Personal Style isn’t about buying the latest fashions or spending lots of money on clothes and accessories. It’s about projecting your inner self to the world.

Some people have a higher level of desire to express their personal style than others. One extreme is going into debt to be stylish.  The other extreme is total disregard for style.

Some women feel that there’s no point in being stylish because they aren’t the perfect shape or young enough or have no place to wear “nice” clothes.

There are all sorts of reasons why style matters to some and not to others.

Bottom line, whatever your style, even if you seem to lack style, you project some sort of image.

Developing your personal style doesn’t happen overnight, however, for some, it is easier than others; some “instinctively” know their style or “naturally” grow into it. The good news is, your style IS out there whether you find it yourself or with the help of a Personal Stylist.

So how do you develop a personal style?

1. Goals / Motivation

First of all, you must have some level of desire or motivation to develop your personal style. Without motivation, you’ll never get to your true style.

Maybe you want to look current and professional in order to find a job or get a promotion, or maybe you want to express your true personality in order to attract the right man or woman, or maybe you simply want to be stylish and chic to boost your confidence by looking good.  Maybe you just like expressing yourself with clothes and accessories.

Take some time to think about WHY you want to be stylish.

2. Consider Likes and Dislikes

Your favourite clothes and accessories can teach you a lot about your style.

Browse magazines and catalogues and rip out pictures of styles you like. Don’t compare the model’s age, size, colouring or anything else to you, just rip. Then look for a common thread (no pun intended) in the pictures – are the styles classic, casual, fun, dramatic, romantic and so on.

Go to your closet; pull out every piece or outfit that you absolutely love and feel great in. It doesn’t matter if it’s a pair of jeans or an evening outfit. Why do you love these pieces? Because they fit perfectly, suit your body shape (you may even say you look hot!), are an awesome colour on you or because you feel confident wearing them? Again, look for something common about all of the pieces that you love.

Ask a friend or someone close to you:  “What do you think my personal style is?”   “What image do I project?”  “What does this outfit say about me?”

3. Try It On

People who shop with me know that one of my favourite expressions is “Go ahead, try it on for fun”.  Go to stores and try on clothes that you think could work with your ideal image or style.  Don’t look at price tags; the goal is not to look for something to buy, but to look for something that fits your unique personal style and projects the image you want to project.

Take someone with you and have him or her take pictures of you in the outfits so you can view them later at home.  What speaks to you?  Does what you see project your inner self to the world?

You can develop your signature style.

If you’re not motivated to find your best style, you won’t.  But if you are motivated, you will figure it out and in no time, finding clothes and accessories that are an expression of your style and image will become second nature.

Do you have a personal style?  How did you develop it?