evolve — through time and age? Something that, while some of it conscious, a lot of it feels like it just… happened?
But, I like a challenge and this question made me really stop and think about how and why I dress the way I do. In thinking about it, I broke down a few key elements that I believe play into my style most:
Location
Lifestyle
Career
Inspiration
Location
There’s no denying that where I’m from has played a big part in my style. I grew up in the north-west of England, right on the coast sandwiched between north Wales and Liverpool. Rain and blustery winds that come off the Irish Sea are the norm. That, combined with the draughty Victorian house that was my childhood home and my parents’ aversion to putting the heating on, led to a need for big jumpers, layers, practical coats and, more often than not, scarves indoors when winter really set in.
Dressing for the cold is my default and those big comfy layers are something I’m naturally drawn to in summer too, even if those pieces are loose linen rather than heavy wool.
The takeaway: Clothes’ basic function is to cover our bodies. It may sound obvious but think about the climate you live in and what clothes are best suited to that. Do you need a lot of layers and knitwear? Or cool fabrics and loose, airy pieces? This can help form the basis of what you wear every day. The building blocks of your wardrobe, if you like, before you start putting your own spin on them.
Lifestyle
This is another big one. By day, I’m a freelance writer and content strategist. I mostly work from home, at my desk, and I’ll make sure I go out for a walk and Pilates/yoga class every day to move my body. When I go out, I tend to go to bars and restaurants that are relatively casual and, as a 34-year-old who loves her sleep, I’m rarely out past 10pm.
This means that I don’t have much need for fancy dresses and heels (although I do own a few for the various weddings I attend each year). Instead, a lot of my wardrobe is based on comfort. Tight jeans are not what I want to spend 7+ hours at a desk in, so I go for trousers that have comfy waistbands and loose fits. I prefer to walk somewhere than hop in the car if I can, so I wear trainers or flat boots a lot. If I wear a shirt (which is often), I go for styles that are loose and oversized because I hate the feeling of a tight collar. I wrote about how I found my capsule wardrobe and my summer capsule in previous posts, which touches on this further.
The takeaway: A wardrobe full of certain items may seem exciting but think about whether that’s how you genuinely get dressed every day. Does your lifestyle sway to a more casual wardrobe? Do you work in a corporate office that needs something more polished? Or are you regularly RSVPing ‘yes’ to Black Tie events? Having a wardrobe full of clothes you actually wear can help stop (or at least reduce) that uninspired, “I have nothing to wear” feeling.
The rest of this post is for paid subscribers. Behind the paywall, I talk about the impact my career has had on my style, and where I always look to for styling inspiration.