Seems like knowing one's style ought to be intuitive. What I find, however, is that I respond to individual items that I just like. That can be already made garments, or patterns. If I like it, I buy it without regard to how it coordinates with everything else. However, if the goal is to have a coordinating wardrobe, then an idea of style is probably a good thing.
The first thing I did was to check out some of the various online style quizzes. I answered the questions, was told the name of my personal style, then followed the link to examples. Yuk! How did they get that from that? It appears that even my style isn't my style.
Maybe the way to figure this out is simply to ask myself, "what do I like?"
Off the top of my head I can list some things that I like:
- natural fabrics
- coordinated colors
- mostly solid colors
- classic rather than trendy
- neat rather than sloppy
- denim (everything goes with denim)
- midi length skirts, primarily in navy blue, denim, tan, and brown
- tops in soft cool colors (summer palette), plaids, small patterns, or narrow vertical stripes
- elbow length sleeves
- tops over, not tucked
- rounded necklines
- slightly fitted (not tight or baggy)
- jumpers (pinafore dresses)
- vests
- bib aprons
- cardigans (in season)
- wild socks (especially hand knit)
- shoes: sandals, Mary Janes, boots (winter)
- my neutrals are navy blue, tan, and brown (no black)
- my favorite colors are primarily blues, greens, and purples
- cool pinks and reds occasionally are okay too
- if white (rare) then soft white (not pure or bright white)
But if I'm going to simplify my wardrobe, then I need to figure out a few more things. Of the things I think I like, I need to ask:
- "what items do I reach for most often?"
- "why?"
- "what do I never wear?" (even though I think I like it)
- "why not?"
I started by pulling out things that I wear most often and asked myself why I like them.
Tops:
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| I love the fabric. I love that the shirt has some shape to it in the side seams. |
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| This is about as wild as it gets for me, lol. I like the sleeve length and the vertical darts. |
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| Close-up of one of the darts. The shirt has room for movement but with comfortable shaping, i.e. not baggy. |
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| Work t-shirt, so it's very worn. But there are two things I really like about it. The length is shorter than most tees, and I like the neckline finishing. |
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| Here's the same tee in a different color (because the red didn't photograph well). It has a more finished looking neckline, which I like. |
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| A similar tee with another neckline finish I like. I like the small pattern in the fabric too. |
Bottoms:
Notice the common theme? All more fitted at the waist and hips, flaring to a wider hemline which is perfect for walking.
This one's a little more unusual with a more gathered waist.
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| I just love the fabric of this one. |
I dislike a bunched waist, but the pieces of this skirt are still narrow at the top than bottom.
For now, I need to mull all this over. One thing I've decided, is I'm not going to worry so much about "my style," because it seems that specific style categories are an invention of the clothing and fashion industry. So, the next logical step seems to be to pull all my town clothes out of my closet and see how coordinated they actually are. Understanding what I like and don't like will help me weed more things out. That's a project for the future, however, because summer on the homestead is incredibly busy with garden, canning, and cheese making. But at least I've made a start.
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