How to Figure Out Your Style Preferences To Better Define Your Style
Style preferences are a great way to remind yourself what you like and don’t like when it comes to your personal style. Sometimes when we get caught up in impulse purchasing, we might lose track of what those style preferences are and then build up our closets with a bunch of pieces we don’t actually like. It’s definitely okay to make an impulse purchase every now and again, when following our intuition might tell us we are obsessed with something. But it’s also okay to run through your style preferences to make sure that piece is intentional and aligns with our personal style.
WHAT IS A STYLE PREFERENCE?
Style preferences are all the unconscious and conscious inner monologues we’re having with ourselves when we’re wearing clothes. It’s specifically identifying your style likes and dislikes. It’s making a list of the necklines, sleeve lengths, fabrics, styles, lengths we go to to care for our clothes (dry cleaning, hand washing, washing only) that make us comfortable and uncomfortable when we’re wearing clothes.
Here’s an example: When I look at my favorite shirts in my closet, they are mostly made up of halter style, crew neck line, cotton fabric.
HOW TO IDENTIFY OUR STYLE PREFERENCES
The easiest way to identify your preferences is to pull out 5 of your favorite seasonal go-to’s. It could be a white tee, a sequined skirt, and pair of sneakers and jotting down the obvious visual aspects of these pieces:
What color are they?
What fabrics are they made up of?
What neckline, length, sleeve length, style are they?
There is something that draws you in to these pieces and the simple act of calling out the obvious things about these pieces, makes them personal preferences for YOU. Start to notice the similarities, these are the common veins that make up your personal style.
HOW DO STYLE DESCRIPTORS HELP STRENGTHEN OUR STYLE?
When you are able to identify your likes/dislikes (style preferences) more accurately, you can start to apply those when you’re shopping. Like I mentioned earlier, it’s okay to impulse buy something you’re excited about when you feel like your intuition is telling you “YES!”, but the style preferences will help support your decision to make buying more intentional.
Here’s an example of this applied to online shopping/social media scrolling/ “influencing”: (both of these images below are “bookmarked” in my saved folder on Instagram)
(image courtesy of: @felicitymbird)
I love the idea of a simple, pull on cotton slip dress for the summertime. When I see these outfits, I usually bookmark or save them. However, one of my conscious areas is my lower abdomen / stomach area. My body type, an inverted triangle, tends to focus on weight fluxuations there. So I try to wear pieces where the waistline is defined somehow above that area. So when I put on a dress that has no shape in the lower midsection - it’s almost as if it’s drawing attention there - So an area that I tend to not think about that often is suddenly highlighted when I wear these dresses. While I love this in theory, when I apply it to my body, it doesn’t make me feel comfortable. But I do know that I love a dress with a defined waistline, so I might opt for something like this instead:
(image source: @melo_andco // dress: Source Unknown)
Knowing my preference of waistlines helps me to appreciate but avoid purchasing the straight undefined waist slip dress (aspirational) and instead allows me to purchase the fit and flare style cotton dress above (attainable). Now I’m purchasing a piece I know will suit my style preferences/shape and I will wear it more and feel like ME. See how this helps define/clarify my style?
If this is something that fascinates you as it does me, and you want to dig deeper into your personal preferences and learn more about your personal style, I have an online virtual style class called, The Signature Style Method, that guides you through this process with a few quick video lessons (5 mins or less each) and a style e-book that will leave you feeling like your personal style is more defined, so you can make more conscious, intentional choices when you shop and build up your closet.