What's Your Style Recipe?

What's Your Style Recipe?
By Leah Oman






In the late 1970s, I attended cooking school in Paris. The pastry chef applauded any glimmer of creativity in his students, but he also cautioned us to follow the recipe exactly the first time. He figured that once you know what it should taste like, you could start to make changes. But first, you had to have that reference point.
Your clothing style also needs a recipe so you know exactly what you're doing. Without a recipe, your closet may end up with a mish-mash of ingredients that don't work together, resulting in a tasteless, unappetizing wardrobe.
What is style anyway?
Style depends on a number of influences, such as your lifestyle, personality and values. You also need to take into consideration your physical characteristics of personal coloring, face and body shape, and hair type. Style is an art form in which you put all these pieces together in a way that is pleasing, creative, and individualized to you. Through your style, you emerge as a work of art.
How to discover your style recipe:
First of all, write down your goals and how you want other people to perceive you. The answers to these two critical questions should give you important information as to the look you want to create. Do you want to look like the person in charge? Or do you need to play a supportive role, such as in counseling or teaching? Think of words that describe the look you want to project and get them on paper.
Next, create a collage of pictures you collect from magazines, catalogues or online photos from department stores. Glue them onto a large piece of paper or poster board. Then, stand back and see what comes up for you? What trends or themes do you see? Is there a fresh and breezy style emerging? Or one that is dramatic and bold? Perhaps you see richness and complexity in detail, or softness and a subtle persona. Or do you see something else? Again, write the words that come up most strongly for you.
Finally, connect the dots. Taking all of this information, look for key words in both lists to create your style recipe. Which words create the strongest picture in your mind's eye? Write them down. Then, choose the top 5-7 words that resonate most for you. This list is your recipe. (Don't let the list get too long or you may lose focus.) Take it shopping with you, so that whenever something in the store catches your eye, you'll have your list to refer to. Ask yourself, does this match the words in my recipe? If it does, you've got a winner. If it doesn't, leave it on the rack. Having a recipe makes clothes shopping a whole lot easier, until the process becomes second nature and you can work without one. Just like making that cherry pie from memory!
If you need help creating your "style recipe," I'd be delighted to assist. Please call 303-471-7373, Leah Oman, or email leah@thesmarterimage.com.
The Smarter Image, Inc. �
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email: leah@thesmarterimage.com
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