How To Quickly Find Your Personal Style

There is something that we need to clear up right now… There are many ways to look good. There is no one “right” men's style. Working as a personal stylist for men, I get to see a lot of that diversification. There are correct ways to wear something, sure. But in terms of your style, that's all you.

But a lot of men get hung up on how to find their personal style. It's much easier than you think. There are three ways in which you can clue yourself into what styles you should be wearing. When I work with a personal styling client, these are the things I look at to determine how your personality can influence your clothing.

1. Look around your life

By looking around at the things in your life, such as home decor, you can pick up hints on your personal style.

You have more of an idea of what your personal style is than you think. You understand your likes and dislikes far better than anyone else does. Why wouldn’t you? You’re you.

Think about your car, house, favorite colors, the music you listen to, everything that surrounds your life. It all says something about you. And that can be translated into your clothing.

I’ll give you an example. Let’s say you’re an outdoorsy guy and like to spend time camping, fishing, wrestling bears, etc. What I generally find in your closet during an image consultation is a lot of clothing that is meant to be worn during those activities. There’s nothing wrong with that, except that you’re likely wearing these items as casualwear day-to-day.

When you wear Columbia and Patagonia camping gear out casually, you’re signaling that you like the outdoors, but also that you don’t have a sense of style or occasion. Those items aren’t meant for anything besides outdoor activities. We all get that you were an eagle scout, but there’s no need to shout about it.

Instead, we want to use items that hint that you’re a burly woodsman with items that are stylish and fit the occasion. We can do this easily just by using fabrics like suede, denim, tweed, flannel, and fleece, we start to do that. We can use earthy, woody colors such as deeper browns and greens to give off those earthy tones. We can use patterns like plaid and accessories like a beanie. Finally, finish the whole thing off with a pair of suede boots and a cologne with some tobacco notes. Now we’ve successfully created a beautiful ensemble fit for any true (or aspiring) outdoorsman.

By looking at your life and gaining inspiration from things around you, you can start putting together nuggets of your personal style.

2. Find a style Icon

James Bond has always been a popular style icon for men.

The other way you help navigate your personal style is by finding what I call a “Personal Style Icon”. This is simply someone who has good style you admire. Bonus points if they have the same coloring and body type as you, as this can give you further clues as to what you should be wearing.

Usually, this will be someone in the public eye like a musician, movie star or other celebrity. It really doesn’t matter who it is. As long as you have visual access to what they wear, you’re good to go.

I recommend building a Pinterest Board or something similar of your style icons for quick reference. One thing that I do for men in an online image consultation is build one of these boards for them. (I’ve also started building out a couple of other Pinterest boards that you can have a look at here)

One of the most useful things you can do with your style icons is use them as a measurement tool to gauge your outfit or clothing purchases.

Let’s say your style icon is “Daniel Craig as James Bond”. If you’re out shopping for any item, you can ask yourself as you’re looking at the item “would James Bond wear this thing?” If the answer is no, you shouldn’t purchase it.

You can do the same thing as you weed out bad clothing in your closet, one of the first things I have guys do in the style coaching program. Go through each item and run the same test… Would your style icon wear that item? If it’s a hard no, get rid of it. If it’s a maybe, you can run it against other tests like if it’s in the right color, fit, etc which are all things I cover during an online session.

Keep in mind that you can have multiple style icons. In fact, it’s ideal. You want to pick bits and pieces from others, not full out copy them. I personally have 3 main style icons I use regularly to keep me on track. There are times where I get that wild hair to try something out of my personal style.

3. Find your Style Archetype

This is an easy way to categorize different types of styles. You can group yourself into one of these categories based on the types of things you like and wear. Think about this as a "creative direction" for your closet. You're setting the tone for your wardrobe. I've included some standard archetypes below..

Rugged

Modern

Classic

Bohemian

Preppy

Rock

These are some of the popular men’s style archetypes.

There are many different ways of cataloging different styles. The idea is to have a "theme" that resonates with you and stick closer to it as you shop and put together outfits.

Summary

The beauty of adhering to your personal style is that everything in your closet will work together. You’ll have an easy time pairing items because everything is in the same vein.

Also, all your clothing will be congruent with your personality. We’ve taken things from your lifestyle and made them work in a stylish way. You’re not going to be wearing someone else’s sense of style, it’s all yours.

So make sure to keep your closet stocked with only things in your personal style. Nothing random. Nothing you hastily purchased for a party. No bad gifts. Not even that colorful shirt your wife picked out because the salesman said it was “trendy”. Nothing outside of what you've deemed your personal style.

You’re on the front lines of defense against bad garments out to ruin your look. By knowing and adhering to your personal style, you’re well equipped to ward off closet intruders. Strap on a helmet and start shooting, soldier.

If you want some help with your personal style, the first step is the Online Consultation, covering everything you need to know to help get your style on the right track. Learn more here.