Knowing yourself, your values, and aligning the way you style yourself – starts with knowing yourself, before anything else – that’s why its called ‘personal’ style and that’s very different to chasing trends. Your style is made up of many elements, from your outward-facing aesthetic to your inner identity, your most radiant colours, your body shape, the patterns and textures you gravitate towards, and even the small details you don’t consciously think about.
When these elements come together, your personal style starts to feel natural and consistent. When they don’t, it often creates a sense that something isn’t quite right, even if you can’t immediately explain why.
Most advice on personal style focuses on what to wear. Very little explains why nothing feels right in the first place.
Why Personal Appearance Matters
People make decisions quickly. Psychologists call it “thin slicing” – within moments of meeting someone, we form impressions about them. These judgements can include everything from confidence to credibility.
You do it to others, and they do it to you.
Whilst it’s easy to believe that how we dress is trivial compared to everything else we have going on in life, the reality is that appearance does influence how we are perceived. Those who recognise this, and use it intentionally – tend to move through the world with more clarity and confidence.
That said, it’s not only about what others think. The most important opinion in your style evolution is your own. How you see yourself has a direct impact on how you behave, how you show up, and how you move through different environments.
Finding Your Personal Style
The truth is that personal style is a fluid concept. It means different things to different people, and what one person finds visually appealing, another may not connect with at all.
So when you’re trying to discover your personal style, or understand how to find your personal style in a way that actually lasts, it can feel overwhelming. There is no shortage of advice, but much of it focuses on surface-level changes rather than helping you build something that feels genuinely aligned.
More often than not, the issue isn’t a lack of clothes – it’s a lack of clarity. If you recognise that feeling of opening your wardrobe and not quite seeing yourself reflected back, this is something I explore further in more depth in this article on when your wardrobe stops reflecting who you are.
Find a Stylist You Relate To
If you’re looking for guidance, the person you work with should inspire you. You should feel drawn to them, not because you want to copy their style, but because their personality, creativity and perspective resonate with you.
Take me as an example. I’m creative and expressive, but also structured and professional, and that balance naturally shows up in how I dress. My style has always leaned towards a timeless aesthetic, not driven by trends, but also not so minimal that it loses interest. It has evolved through different stages of my life, alongside changes in my body, my lifestyle, and my values.
Your personal style should evolve in the same way. It should move with you, rather than staying fixed in a version of who you used to be.
Do Your Research
When you are defining your personal style, the next step is to do your research properly. Find someone whose work aligns with your values and look beyond surface-level content.
Ask yourself whether you connect with how they think, not just how they dress. Look at whether their values are consistent across their work, and whether you trust their perspective. Some people prioritise academic qualifications, others value depth of experience, cost or creativity. There isn’t one right answer, but there is a right fit for you. Remember the relationship between a client and stylist is deeply personal.
Check the Stylist’s Client Reviews
Client testimonials can give you a much clearer understanding of how a stylist actually works, but they need to be read with a level of awareness.
Most reviews reflect how a client felt in the moment. They often carry emotion, relief, excitement, or even surprise at what’s possible, and the language used won’t always match how a stylist talks about style, identity, or strategy. That’s natural.
What matters is the feeling underneath the words.
Look across a range of testimonials and ask yourself whether the overall experience resonates with you. Do you recognise the shift they’re describing? Is that how you want to feel in your own wardrobe?
It’s also worth remembering that not every client leaves a review, and not every review tells the full story. Some of the most private, high-level client work never appears publicly. For many women, particularly those in senior or visible roles, styling is a deeply personal process, and discretion matters.
So while reviews are useful, they are only one part of the picture.
Use them as a guide, not a decision-maker, and take the time to understand the broader body of work, the consistency of results, and whether the stylist’s approach aligns with where you are now and where you want to go.
A Recent STYLE Transformation THAT STARTED WITH COLOUR ANALYSIS
One of my recent clients came to me at a point where her wardrobe no longer reflected who she had become.
