71 of the Best Kept Secrets of Great Personal Style

This post provides a listicle of the best kept secrets of great personal style. Read to adopt at least a couple of them, and you are half-way there.

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What Gives an Outfit Its Je ne sais quoi?

It is hard to define, as it is an ensemble of things, plus one odd, weird out of place twist. And of course, there is not just one recipe to great style. There are many ways to dress for success.  Here are 71 tips to get started including tips for additional help. Of course, not every outfit has all these elements, but all great looks have a combination of them. And the one that you have to always follow is

Tip: Take care of yourself to look your best no matter what you wear.

In other words, the most expensive and/or most beautiful clothes accessories, bag and shoes won’t give you a great look when you are not groomed. Grooming includes that your shoes are brushed, your clothes fit and are clean, your hair, fingernails and skin look neat.

What’s the Difference between Effortlessly Chic and Personal Style?

There is a big difference between the secrets to look effortlessly chic and the secrets of great personal style. Just think about models on and off duty, for instance, Karlie Kloss, Kate Moss or Claudia Schiffer. Or what about the First Ladies prior and when being FLOTUS and thereafter, for instance, Jackie Kennedy, Michelle Obama, or Melania Trump? Jackie, for instance, looked effortlessly chic as First Lady, but later as Jackie O. she donned great personal style. You get the idea.

What Are the Secrets of Great Personal Style?

Below see 71 of my many secrets how a woman can achieve great personal style. Note that these area the easiest ones to work on. Despite some of them may already need help by a stylist. There is nothing wrong to seek this help. For instance, many women struggle with interpretation of their own inspirational boards which serves to get your personal style in sync with your lifestyle and likes.

1. Have an inspiration board. This “board” can be an actual board in your closet or a folder on your digital device. Add things you like and visit the board for inspiration. Analyze what the non-outfit items tell you about your style preferences.
2. Create a lookbook to have outfits ready that work when you are in a hurry in the morning. Best is to have one for each month.
3. Dress for the life you live, not the life you dream of.
4. Layer strategically,  e.g., a coat over a scarf, an oversize scarf belted over a coat.
5. Accessorize in different ways with scarves for style .
6. Add at least one unexpected or surprising accessory, e.g., killer heels,  cool watch, bold bag, statement necklace.
7. Buy only items that you can’t wait to wear.
8. Never buy an item just because it is a high-end brand and/or on sale. If it is not your style or doesn’t fit, it will just take up real estate in your closet. In other words, these will be some of the pieces in your closet you will never wear.
9. Know your body shape and choose your clothes accordingly.
10. Always buy for the body you have, not the body you want to have in half a year from now after loosing weight.
11. Before you buy an item, think of at least three outfits that you can create with the potential item with what you have already in your closet.
12. Know what works for you and stick to it as your primary personal style.
13. Know which colors flatter you, and stick to them when buying clothes.

    

     

14. Use great color combinations like those in the Pantone color palettes, great paintings, celebrities, etc. for inspiration in you best colors. You can exercise your color coordination with my Fashion Color Pages e-book.
15. Embrace to wear color to be visible.
16. Don’t wear a color just because it is the Pantone color of the year. Substitute It colors with look-alikes from your best colors.
17. Focus every outfit around one key item.
18. Don’t wear too many trends at once because you might  look like a fashion victim.
19. Be selective on which trends you adopt in a season. Ask yourself whether the trend will look plain ridiculous in a decade from now. If you would be embarrassed, skip the trend. Recall Facebook sometimes shows photos from years ago!
20. Aim for a natural makeup look like the Duchess of Sussex.
21. Pay attention to grooming: Nails, hair, roots, facial hair, armpits, legs, eyebrows, skin, makeup, … .
22. Never buy complete outfits because they may work only that way. Furthermore, they are not personal, i.e., not so you at all.
23. Be unpredictable, never wear the same outfit twice.

    

     

24. Show skin strategically.
25. Go for functional cuts and designs that don’t add awkward bumps and bulks.
26. Wear skirts slightly above the knee when you have great legs, around the knees otherwise.
27. Know where your hems should end, i.e., no cap sleeves for heavy arms or arms with bingo wings, no mini skirt hem for big thighs or wide hips with thin thighs. No capris or boots ending at the widest part of your calves.
28. Use colors strategically to flaunt a waist, downplay big boobs, or wide hips.
29. Invest in the best quality basics you can afford (e.g., cashmere turtlenecks, shirt dresses, pea-, car- or trench coat) for ageless style.
30. Know the 45 undeniable truths of wearing pants.

