 having worked as a fashion journalist for decades, I found the exercise off-puttingly hard. The first word that sprung to mind when describing my style was 'eclectic', a descriptor only marginally less useful than a 'In Liz We Truss' mug. Anyone rifling through my wardrobe would probably conclude that I share it with several flatmates, so fragmented are its contents. Other than jumpsuits, there is nothing I don't wear. Every shape of jean, length of skirt, style of coat and colour of sweater is contained within its schizophrenic, claustrophobic walls, resulting in a plethora of 'looks' that veer wildly from 'generic harassed mum' to 'still thinks she's eighteen'. Oops: that's four words. See how hard it is? I asked a friend who, appositely, was out){kind=link}
A handy three-word method could help you in your next shopping trip – and streamline your existing wardrobe
As the old adage goes, when it comes to telling someone you love them, all it takes is three little words. But now, a similar maxim is being applied to our wardrobes.
According to US stylist Allison Bornstein, the simplest, most surefire way of finding a style that suits you doesn’t involve flicking through the pages of a glossy magazine, browsing Pinterest or keeping an eye on your favourite influencers. Instead, she suggests that all you need to do is to pick three words that describe your style, and stick to them.
It’s an admirable idea – provided, of course, that you can pick three words that describe your style. Posting on TikTok about her theory, Bornstein explains to her 157.3K followers that while the first two words might come easily, the third can be much trickier. One client, for example, came up with “layered” and “playful” to describe her style, but struggled to find another. Bornstein suggested she think of a word to describe how she definitely didn’t want to look, then define its opposite. This led the client to opine that she didn’t want to look fussy, contrived or overdone – the opposite of which is “effortless”. Thus “layered, playful, effortless” became her three words.
Despite (or perhaps because of) having worked as a fashion journalist for decades, I found the exercise off-puttingly hard. The first word that sprung to mind when describing my style was “eclectic”, a descriptor only marginally less useful than a “In Liz We Truss” mug. Anyone rifling through my wardrobe would probably conclude that I share it with several flatmates, so fragmented are its contents. Other than jumpsuits, there is nothing I don’t wear. Every shape of jean, length of skirt, style of coat and colour of sweater is contained within its schizophrenic, claustrophobic walls, resulting in a plethora of “looks” that veer wildly from “generic harassed mum” to “still thinks she’s eighteen”. Oops: that’s four words. See how hard it is?