Have you ever looked at your wardrobe and wondered why, despite having so many clothes, you still struggle to put an outfit together?
Perhaps you have a wardrobe full of pieces you liked when you bought them, but somehow they don’t quite feel like you anymore. You might save lots of outfit inspiration on Pinterest, follow women whose style you admire or find yourself constantly buying new things, hoping they’ll make getting dressed easier.
But here’s the thing: before you buy another thing, you need to understand your personal style.
Knowing your personal style makes getting dressed easier, shopping more intentional and building a wardrobe that works together far less complicated.
It’s not about following trends or copying someone else’s look. It’s about understanding what you are naturally drawn to, what makes you feel confident and what works for your body and lifestyle.
So, where do you start?
I’ve put together five practical exercises to help you discover your personal style. Grab a notebook, your phone and a little time. You’re going to do some detective work!
1. Discover your three style personality words
Let’s start by working out how you want your style to look and, more importantly, how you want it to feel.
Your style personality is the foundation of your wardrobe. It’s what makes your clothes feel connected and gives you a way to filter your shopping decisions.
Start with five things you love.
Go into your wardrobe and select five pieces you absolutely love wearing. Try to choose a variety:
- Your favourite shoes
- A top or jumper
- A jacket or coat
- Trousers or a skirt
- A dress
Take a photograph of each item.
Now, look at each photograph and write down three words that describe what you love about that particular piece.
For example, you might love a jacket because it’s elegant, structured and timeless. Or perhaps you love a pair of shoes because they’re bold, feminine and unusual.
Don’t overthink it. Write down the first words that come to mind.
Now look beyond your wardrobe.
Choose five objects you love, five interiors that appeal to you and five people whose style you admire.
These could be anything from a favourite handbag or piece of artwork to a beautiful hotel interior or an outfit you’ve saved on Instagram.
For each one, write the words “I am…” followed by what you love about it.
For example:
- I am natural
- I am unique
- I am colourful
- I am classic.
- I am dramatic.
Look at all the words you’ve collected. Are there any that keep appearing? Which ones feel most like you?
Narrow everything down to three words.
For me, my three words are Classic, Chic and Dramatic.
These words act as my personal style filter. When I’m considering buying something, I ask myself whether it reflects at least one of these three words.
If it doesn’t, it probably won’t feel quite like me, even if it’s a beautiful piece.
Your three words will become the starting point for building a wardrobe that feels cohesive and reflects your personality.
2. Identify the styles, cuts and silhouettes you love
Now go back to the five pieces you photographed in the first exercise.
This time, we’re looking at the actual design of the garments. What is it about their shape, cut and details that you love?
For each item, write down three things you particularly like.
Consider:
- Necklines: high neck, round neck, V-neck or boat neck?
- Trousers: wide-leg, straight, slim or tapered?
- Jackets: structured, oversized, fitted or cropped?
- Dresses: A-line, fitted, straight or flowing?
- Fabrics: soft, structured, fluid or textured?
Look at the details and think about why you are drawn to them.
Perhaps you love high necklines because you’re always cold and prefer to feel covered up. Maybe wide-leg trousers feel much more comfortable than skinny jeans. Or perhaps you always choose a jumper over a blouse.
There is no right or wrong answer.
Now look for patterns.
Write down three observations about the styles and silhouettes you consistently gravitate towards.
Think about the outfits you’ve admired on other people, on Pinterest or on social media too.
Are you drawn to wide, slim or straight silhouettes? Do you prefer fitted pieces, relaxed shapes or a combination of both?
The aim is to understand the shapes you naturally love wearing, rather than simply following what happens to be fashionable.
This information will become incredibly useful when shopping because you’ll start recognising the cuts and styles that work for you.
3. Work out which colours you gravitate towards
Colour is another important part of developing your personal style.
Take a look at your wardrobe again. Are there particular colours you repeatedly buy? Do you naturally lean towards warmer or cooler shades?
Warm colours tend to have golden, yellow or earthy undertones.