    

     

31. Have a crisp tailored white button-down shirt and replace it each year.
32. Finish every outfit with a great pair of shoes.
33. Make sure your shoes are polished and have intact heels.
34. Think of your outerwear as an outfit as well and style it accordingly.
35. Go for fit, not for the smaller size tag.
36. Have a great tailor on speed dial.
37. Befriend with a sales person to know when new merchandise comes in that you may like or when they will have sales.
38. Know what to wear at which dressing occasion. If you need help with this – admittedly difficult point, buy my book now. How to Dress for Success in Midlife provides outfit recipes and photo inspirations for all kind of dressing situations in modern midlife.
39. Avoid over-bling with jewelry. There is no need to compete with the Christmas tree.

    

     

40. Mix silver and gold in one outfit. So chic.
41. Mix expansive with cheap items.
42. Never wear one designer head-to-toe.
43. Forget the old-fashioned rules: Wear black with brown, navy with black, so chic.
44. Wear white in winter and black in summer. So chic.
45. Add a pop of color to an all neutral outfit with a scarf, necklace, watch, belt or the shoes.
46. Stay away from neon colors for clothes.
47. Don’t be a Copycat. It is great practice to adopt outfit and styling ideas, but wear it your way, not one-to-one. Every copy machine can do that better. An outfit that looks great on your friend, may be so wrong for you for various reasons: It is not so you, you have a different body shape, skin undertone, lifestyle, character, etc. Only adopt what works for you and add your own twist. In other words, take great looks as inspirations and re-do them with your own clothes. Think of a great look as a recipe for great style and re-make it with your own clothes and accessories. Remember to be yourself, all others are already taken!

    

     

48. Have the right attitude.
49. Tie your shirt, cardigan, denim jacket around your waist or neck.
50. Try an arm party.
51. Roll up your sleeves, or boyfriend jeans.
52. Try a half tuck.
53. Untuck your shirt when you are short-waisted.
54. Go for vertical lines to look slim and tall.
55. Master the proportions: Try long-over-short, or short-over-long.
56. Go for unexpected combinations like leather pants with a crisp white shirt, blazer and pumps, or an embroidered dress with a leather jacket.
57. Think of your wardrobe as a collection. Curate your clothes, accessories, bags, shoes and update your wardrobe for fit, trends and style on a regular basis.
58. Get a signature piece that you wear everyday. In my case, it’s the Hermes collier de chien bangle, a gift from my husband.
59. Learn how to mix prints and patterns.
60. Go for a monochromatic look to look lean and tall.
61. Learn how to turn fashion into style.
62. Wear pieces beyond their original purpose.
63. Be up-to-date on the current trends to not look Old Lady or yesterdecade.
64. Follow the stylists’ clothes shopping tips: have someone take photos of you wearing the piece to see how it looks from other sides. Selfies won’t work because you have to twist or raise your arms to make them.
65. Commit to Dress for Success: wear only clothes you feel confident in and that make you feel great about how you look.
66. Always buy the highest quality you can afford.
67. Expensive doesn’t equal style. Recall how great the Duchess of Cambridge looks in a French Connection dress?

    

     

68. Never buy a statement piece, when you need a workhorse.
69. Have some foolproof style recipes you can go-to when you are uninspired or dress in a hurry.
70. Borrow from the guys: oversize blazer, oversize cardigan/grandpa cardigan, boyfriend jeans, brogues, oxfords, tie, fedora, etc.
71. Be happy with who you have become.

How to Know that an Outfit Works?

Compliments, ladies!

“You look gorgeous/stunning/great/healthy today!”

“I love your outfit/style/look!”

are compliments to pay attention to. Take a photo of each look you get compliments like that. Analyze what makes these outfits different from the others you wore that week. Is it the color that flatters you? Then stock up on pieces in that shade. Is it the cut that gives you a killer shape? Keep an eye out for similar cuts. You get the idea.

How Do You Know When an Outfit May Not be So You?

Hints may be that when you wear an outfit someone says something like “great dress, pants, sweater, coat.” Such statement may or may not mean the item is wrong for you. If you get a compliment like this whenever you wear an outfit with that piece and never get one of the former compliments, it is a red flag. Take photos and try to find out why the item steals you the show instead of helping you to make an entrance.

Where to Get Help to Create Your Signature Style?

You want the fast track to great style? Then start with my outfit recipes for all kind of dressing situation in midlife. Buy my book.

Photos: G. Kramm

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