How To Develop Your Personal Style
In this blog, I would like to focus on the #1 Question that everyone asks, which is; "How do I develop my personal style?" Not only are people asking this question, but it is becoming more and more common for people to invest in hiring their own personal stylist to spruce up their everyday look. As previously mentioned, it is foundational that we recognize that style itself is something that is both personal and individualized. With this being said, it is important that the individual take time to discover his/her personal tastes in clothing. Again, we all have a general, preset style type about us, but oftentimes, we lack the know-how to enhance that style by putting the appropriate pieces together. Sometimes, it helps to just take an overview of your closet by paying attention to the types of items that you tend to gravitate toward. Perhaps you tend to go for a certain color or a certain embedded design in the clothing you usually buy. These are generally the types of things that make you feel good and can help to assessand build your personal style. What I would like to do in this blog is to outline a few, practical style developing tips that I believe will serve as a quick and easy guide to help you in your journey of personal style development. Please note, these are only suggestions and can very well be altered by the individual. Here goes a few:
Style Tip # 1 - Define your ambitions by writing them down and dress in a way that compliments your ambitions. This is the best way to discover your personal style, build it and refine it.
Sometimes, it helps to pay attention to what types of things you wear that get the most compliments. Generally, this will help you to recognize the types of combos that people determine display the “best you”.
Style Tip # 2 - Identify style icons that you admire and use them as guides as you build your personal style. Follow their style journey and pay attention to their consistencies, how they dress for various occasions. Keep in mind, you're focus is not to mimic another person's style, but to use them as a guide which can in turn
Style Tip # 3 - Shop in your own closet first. Style rarely requires expensive shopping and most of the time, we already own several items that can be used in enhancing our personal style. Purge your existing wardrobe of pieces that are not complimentary of the type of image you are aiming for. As you aspire to build a style that best fits your ambitions and your individuality, build upon some of the things you already possess.
Style Tip # 4 - Don’t try so hard – Style is only complicated because we make it more complicated than it should be. Find an outfit that you believe you look good in and wear it, but remember that a person’s individual style should look great on and seem effortless. It is often when we try to overdue it, that it looks more like a disaster and creates distraction.
Style Tip # 5 - Wear Color, but Carefully. A few variations of color are fine and can serve to update clothes you already own. Remember to accessorize with color more so rather than incorporating it into a whole look. Of course, this is subject to a person's ability to wear it right and because style is personal, the individual has every right to be more daring with colors as long as it's not overkill. I will actually be sharing in a future post on Colors and Color-Blocking to provide you with more details on how to incorporate color in your style.
For more information or inquires in regards to this topic, style consultations or personal styling, feel free to leave your comments on the main page or shoot me a message.
DRESS LIKE A GENT
Today's Style Inspiration: Sir Marlon DeNon
In my next post, I will be sharing on How to Develop Your Personal Style. And one of the things that you will hear me mention is the importance of choosing your own personal style icon(s) as a guide toward enhancing your style. A style icon is not one whom you should try to mimic since style itself is something that is both individualistic and personalized. The style icon however, is one in whom you look up to in order to build your style. They can both directly and indirectly help to expand the way you think concerning what to wear and how to wear it.
Speaking of which, for my first Style Inspiration Choice, I would like to feature Sir Marlon DeNon. Professionally, Sir Marlon Denon is not only an Exemplar of Classic Style, but he also is a Creative Director, Writer, Vocalist and Motivational Speaker. In my opinion, he is indeed a true blend of both style and class. Although I have never met this brother personally, I can appreciate by what he posts on his Instagram, the consistency of his style. His ability to combine colors and vintage-like pieces to his wardrobe is simply remarkable. He is, in my opinion, a modern-vintage, classy, retro gent type who seems to effortlessly layer the right clothes together in way that is simple, tasteful and appealing.
Often times, when people attempt to recreate an image that is considered vintage, it sometimes ends up looking dated and frankly, just out-of-style. This, however is not the case with this gent. With him, it's as if he has somehow voyaged back into the 40's, 50's and 60's and strategically regathered essential moments from these time periods; managing to gracefully reintroduce them in a modern and relevant form of style. Another thing I respect about Sir Marlon's style is the way he sports the hats!
I personally, have shyed away from wearing hats formally, but lately, have opened up my mind more and more to incorporating some of the more classy Fedora or Derby-Style hats into my wardrobe. My man Sir Marlon is definitely a game changer when it comes down to wearing these victorian-style hats the right way! Simply put, this gent Sir Marlon DeNon is well-deserving of a Feature in Today's Style Inspiration Blog and I eagerly anticipate seeing some more of his art work in style unfold in the days to come. Thanks Sir Marlon!
Sir Marlon Denon's iG: @sirmarlondenon
DRESS LIKE A GENT
My Style and The Way I Wear It, Matters
My style and the way that I wear it, matters! We all individually have a certain style about ourselves. The fail, is when we are not in touch with that style and it remains dulled by our lack of knowing how to develop it. Most people when you ask them how they would describe their personal style in words would say, "Whatever is comfortable" or "Trendy" or "What I can afford and fits well". The key is getting in touch with your style by being in touch with who you are and your ambitions. As far as how to develop your personal style, this will be a topic that we will discuss on a future post. Whether we are dressed casual or dressed up for business, we should keep in mind that our style is a form of communication without words.
As we mentioned in the previous blog, people judge us by what they see us wear before they ever hear us speak. In fact, in an article entitled Dress Code or Note, What You Wear Matters by Organizational Psychologist; Eva Rykrsmith, she speaks of how what we wear has an effect on our performance, ourselves and on others. She describes how what we wear has an affect on the way people perceive us, but even more so, the way we dress can affect how we behave. This, to me is a very powerful fact about why we should step it up in the way we dress. Eva mentions a case study where behavior was observed at a roller rink.
On the nights where there was a strict dress code enforced, there were fewer accidents and less noise. She states: "In an old article in the Academy of Management Review, scientists theorized that exhibiting actions not in line with the expectations of how one would behave when wearing that clothing creates a psychological conflict called cognitive dissonance. And to relieve the conflict, people will change their behavior to match their dress." Of course, in order to enhance one's style to fit the bill, there oftentimes has to be a learning as to how to do so. But, I find that a large number of people tend to shy away from the challenge because they feel it requires too much energy and thought and they would much rather just keep it quick and simple.
I can remember once interviewing for a notable, high-end department store for a personal stylist position. When I walked with one of the hiring managers throughout the department store, he did an entire survey of what I was wearing and even asked me if the shoes I had on were Allen Edmonds; of which I am proud to say, were! Although, I ended up not getting the position there, it stuck with me how he was impressed by the attention I put into my attire more than my experiences and how this helped our interview flow smoothly. Shortly afterwards, I ended up landing another position that even paid more where my style became an asset to the type of work that I would be involved in. That is a valuable lesson I will never forget. I think it's more than just having a knowledge of name brands and fashion sense, but our style and the way we wear what we wear gains us people's ears and even their favor.
In short, we should not shun the saying "dress to impress" because it has been proven since the Renaissance until now to open up great doors of opportunity because the people wearing it have the confidence necessary to possess these new opportunities.
DRESS LIKE A GENT