This step may be my second favorite of this whole process. If you didn’t know, I studied fashion merchandising and worked as a fashion merchant for 8 years. One thing all merchants have to do; and if you’re good should enjoy doing it; is analyze. So lucky for me, I love analyzing. So Step Three is all about analyzing and evaluating everything I saved in Step One.
My approach to the analysis is to first write down everything I see that’s repeated and attributes I like about the outfits.
I start at a Birds Eye view; meaning I’m quickly glancing over all the images and writing down anything that stands out to me. The initial attributes I noticed to the images I saved were; bright pops on color, trousers, plaid, boxy jackets, lots of prints.
Then I review the images more closely to notice the details. What I noticed next: specifically wide-leg or cropped trousers, oversized blazers, a vibe of being unfussy, one statement piece in an outfit, the mix of feminine and masculine, touches of western.
The list goes on the more I review the images. feminine accessories, elegant shoes, flowy + hard, full skirts, minimal layering. berets.
What I did next may seem OCD to some of you or like I’m speaking your love language. I put all these words into a spreadsheet and categorized them (this is where my merchant brain kicked in). The categories I identified were Vibe, Styling, Color/Print, Silhouette & Accessories. I won’t say these are the only categories to exist and you may want identify your own based on your words. But this is why these made sense to me.
Vibe - what’s the feeling your inspirational outfits evoke? It’s the overall aesthetic rather than anything specific in the outfits. Mine are: Unfussy, effortless, whimsical, eclectic, French grandpa
Styling - this is how the outfits are put together. What styling methods are being used? Mine are: menswear + feminine, one statement piece, western elements, minimal layering, flowy + hard, elegant + rough, sporty elements, smart + casual
Color/Print - are there specific colors & prints that repeat or the overall use of color/print. Mine are: bright pops of colors, plaid, prints galore, neutral color blocking, stripes
Accessories - identifying repeating accessories will help with outfit “finishing” as well as identify any holes in the closet. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have any other accessories but if you’ve saved outfits that contain the same kind of shoe, for example, then that can be you go-to shoe when getting dressed in a pinch. Or maybe there’s an accessory than can be “your thing” (like SJP’s flower). Mine are: elegant shoes, scarves, berets, fedoras, feminine accessories, red shoes, loafers, classic sneakers, pointy shoes
Silhouettes - the repeated silhouettes can become closet “essentials”. And see whether we have these silhouettes or if we’re trying to make pieces work when we actually don’t like them for us. Mine are: wideleg trousers, cropped trousers, boxy jackets, oversized blazers, full skirts, midi skirts, long skirts, dramatic coats, graphic tees, chunky sweaters, interesting denim, cuffed denim, trench coats, flowy dresses, Utilitarian pieces
After my mind as evaluated what I like about the looks I saved, the next thing to do is identify 3 attributes that I want to always include in my outfits.
This part may not come easy and that’s ok. Brainstorm by writing down what comes to mind. I easily came up with “at least one print in my outfit” because I know how much I love prints. So possibly your first attribute is the most obvious because you know like so much. Hell, you could even give up pants because you love skirts so much. (Side story: I had a boss who only wore dresses. She said it was the easiest way for her to get dressed so her closet was filled with them and she was always happy wearing one - yes even in the winter with tights and boots.)
Next, I reviewed my “vibes” and “styling” words. What overall styling method can I use to accomplish the vibe I want? I’m going with “balanced aesthetics”. I may re-evaluate once I start playing with outfits but it’s not necessarily wrong.
For the last attribute, I thought to myself, based on my words what's the final touch I can put on my outfit? It seems my words were a little bit all over the place - western, sporty, feminine, masculine, elegant. So what word mean all over the place? Eclectic. So for my third attribute I’m going to include “something eclectic” into my look.