She described opening her wardrobe and feeling disconnected from everything she owned – not because she lacked options, but because nothing felt aligned with her life anymore.
“I used to open my wardrobe and feel like I had nothing to wear… nothing truly felt like me anymore.”
Through colour analysis, wardrobe editing, and refining how she wanted to show up, we weren’t just changing what she wore – we were aligning her wardrobe with her next chapter.
“Now, getting dressed each day feels exciting and effortless.” and what really mattered most to me was that she found joy in the process and looked forward to getting dressed. Stating that “My wardrobe finally reflects the woman I am now: confident, creative, and empowered.”
Through colour analysis, wardrobe editing, and refining how she wanted to show up, we weren’t just changing what she wore – we were aligning her wardrobe with her next chapter. You can explore the full case study here
Reinventing a ’90s Wardrobe for Yvonne
One of my earlier clients, Yvonne, came to me feeling disconnected from her wardrobe after having a child. She had beautiful pieces, but no longer felt confident in how to wear them.
We didn’t start from scratch. Instead, we looked at what she already owned and explored how to bring those pieces back to life, including items from her ’90s wardrobe.
“Roberta is a force of creativity and confidence in abundance. I was very nervous about attending a personal styling session but decided to treat myself for my birthday. I left with new ideas and a great understanding of what clothes and accessories best suit my body shape and how to coordinate them.
Over the coming weeks, I noticed that my esteem increased which has inspired me to seek out more sustainable designers and a new way of shopping and seeing life. I really look forward to working with Roberta again in the near future.”
— Yvonne, Career Coach, London
Scottish Highlands practical Style for Neen
When I worked with Neen, her situation was very different. She didn’t have the desire for a large shopping overhaul and was living a practical lifestyle in the Highlands.
Our focus was on making the most of her existing wardrobe, alongside building confidence and reconnecting with her identity and femininity. It was about creating a style that worked for her life, not against it.
“Roberta helped me see that my weight isn’t an issue and that with thought I can make my clothes work better for me. She helped me see the potential in my existing wardrobe that I’d given up hope on and helped me feel confident in some of my past buying choices and now I feel able to move forward with new ones with ease, never again will I cry in a dressing room!”
— Neen, Mum & Business Woman, Scotland
Make Sure Your Stylist Is Authentic
Authenticity shows up in consistency. Over time, it reveals itself in a natural growth curve – not something constructed overnight, but something built, tested, and refined. There are more stylists than ever, and more conversations around sustainability, colour analysis, and personal styling. However, not all approaches hold up over time. The difference is often in the depth of the work.
My work goes beyond colour palettes and body shape. One of my recent clients was surprised by how much of her wardrobe was shaped by what I would describe as “old stories” – past identities, expectations, and ways of dressing that no longer reflected who she is today. These patterns weren’t obvious at first, but they were influencing every decision she made.
Until those were addressed, no amount of sustainable styling advice would have created lasting change.
How to Evaluate a Stylist’s Work
This is why it’s important to look beyond surface-level content when choosing a stylist. A polished image or a well-dressed feed doesn’t tell you how someone thinks, or how they work over time.
Instead, look for depth and consistency.
Read their long-form content. Notice how their perspective develops. Look at whether their ideas hold together across different topics – and whether their work reflects a considered approach rather than reacting to trends or delivering “confidence”.
External validation can also give you a clearer picture. Features, collaborations, and industry contributions often reflect how someone’s work is recognised beyond their own platform. You can explore this further on my press and media features page, where my work across styling, values and sustainability has been referenced externally.
If sustainability is important to you, it should be visible over time, not just mentioned in passing. Platforms like the Ethical Brand Directory can offer additional context, but it should already be evident in the stylist’s body of work.
Ultimately, authenticity isn’t something that can be claimed. It’s something you observe – in the detail, the consistency, and how someone’s work evolves over time.
