Style Statement - part 2

Recently I acquired a fascinating book entitled "Style Statement".  The purpose of the book is to find two words that describe your authentic self, which you can then use in all aspects of your life such as the clothes you wear, the interior of your house, your relationships and the direction in which you are going in your career. The first word describes your foundation: the 80%, and the second word describes your creative edge, what motivates you: your 20%.  Taking part in Imogen's April Style Challenge was an added incentive for me to explore this book in greater depth. I had decided, with the help of some comments from friends and other fashion bloggers, that my style is essentially relaxed, comfortable and colourful.  How could I use this to come up with my Style Statement?

Working through the Style Statement book, I noticed a few key things that reflected not only my surroundings, but also the clothes that I feel comfortable in.  In my home I like plenty of light, comfort is a priority and I also enjoy touches of colour.  When I buy new clothes, they need to feel light and comfortable on my body and I am also drawn to bright colours. You can see the common theme.

So what two words did I end up with?  The ones that I was considering for my first word (80%) were Cherish, Cosmopolitan, Genuine, Harmony, Natural, Timeless.  The words that felt right for me for my second word (20%) were Casual, Colourful, Cosmopolitan, Fun, Light, Original, Playful, Style, Unique,Vibrancy and Warm.

This was the outfit that I wore today when we visited friends, which I think sums up my style.  It is comfortable, in basic colours of light navy and white, but with a dash of colour as seen in my coral necklace.  I also had a matching coral cardigan with me, which I didn't need to wear as it was a lovely warm Spring day: the joys of living in Spain!

Looking at the words above and the outfit that I was wearing, which two words do you think best describe my style?

Reading through the words again, and reflecting on my answers to the questions in the book, I decided that Harmony and Natural were the closest words to the real me.

Checking out the 20% list I noticed that I had written down Cosmopolitan, which had also featured in my 80% list.  Was that telling me something?

My final decision was that Harmonious Cosmopolitan is the best description of who I am and also who I want to be.

Style Statement - part 1

Generous, warm-hearted, adventurous, independent, creative, compassionate: these are the words a dear friend used to describe me when I was trying to define what type I was for Dressing Your Truth.  I am now trying to establish my individual style within the DYT guidelines, and part of the April Style Challenge is to find your personal style statement, so this seemed like an opportune moment to do so. 

The words for type 1s in DYT include: light, animated, buoyant, crisp, fresh and fun.  From these words, I think the ones that best express the way I like to approach fashion are light, crisp and fun. Looking at my friend's list, the words that I would hope to convey through the way I dress are warm-hearted, independent and creative. Imogen from Inside Out Style described my style as colourfully, comfortably relaxed.  

Colourfully, comfortably relaxed?

Is there a common theme here?  As Imogen is the style expert, I will look at her words first. "Colourful" probably relates to the light, fun part of me that uses colour to brighten up my outfits and I hope that this makes me seem more approachable and warm-hearted too.  The "comfortable" aspect is light again, and crisp, as I don't like to wear anything that feels heavy or drapes too much. "Relaxed" ties in with the comfort factor too.  I hope that I am expressing my independent side by not slavishly following fashion, but using the latest styles if they happen to suit my lifestyle. I like to think that some of my looks are creative, but the main criteria when I wear a particular style is "does it feel good?" and any creative touches are secondary to that. So, not surprisingly, I think that Imogen was spot on - she is the style expert, after all!

I think that "colourfully relaxed" is a good starting point for me, as it also represents the way I like my home to be.  At the moment I am working my way through "The Style Statement" book so I plan another post on this topic, in which I will reveal the two words that are my personal Style Statement.