Unlocking your taste
Casting a wide net and bringing in a bounty of inspiration
I’ve been waxing and waning to friends about inspiration and my thoughts on the matter. What is it? Where does it come from? Once we have it, what do we do with it?
One of my core beliefs is that you have the makings of great style already within you. From the external elements of the colors and shapes of your physical form to the unseen elements of imagination, curiosity, and soul. But the truth is, these intangible elements can be buried so deep under shame, embarrassment, or simply the feeling that who you are is more about what you do than what you imagine, think or feel, that it can seem impossible to access the hidden gems within.
And so the new question is, “How do we unlock the internal elements of your style?” I think the key lies in inspiration: the experience of connecting on a gut-soul level with something you see, hear, feel, or read. External inspiration can help unlock the unique parts of who you are. This can and does often happen when we experience art, read a great novel, or travel somewhere beautiful. It could happen when you look into the eyes of someone you love, or putter about in your garden and gasp at the intricacies of a flower petal. I think we can all agree that there is something transcendent about these experiences, and their power to inspire us is real and deep.
But I find that often when it comes to style, we’re so habituated to look in obvious places for inspiration (or rather replication) that figuring out how to take the experience of that beautiful flower petal and translate it into some aspect of our wardrobes is tricky, if not impossible. How can I bottle up my trip to Rome and make my style somehow better? It is possible, but not obvious, and might take some rather vigorous mind-bending to accomplish.
What I propose instead is to look towards higher forms of art in style. Every brand has a designer, but the higher end you go, the more likely it is that the designer is a superb and practiced artist with years of not only training, but real world experience in her craft. One of the most prevalent examples of this, and a personal favorite is Miuccia Prada who season after season shows us her powerful skills of storytelling through clothing. The colors, the shapes, and the styling of both Prada and Miu Miu are often staggering, and there are so many examples of the ways that what she creates have a profound ripple effect that eventually touches anyone who wears clothes. I also really loved the S/S ‘25 Bally show. It’s a great place to start if you’ve never watched a fashion show. Pay attention to the use of color and the shoes, always my two favorite elements to watch, but especially exciting with Bally.
Fashion shows are often dismissed by the average person as being out of touch or irrelevant to our every day lives (ahem Balenciaga), but once you know how to watch the shows, you can see pretty quickly that if Prada sends slime green down the runway, you’ll be able to find that color in Gap, Target, or Uniqlo the next season, and certainly in the 2 to 3 years following it’s introduction. If you don’t believe me, look at this ballet shoe style renaissance we’re in right now. It has been going on for a few years, but when it first started, your only option was to buy designer. Now you can find replicas in dozens of variations in literally every store where you buy shoes. This kind of trend came from a series of key runway shows a few years and seasons prior to now.
If watching fashion shows is not your thing, don’t worry. You don’t have to follow them unless you want. But there can be unparalleled value in learning about some of the designers who are prolific right now, or looking to some of the big fashion houses of the last 50+ years and paying attention to the way they tell a story though color, shape, and texture. Find what resonates with you, and see if you can incorporate these elements into your wardrobe. I promise you that your style will be so much richer and nuanced, and you’ll feel more connected to yourself in the process.
This idea of inspiration through high fashion is just a drop in the bucket that holds all the facets of your personal style. Join me for 6-weeks of deep style work to learn more and reset your wardrobe to create more ease and fun. I only have a few spots left for the end of this year before I raise my rate in 2025. LMK if you want more details.
MDS