My Approach to Personal Style
I’ve never seen style as surface-level.
For me, it started much earlier – as a form of escapism, creativity, and identity. Before I had the language for it, I understood that what we wear has the ability to transform how we feel, how we behave, and how we are perceived.
Over time, that understanding evolved into something more structured.
I’ve worked across fashion, styling, and within sustainable fashion long enough to see where most people get stuck. It’s rarely a lack of clothes, and it’s rarely solved by buying more. The real gap sits between who someone is, how they see themselves, and how that translates visually.
That’s the gap I focus on.
Bridging identity, confidence, and what you wear isn’t about applying a formula. It’s about understanding what’s already there — your preferences, your patterns, your lifestyle – and then refining it into something that works consistently.
Sometimes that means reworking what you already own. Sometimes it means introducing new pieces with intention. Most of the time, it’s about creating clarity so that every decision becomes easier.
When Style Needs to Evolve
This is particularly relevant if you’re moving through a transition. A new role, a different environment, a shift in priorities – these moments often create a disconnect between who you are and how you present yourself. I explore that idea further in an articled called: A New Chapter: Finding Alignment – where style becomes part of how you craft your identity and create the lifestyle you wan’t next.
Colour, identity, and wardrobe strategy all sit within my New Chapter Styling Experience. Not as separate services, but as part of a wider system that allows your style to evolve with you, rather than needing to be rebuilt every time something changes.
That’s the difference between having clothes, and having a wardrobe that actually supports your life.
What’s Your Style Story? (past & Present)
Discovering your personal style is about more than clothes. It’s about understanding what is shaping your decisions, what no longer feels aligned, and where you are going next. If you want a structured starting point, this is exactly what the Style Synopsis is designed to do – helping you define your personal style with clarity and direction.
My work goes deeper than colour and body shape.
One of my recent clients was surprised by how much of her wardrobe was shaped by what I would describe as “old stories” – ideas about who she thought she should be, how she had dressed in the past, or expectations she had unconsciously carried forward.
Those patterns were quietly influencing her decisions, preventing her from forming her own clear point of view.
Once we identified them, everything became easier. Not because we added more, but because we removed the noise. Her style narrative started to reflect who she is now, rather than who she had been.
Key Personal Style Questions to Ask Yourself
Do you want to discover your personal style, or follow what everyone else is wearing?
Who do you want to be?
Why are you making these changes now?
Where are you now, and what needs to shift?
Creating your signature style is about real empowerment – not surface-level change, but alignment with who you are and how you want to live.
Discovering Your Personal Style Over Time
Personal style evolves as you do.
It isn’t something you define once and never revisit. The idea that you can “fix” your wardrobe in a single moment (whether that’s building a capsule wardrobe or doing one big overhaul) is one of the biggest misconceptions in “sustainable” styling.
Your life changes. and your responsibilities shift. Not only that but your environment, your body, your priorities, even your standards evolve over time. When that happens, your wardrobe needs to evolve with you.
That doesn’t mean starting from scratch every time, but it does mean checking in, refining, and recalibrating. Sometimes that’s a small adjustment. Sometimes it’s a more considered review of what’s working and what no longer fits the life you’re living.
When to Revisit Your Style
This is why many of my clients return at different stages – not because something went wrong, but because they’ve moved forward. And when you have a clear foundation, those updates become easier, more intentional, and far more effective than starting again.
Style, when approached properly, becomes a tool you return to – not a problem you solve once. And always look at your style as an investment, not a one-off purchase. Prioritising price over outcome is one of the quickest ways to create a short-term shift that doesn’t last. Without a clear strategy behind it, that change will wear off, and you’re left revisiting your style with more questions again.
If you enjoyed reading this post you might also enjoy my Personal Style Guide: a collection of articles to help you explore your style.
First published in 2017 – Updated in 2024 and 2025 and 2026.