What I like about identifying three attributes is that they will help shape personal style. They’re also season-less which means you’ll be able to seamless transition the style regardless of the season it was cultivated in. Lastly, the attributes should help create or adjust outfits more easily. There may be an outfit I’m inspired by but I’m going to add in a print to make it more “me”. Or I want to start my outfit with something specific like a polka dot wideleg trouser (at least one print) so I’ll balance the smartness of the pant with a graphic tee (2 balanced aesthetics), add an oversized blazer (another silhouette I like) and finish with a beret (something eclectic). The shoe can be a Chelsea boot (oh, may even red!). And then I’m going to stop there and not overthink everything (does this actually go with this? Is this too much? Is think not enough?). The overload of questions should stop because if I have my 3 attributes in the outfit, I know I like it. Those are the goals anyway and I will let you know if I've succeeded on Sunday.
Step Four will include playing in your closet and there’s a chance the attributes will adjust. Maybe two attributes are too similar. Or maybe there’s still something that quite hitting the mark? Again, I’ll let you know on Sunday.
Lastly, I’m going to evaluate the outfits I copied last week based on the above work.
There was something not quite right about this outfit when I looked at the pictures. I felt ok wearing it but it can be better for me. Firstly, the only print was the sock but it was so small it doesn’t count for me. So I would want to change to a printed jacket or striped tee or printed bag. Secondly, the aesthetics weren’t balanced enough - it leaned too much to masculine. A more elegant shoe might to do the trick. Lastly, there’s nothing “eclectic” here. In the Inso image, she was carrying a patent leather bag with bright blue stitching. Lasts the eclectic pop I was missing. Also, I realized her pants had more interesting details which elevated the whole look even though the tee & jacket were “simple”. I actually have a different kind of military pants with cool stitching that would have worked better.
Yes, this may seem like a lot to unpack. But I do believe that by putting in the work now will lead to easier, quicker and happier dressing in the near future.
This week I’m going to incorporate the changes into the first outfit and wear it again to see if I’m right.
This is an outfit I wore on Wednesday that really worked for me.
First attribute - at least one print. Check. Second attribute - 2 balanced asthetics (fancy + utilitarian). Check. Third attribute - Something eclectic (the cowboy boots could lean utilitarian so the hat is the eclectic touch). Check! No notes :)
I didn’t realize these two looks were similar but both are good “casual day” options. And they tick off all 3 attributes! Yay!
Sunday (11/19) Update:
This last week I’ve been getting dressed with a focus on my 3 attributes and I’ve really liked my outfits. I finally felt good about what I was wearing. It’s really true what that sign says “I’m a nicer person when I like my outfit”. At the very least, I’m nicer to myself. Interestingly, I didn’t look for inspiration from any specific outfit for these looks. I built them from my 3 attributes as well as my list of words and they felt feel like “me”. I want to give this idea a week or two more to determine if it’s as good it seems to me.
I realized that *technically* my re-discovery process ends after Step Three. Because once I’ve evaluated my inspirations and determined by attributes, I’ve re-discovered my style (woo hoo!). But I’m finding there’s merit in experimenting and playing around with your newly discovered style. This would become especially important if the new style differs greatly from the old style. So I’ve been noodling on whether “experimentation” should be part of Step Three or a step on its own. I hesitate on it being its own step because I don’t think I can set a specific time limit on it. I may only need a few outfits to solidify my attributes but you may need a month to feel comfortable in your new outfits. Yet for the sake of this process, once you’ve played around with your attributes, you’ve found your style! Congratulations!
I don’t want to leave you hanging because I believe there’s more I can do for easy dressing beyond “finding my style”. So I’m going to keep going with my plan. Step four discussed outfit formulas, how they help us and the best way to create them. Step Five is dedicated to the hot topic of decluttering.
Coming Next Week - STEP FOUR: Outfit Formulas
That's all for now, friends. If you'd like to follow me at @stylingdarya, I'd be thrilled. Additionally, feel free to reach out via DM or the comments below if you have any comments or questions (just please keep it friendly). Thank you for reading this post, it means the world to me that you're here. If you're enjoying what you're reading, please consider sharing this newsletter with others. (And if you have a moment to like it, that would be amazing!) Your support truly means a lot.
Happy Dressing!
xoxo, Darya