Last month I had a personal style consultation with Ally from House of Colour (the same awesome gal who did my color analysis). I learned a lot and wanted to share my experience!

HOW IT WORKS

A House of Colour style day includes a lot of learning, a personality quiz, measurements (mostly vertical) and a show-and-tell time. We were asked to bring 5-10 items from our closet that we loved and 5-10 items that we don’t love. I love expressing myself through clothes but have definitely been feeling a little lost lately. I’m so glad I had Ally to walk me through it all. She’s an expert and I soak up her knowledge any chance I get. It was a full day all about clothes, which is my idea of fun!

Takeaways

Americans spend $200 million every year on clothes we don’t wear.
Most Americans wear 15% of their wardrobe 85% of the time. I definitely fall into this category!
You have control over how people view you. A structured blazer and lipstick gives off a totally different vibe than a hoodie and a ponytail. Neither is wrong, but you have the power! How do you want to be perceived?
Your body has its own natural style based on your length and shape. My body is rectangular, which is why I love jumpsuits and overalls. Ally gave the example that you wouldn’t put a circular tablecloth on a rectangular table, and that really clicked for me. If your body is more round, you will look better in more feminine, curvy, draped clothing.

MY STYLE PERSONALITY

House of Colour uses six style categories—Dramatic, Classic, Natural, Gamine, Ingenue and Romantic—which can be combined to make 23 types. After my personality quiz and measurements, Ally categorized me as Natural Dramatic (I was really close with Snappy Casual! Haha). This explains why I like to dress casual, but not boring. I don’t mind standing out, but comfort is a high priority.

How I interpret this:

Monochromatic looks: I love wearing black head-to-toe, and I am also wanting a full pink outfit … give me all the matching sets!
Fun, unexpected color combos: burgundy and ice yellow, lavender and red, orange and purple, etc.
Leather jacket
Linen T-shirts
Skinny jeans that have something interesting to them: holes, whiskers, fading
High top sneakers
Wool fedoras
Bandanas
Band tees
Large-scale prints
Jumpsuits and overalls
Wearing 6+ items at one time

What I should avoid:

Ultra feminine clothing: anything pretty, girly, lacy, dainty or precious
Small scale prints
Classic or ordinary pieces

MY FAVORITE OUTFITS

The benefit of having a style blog for so many years is that I can look back and analyze my favorite outfits. I definitely notice a theme in that my best ones have lots of layers and/or an element of drama. This is when I feel most like me.

GOALS

When I think about how I want to be perceived, the words creative and put-together come to mind. I want to make it look easy and like I didn’t try too hard, which actually often requires time and effort. I want to build up my wardrobe so I have quality options, then spend more time in my closet just playing and creating outfits. End goal:

Create a wardrobe that allows me to look and feel my best every day
Be truly comfortable and confident in my clothes
Love everything in my closet (major closet clean-out coming up!) so it’s quick and easy to get dressed every day

INSPIRATION

At the end of my style consultation, Ally created a personalized Pinterest board for my style. Here are some of my favorite images — I see a lot of similarities among them!

MY SHOPPING LIST

Now that I’ve had my colors done and my style personality, I have all the info I need to go shopping! Here’s what’s on my list to buy next:

A quality black (faux?) leather jacket
Long coat
Bandanas
Graphic Ts
Backpack/purse
One-shoulder bikini top
Metallic shoes
Ally encouraged me to try some paper bag pants — eek!

Do you know your style personality? How do you want to be perceived?