How to find your
S tyle
IN 10 STEPS!
Welcome to 40plusstyle.com where we celebrate style and
beauty of women over 40. We also give style courses at
40plusstylecourses.com and I give monthly master classes,
capsules and a style challenge at the 40plusstyleClub.com.
My name is Sylvia, creator of all sites and a true advocate of
personal style.
I believe that personal style advances as we age as we become
ever more aware of what suits our personality, our body and our
life. I also believe in personal style that is unique to YOU. I believe
that when you find the style that suits you, you will feel happier
and more confident living your life.
Some of you may have already found your unique personal style
but I know that many of you are struggling to identify it or can’t
figure out how to style for your changing body or lifestyle.
In this style guide I like to give you some starting tips and
resources to find your true unique style that will make you look
and feel amazing!
Enjoy!
First of all, what exactly is Style?
Here are just a few quotes that try to describe the word:
“Style is an expression of individualism mixed with charisma.
Fashion is something that comes after style.” John Fairchild
“Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not
giving a damn.” Gore Vidal
“Fashions fade, style is eternal.” Yves Saint Laurent
“Style is a magic wand, and turns everything to gold that it
touches.” Logan Pearsall Smith
“Style is definitely confidence, to leave people with the impression
that you want.” Suzanne
“Style is showing your personality on the outside.” Anja
I believe that it is a combination of all those things mentioned
above but above all:
“Style is expressing your unique self.” Sylvia
How do you define style?
Does your style reflect your personality?
So how you do find your unique style?
We are all very different.
It is therefore essential to understand yourself, your
personality, your body and your style preferences.
These 10 initial steps will help you identify what these
are!
1. Your body
2. Your personality
3. Color
4. Style inspiration
5. Wardrobe analysis
6. Fit
7. Which clothes make you happy and look fabulous
8. Components of style
9. Style essentials
10. The icings on the cake
Let’s get started!
1. Understand your body
Knowledge is power. So the first thing you need to understand is
what kind of body you have and what works for you.
If you have a good understanding of your body shape and which
parts you wish to highlight or downplay, you can buy the right
clothes to either accentuate or camouflage them. At
40plusstyle.com we work with 5 horizontal body types:
• pear
• apple
• rectangle
• hourglass
• inverted triangle
You can identify your body type by going to this page and then
follow the guidelines for your specific body type.
You may also like to identify your vertical body type.
Once you have discovered that, you can start thinking about the
desired silhouette you want to create and create a balanced outfit.
2. Understand your personality
Write down some words that describe your personality.
How would you currently describe it?
Do you feel that your style reflects your personality?
Have a look at various different styles.
Which styles appeal to you most?
3. Which colors inspire you?
Colours can also have a huge effect on your style and how you feel.
Determine which colors truly represent YOU. Notice how you feel
when you wear certain colors.
You may like to read my article on the psychology of color as well
to learn more about the effect colors can have on you.
If you don’t use much color in your current style, you may start to
experiment a bit by adding bits of colors through accessories and
see how these make you feel.
Do you know which colors suit your complexion?
Which colors make you happy?
4. Keep a scrapbook or pin the styles that inspire you
Whenever you see others wearing clothes you admire or like, try to get a picture and paste it in a note or scrapbook or pin it
on Pinterest.
After a while, you will see a pattern developing of the kind of styles that you like. Take note of that and remind yourself about
this style before going for the latest fashionable trend. You can take inspiration from my Pinterest Boards.
5. Be critical of your current wardrobe
Be honest. Which garments in your closet
do you REALLY like?
How many of the garments have you not
worn for a long time? How many were
mistakes?
Write down what didn't work. Which clothes
make you HAPPY?
Then donate or swap any items that don't
really work for you.
They may be great pieces, but if they don't
suit YOU or your body type or create the
silhouette you are after, you will not feel
happy in them.
It may be time to edit your wardrobe and
create a wardrobe that you love!
Are you happy with the clothes and
accessories in your wardrobe?
6. Make sure that every item you buy FITS you
I'm sure this happened to you.
You see an absolutely wonderful piece of clothing at
a rock bottom price. It fits your body, style
personality and creates a silhouette you like. You try
it on, but it's just a little bit too short or too tight.
You buy it anyway because the piece is so lovely and
it's cheap.
This is a big mistake. Any clothing that does not fit
you properly will never look good on you.
So please beware of sales and only buy new clothes
when you really adore them, suit your desired style
and fit you properly.
You will look better in a cheap item that fits, rather
than an expensive brand that doesn’t.
40PlusStyle.com
7. Keep a note book or diary of your outfits or
take pictures
You may already pin images or make a scrapbook of
clothes that inspire you, but also try to really
understand which clothes that you wear make you
feel GREAT!
If you felt wonderful on any particular day wearing a
certain outfit, write it down. Or better even, take a
picture.
I have found that taking pictures of myself is a great
help in recognising which outfits worked and looked
good and which ones didn't.
This will further help you identify your style and
prevent you from making buying mistakes.
8. Try to identify the components of your style and
only follow the latest trends when they fit your style
True style defies fashion trends. Although it is nice
to add some trendy pieces each season, you should
only go for the trends that suit you.
Try to identify the components of your style:
• Which comfort level is important?
• Simple or more abundant?
• Which cut and silhouette?
• Timeless or trendy?
• Prints or solid?
You may like to identify many more components
and identify the key points of your style.
Components of my style for example include
comfort but also asymmetry.
Write them down and use them while shopping!
9. Make sure your wardrobe contains all the
necessary basics for your style
The first 8 steps will got you a clearer sense of what
you like and what suits you. Now you need to
determine if you have the basic essentials necessary
for your particular style.
These basics will be different for all of you.
Go through your inspiration book and determine the
absolutely necessary essentials for your style.
You may like to read this article on what style
experts consider wardrobe essentials.
10. Complete your look with the right
statement pieces and accessories
Once you have covered the basics for your style, look
for some wonderful statement pieces that are truly
unique to you. Try to be creative and mix both high
and low-end brands together. Create something
unique!
Accessories are easier to change and it's also easier
to be very creative with them.
Invest in a good pair of shoes and choose the perfect
hand bag for your style.
If you understand your style well, it may not be
necessary at all to have many shoes or handbags.
Rather, you could focus on getting the perfect ones.
One of these accessories may become part of your
signature style. Something that uniquely defines
you.
Of course you could do it the other way round too.
Have fewer clothes and make them different each
time with different accessories!
Most of all have fun with fashion and style!
Dressing yourself and creating an image that pleases you should
be fun first and foremost.
Enjoy the process of finding your own true unique style!
You will know it when you have found it as you will feel
comfortable, beautiful and confident in your clothes and you will
show that to the world.
You may like go through the more than 1000 articles currently
at 40+Style for more inspiration.
These are just the basic steps in finding your style and if you
like more help finding or finetuning your style in a fun and
structured way, you will love my style course: 21 Steps to a
More Stylish You. This course will also look at other key elements
such as hairstyle and makeup. A new course on accessories will
launch in February 2016.
Have fun and I hope to connect with you at the site, courses or
one of the social media channels below.
Find me at 40PlusStyle.com, 40PlusStyleCourses.com, the
40plusstyleclub.com, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest!