Examples include:
- Camel
- Rust
- Terracotta
- Mustard
- Warm olive
- Peach
- Cream
- Warm chocolate brown
Cool colours tend to have blue, pink or grey undertones.
Examples include:
- Navy
- Charcoal
- Cool grey
- Icy blue
- Burgundy
- Raspberry
- Emerald
- Rose pink
- Soft white
You might find that you naturally gravitate towards one colour family more than the other.
This is useful because building a wardrobe around a consistent colour direction makes mixing and matching much easier. When the undertones work together, you can create more outfit combinations without needing lots of different pieces.
Some versatile neutrals, including navy, soft white, dark brown, rose beige, grey, burgundy and deep green, can also work across different colour palettes, depending on their undertones.
Remember, the aim isn’t to restrict yourself to a handful of colours. It’s to identify the shades that make you feel your best and create a wardrobe where your colours work together.
If you’re struggling to identify your most flattering colours, a professional colour consultation can help you understand your colour palette and make more confident choices.
4. Create a Pinterest board for your personal style
Pinterest is one of my favourite tools for developing personal style. It’s a brilliant resource for collecting inspiration and spotting patterns in the outfits and individual pieces you love.
Create a dedicated Pinterest board for your personal style.
Start saving outfits, individual garments, shoes, accessories and colour combinations that align with your three style words and the silhouettes you’ve identified.
But I want you to divide your inspiration into two sections:
What I wish I could wear
Save all the outfits you admire, even if they’re a little outside your comfort zone. Perhaps they’re more colourful, dramatic, adventurous or different from what you normally wear.
What I actually feel comfortable wearing
Save outfits that you can genuinely imagine wearing in your everyday life.
Think about your lifestyle, your body, your confidence and the places you go.
Why do this?
Because there’s often a difference between the style we admire and the style we feel comfortable wearing ourselves.
You might love a particular look on Pinterest but realise you wouldn’t feel confident wearing it in public. Or perhaps you’ll discover that you’re ready to experiment with something new.
Both are useful discoveries.
Over time, your Pinterest board will become a visual reference for your personal style. You’ll start noticing recurring colours, shapes, combinations and details that help you understand what you really love.
5. Experiment with a digital wardrobe
Now it’s time to put everything into practice.
Rather than heading straight out shopping, I want you to experiment with the clothes you already own.
A digital wardrobe platform such as INDYX is a great way to do this. You can photograph your clothes, organise them digitally and create outfits without having to pull everything out of your wardrobe.
Here’s how I’d use it:
- Photograph and upload your existing wardrobe.
- Start creating outfits using your three style words as a guide.
- Experiment with the colours, cuts and silhouettes you’ve identified.
- Go back to your Pinterest board for inspiration.
- Recreate some of your favourite looks using pieces you already own.
- Wear the outfits in real life and notice how you feel.
You might discover that an outfit looks lovely on the screen but doesn’t feel quite right when you wear it. Or you might put together a combination you would never have thought of before.
Pay attention to these little discoveries.
Keep experimenting, making adjustments and noticing what works.
You can always return to Pinterest for inspiration, recreate the outfit in your digital wardrobe and then try it in real life.
This is how you gradually develop a better understanding of your style and make more of the clothes you already own.
And remember, your personal style isn’t fixed. It can evolve as your body, lifestyle and preferences change.
The goal is to build a wardrobe that works for the woman you are today.
Your personal style is the starting point for a better wardrobe
Finding your personal style isn’t about buying a completely new wardrobe or having a collection of expensive designer pieces.
It’s about understanding what you love, recognising the colours and silhouettes that work for you and learning how to put everything together.
When you have that clarity, shopping becomes much more intentional. You’ll find it easier to recognise what belongs in your wardrobe, what you should leave behind and how to create more outfits from the clothes you already own.
Most importantly, you’ll stop trying to dress like everyone else and start creating a style that feels like you.
Want more help creating a wardrobe you love?
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Your Personal Stylist,
Numba
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