> CD #82: The three-word method
As I’ve mentioned in the past, I enjoy stuff like personality tests and style quizzes—most likely a consequence of all the Seventeen magazines I read as a girl, plus my penchant for navel-gazing to the extreme—so I was delighted to hear this week about a new (to me) method of determining your personal style, introduced on TikTok by stylist Allison Bornstein. I’m not actually on TikTok, but the nerdy nerd in me says I must seek out the source material and provide links for you. So here you go: Parts 1, 2 and 3.
The TL;DR version is that you should come up with three words to describe your style and/or the style you aspire to have. Bornstein recommends starting by looking at the clothing items you wear most and finding a couple words to describe them and their general vibe. You then add a third word that is more aspirational, how you want others to see you. The three words together can then be used to define your personal style, help you shop more purposefully, and guide you in putting together outfits that reflect who you really are. Oh, and the three words should be somewhat different from each other because it’s mostly about striking a balance between them.
From an article on the three-word method in The Sydney Morning Herald:
We can see this concept at work by looking at celebrity examples. Fashion influencer Alexa Chung is “preppy, whimsical, edgy,” according to Bornstein. {…} Actor Tracee Ellis Ross is “bold, colourful, and exaggerated.” Princess Diana was “sporty, demure, and opulent.”
Fashion? Words?? Introspection??? All my favourite things in one exercise!
So I’ve spent the last half an hour trying to figure out what my three words are, and I think I’ve arrived at “preppy, textural, playful.” These words are definitely a reach today as I sit here in windproof sweatpants and a thermal long-sleeved top (although I am also wearing a preppy sweater vest)… maybe my three words are actually “rundown, suburban, mom” or “cold, cold, cold.”
But let’s not judge by today.
A few weeks ago, I bought a blouse that, I think, covers all three of my words quite nicely—and the three-word method helps me understand why I feel more like myself when I wear it.
Too bad I live in a place where winter comes in October (there’s already snow on the ground) and stays until May. Silk blouse season is over. And when it comes to style vs weather, I have three different words for my sad reality: weather always wins.
:) Teresa
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