On Finding Your Own Style

A lot guys have asked me the same question over and over again: what’s in style?

That’s a good question but it won’t help you much if you don’t answer another one first: what’s my lifestyle?

Since I’m a teacher, I’m not really allowed to get mad at anyone for asking this (and, at times, I do feel like it) but, what I CAN do is write an article about it.

I want you, for just one second, to forget about fashion and style. Forget all about D&G, Prada, chinos, bracelets and rings. Style is about expressing who you already are. If who you are is not who you’d want to be, then it’s time you figure THAT out first.

Seriously, you want to know the message you want to express. Then and only then can you allow clothes to help you express that message better and in a more powerful way.

Ask yourself, which of these words describe me better?

classy
playboy
businessman
fun
introvert
extravert
childish
cute
warm
friendly

You can come up with even more words to add to this list. The thing is: I want you to do this exercise for two reasons.

The first reason is that you want to find the best clothes that express your identity and personality.

The second reason is that I don’t want you to simply buy everything that I recommend on the site. I do recommendations for a lot of people with a lot of different backgrounds, ideas and beliefs.

You should be able to filter out those clothes that don’t convey your personal message and stick to those that do. No point in buying everything just because it’s stylish. Style needs context.

Ok, let’s take some examples in case you’re lost.

Let’s say you chose childish from the list. In this case, you may want to try some t-shirts with animated characters on them (such as those from D&G or New Yorker). At the same time, you’ll want to stay away from funny t-shirts that have any kind of logos and messages on them.

What if you chose warm? To express that you’re a cool, warm person, you may want to go for warmer colors such as yellow, orange and red. You may also want to try earthy colors such as different shades brown, green, or purple.

if you mix warm colors with earthy colors you’ll convey that warm, relaxed and trustworthy image that you already have on the inside.

This is fun, isn’t it? Let’s take one last example. Say you want to convey that you’re fun. Can you figure out how to do that?

It’s dead simple: patterns.

Patterns are a great way to add variety to your outfits and they draw attention. Now, since we’re guys, the range of patterns we can use is limited but don’t let that put you down. Here are a few patterns that work great on guys (some of which I wear on a weekly basis):

– checks
– stripes
– paisley
– polka dots

Each character trait, each emotion can be expressed through your clothes. Just make sure you put some thought into it. Someone once said that 1 second in preparation can save you 5 seconds in execution. If you put some though into what you’re trying to express, you’ll go right to the target and create a stylish wardrobe in no time.