What is signature style? Is it something we grow in to… or is it a look that has always been ours?
Style and signature style aren’t one and the same, in my mind at least… Style encompasses every facet of our lives and can manifest itself in both tangible and intangible expressions… Signature style, the concept I am thinking about…. is the way we appear, the way we dress ourselves… our presentation to the rest of the world…
I believe we develop into our ‘signature’… that it morphs and changes over the years… it grafts itself onto our beings and moulds the way we look at not only fashion but also ourselves.
My sense of style has had as many re-incarnations as Nefertiti… my signature style is now starting to find it’s feet and I notice that there is a pattern over these past years that spell ‘signature’. When I was younger my style was a creature of split personality… everything was possible. One week it would be one fashion and the next week another…
A lot of this is to do with knowing who I am, what I like and what suits me… it’s also about what makes me feel myself and makes me feel good. Signature style is a visual description, an instant snapshot of what you are about. Think about your friends… isn’t there something that comes to mind about the way they dress that immediately spells ‘them’? When I think of my favourite style icons… they all have their own signatures… their special fonts… their hand crafted messages…
Signature style finds a language of it’s own… ‘that’s so me’… ‘I could never wear that’… ‘I have to have that’… Those expressions that are so familiar to us and that we say without thinking. Whenever I am searching online for our fashion posts… those questions are the ones I’m asking… especially the ones about whether I could, or indeed whether I would wear that certain something. That’s my rule… and I suppose that has become my ‘signature style’…
How do we write our signatures?
I am lucky, it has always been easy for me… I have been blessed with that ability to instantly know if something is for me or not. Don’t ask me how or why… I just know… It might not always work out… but in my mind it’s clear. My taste is never diluted with shades of grey… I am truly black and white when it comes to style decisions. I am not always right… my opinions are certainly not the only ones that count… but for me, the answers are clear.
A friend called me the other night and asked me to help her with necklaces… which one was ‘the one’… she was umming and arring over the selections… I looked and in less than seconds I told her my choices… ( you can see them here) She found it baffling that I could decide so quickly and definitively. As I said… I’m fortunate like that.
My signature style is based on knowing what I love. That is the first and most important point to creating your signature style… Knowing what you like.
Make a point of understanding your body shape and what suits it, what is flattering. That is something that has changed for me over the years… and truthfully, between us… this is not a happy but necessary adjustment. Those days are long gone when I would look at a magazine or in a shop window and all that I had to consider was the price and whether it, ‘had my name on it’… These days it’s more about what likes me as opposed to me liking it… The attractions are not always mutual…
One of the reasons why handbags, shoes and accessories are so much a part of our signature style is because we can really express ourselves with these items… despite height, weight and shape.
Accept your body shape, be confident with that image and a signature look will be forthcoming.
Lifestyle is a big determiner of ‘signature style’… Are you a tailored type, a sporty girl… do you have an artistic spirit or a bohemian bent? Is the office your playground or the country your turf? All these elements will effect your choices and will, without you knowing, effect your style.
I think I have two signatures… one for the city when I am in London and one for the country when I am in France… rarely do my two wardrobes cross… although those principles of knowing what I like and what suits me still applies.
The major influences in your life define your signature style. The role models who have shaped your upbringing… Are you a child of the ’60’s 70’s or 80’s? Were you singing away to Abba all blonde and dressed in white… or were you a rocker type with a crush on Bono? Did you pour over fashion magazines? Did you watch endless movies… where the fashion was the star and the plot only the chorus?
Our families shape our signatures… we either go with them or rebel against them… we might not think they are great influencers… but either way, they are.
Signature Wish List
Eddie Borgo Rose Gold Bracelet… I’m never without a bangle or two…
I am a woman who waxes and wanes between a heel, an ankle boot and a loafer…
Christian Louboutin Isabel Marant Jimmy Choos
I can’t resist a tote… it’s my bag of the moment…
all colours… slouchy… soft… deep… a home away from home…
Joseph Laurent Long Line Blazer… A black blazer… my ‘go to’ worn with skinny jeans…
Marc Jacobs Jaguar Print Scarf… I have always worn scarves since I can remember and it is one of the accessories that make me feel like me…
For those days when my ‘signature’ really needs a lift…
Bobbi Brown Burnt Red Lip Colour … however tired or overwrought… a dash of red brightens my spirits…
and because they cover a multitude of multitudes…
Illesteva Glasses…
Have you defined your signature look? Let’s chat… xv
Images via Cinemagraph, Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg
