Discover your color palette and your style type.

"Could I Do a Walking Tour in That?"

7/31/2017

It can be hard to know which Style Identity category a given outfit falls into. Here are some unexpected questions you can ask yourself to help you narrow it down.

"Could I do a walking tour in this?"

The essence of Natural style is relaxation, freedom, and uninhibited movement. If an outfit is something you could wear for a walking tour of a hilly European city, it probably has a lot of Natural. Clothes you could comfortably take a nap in are also usually Natural.

"Do I have an irresistible urge to touch this?"

Romantic fabrics often beg to be touched. This absolutely relates to the fact that Romantic style is the embodiment of feminine sexuality. If you can't wait to run your fingers across a fabric, chances are it's part of a Romantic ensemble.

"Does this scare me a little?"

Dramatic ensembles are avant-garde, outside the norm -- and we humans are naturally intimidated by stuff that's outside the norm. If an outfit makes you feel like taking a step backward, it likely has a strong Dramatic influence.

"Can I imagine this on a girl in a Norman Rockwell painting?"

Ingenue style is an archetype of traditional girlishness. Almost anything that's Ingenue looks as if it emerged from a Norman Rockwell painting -- or from the closet of Sandy in "Grease." (Before her makeover at the end, LOL!)

"Could a little boy wear this?"

Gamine style is boyish. If an ensemble looks like something a little boy could conceivably wear to school without raising eyebrows, it probably has a lot of Gamine.

"In a movie, would someone ascend into heaven wearing this outfit?"

That may sound ridiculous, but Ethereal styles make the wearer look as if she can take flight.

"Would I wear this to my first day at my Wall Street job? (Or to the boss's barbecue the following weekend?)"

Whether formal or casual, Classic ensembles always look conservative and rich. In a Classic outfit, you'd never be embarrassed to run into the C.E.O. of your company. There's never anything attention-seeking, objectionable, or out of place in a Classic look. You're above reproach.

Not sure of your style identity? Try the Style Identity Calculator, or get a Virtual Analysis.

16 Comments

7/31/2017 06:58:24 pm

You must have read my mind with this post, because I just sent an email asking about this exact question. Thank you for the clarification! I find this very helpful as a shorthand for categorizing style influences.

I guess then, my remaining struggle is how to adequately blend conflicting IDs. Some IDs seem to dovetail nicely: "Is this something appropriate for Wall St. AND a little intimidating?" - dramatic classic makes sense to me. But then some seem to pull in opposite directions: "Can I take flight while on walkabout?" Ethereal Natural? Or "Can I take flight while on walkabout with the boss?" Ethereal Natural Classic. etc.

I guess this fits with your strategy of finding a blend of pieces. For example, I found it nearly impossible to come up with a purse that wanted to take flight. Luggage just never strikes me as very ethereal. So I went with a natural classic tote in a light neutral and figured if I go heavenward we leave the bags behind? Thinking out loud here.

Anyhow, thanks again for this post! This is really helpful as a sketch of how to quickly evaluate clothes - and entire outfits. I will find this useful as I go shopping.

Lois Garnier

9/30/2021 07:12:57 am

I guess a good thing to remember when thinking about luggage is colour. If you’re wanting to give your luggage an ethereal edge then choose an ethereal colour. And if you’re ascending heavenwards with said luggage then maybe think about soft grey or blue or the softest colours in your style identities which your palette will allow.

Melissa

7/31/2017 09:49:28 pm

This sums up each type beautifully. Thank you!

Jenn Zylstra

8/1/2017 08:58:19 am

This is very helpful! And I think I should like a walk around the European countryside very much!

Kay

8/5/2017 07:15:25 pm

I have Natural envy. I love causal low maintaince stuff, but my best look is Ethereal Classic Dramatic.

Rachel

8/9/2017 08:43:05 pm

Oh my -- and I have Dramatic envy, so much! :-)

Marie

6/30/2021 05:32:21 pm

I am a natural-ethereal classic and have Romantic-Dramatic Envy.

9/30/2021 07:14:25 am

I’m natural ethereal but always really drawn to gamine clothes even though I don’t particularly have gamine envy!?

Lena

8/7/2017 01:29:01 am

Hi Rachel, I have noticed that when using your Style Identity Calculator you often get a result of a 4 blend style category. Is that because your calculator is based on self analysis and women are not skilfull enough to get an accurate result ? Or is it possible that some people are a blend of 4 style categories? If so, why haven't you written something about that? Also, you don't have any celebrity examples for your 3 blend categories. I think that could be helpful when trying to figure out ones style category.

Rosetta

8/8/2017 05:38:37 am

Lena, I'm not Rachel, but hope you don't mind me replying meanwhile;) As I am actually a blend of 4 style types (R-E-I-N), or I get those 4 when I do the calculator most objectively; but if I then adjust the scores a bit to narrow it down to 3, as instructed, one of them always drops out (N). I think it's more common than acknowledged, in fact, and I agree with you that max 4 types should be "allowed", if one so wishes. But I guess Rachel's instructions tell to narrow it down to just 3 because most people would probably find it too complicated to have all of 4 style essences ;) I don't, I find 4 to be the most accurate result for me, and it actually simplifies matters (and gives better choices) for me, but I can appreciate that not everyone feels so.

8/9/2017 08:48:06 pm

Rosetta's right -- I'm operating on the assumption that four is too much for most people to handle, and that manifesting three of your essences -- even if you are a blend of four or more -- will make you look awful darn good. But people can be blends of four or more. I am! I have a smidge of Romantic and a smidge of Ingenue. But most days, I can't be bothered to spend the time and energy bringing in those small amounts -- doing Ethereal Natural makes me look great, and I stick with it.

I hear you about the celebs. It's hard to ID their styles because the process takes a very long time! But I will try to talk more about celebs in upcoming posts.

Kristy

8/7/2017 09:14:58 am

Rachel, I've noticed that you've added some cooler tones to the Natural board. As a Winter who is strongly Natural with a bit of Dramatic, I do appreciate this and would like to see more!

8/9/2017 08:43:34 pm

Duly noted! Thank you for the feedback!

Melina

8/12/2017 05:18:32 am

I'd also like to thank you Rachel for adding some not-so-superthin models into the boards! :) As most of them are really so slim that the clothing recs may not suit the average woman... Also it would be great if you could include some slightly older women in them, as again most are in their 20's and what suits them may not suit the average woman. :)

8/11/2017 01:15:56 am

Thank you Rosetta and Rachel, for answering my questions! And Rachel, I can't wait to read your upcoming posts about celebs!

Katja

8/12/2017 07:47:29 am

Melina, I agree with you! Many outfits in the boards are just for teenagers.

Truth is Beauty

"Could I Do a Walking Tour in That?"

Leave a Reply.

About Me...

Categories