Creating An Image: What things have you seen that are distinctive style?

[stylingItUp]

I was thinking about how some people/characters have features that are very distinctive style so where if this was mentioned you'd think of them
like say Brenda Hale with her animal and spider brooches.
or Geri Halliwell and her now mad only wearing white
or fictional Katnis Everdeen from the Hunger Games with her long hair plait.

What other people (or even fictional characters within transferrable to real-life reason - I don't mean Cruella de Vil in a dalmation coat) do you know or can think of that have a distinctive style feature? What is it and do you like it?

I was thinking that it would be nice to try to develop something like this for myself so casting around for ideas for things that I like. Nothing springs to mind really and I think it must take a lot of effort to only wear a single colour...

help me with ideas?

This Insta account is good for dissecting what makes unique personal style.

www.instagram.com/wardrobestrategy?igsh=MXQ2bXc0eTlweDZ3Mw==

thanks for that - I will check it out.

I was looking for individual examples that had stuck with people in their minds from famous people or people in real life.

Stevie Nicks’ shawls.

Iris Apfel’s glasses.

Ally McBeal and mini skirts.

Katharine Hepburn in too-long trousers.

Blair’s headbands in Gossip Girl.

Grace Jones’ hooded dresses.

Claudia Winkleman’s fringe.

The lawyer - Kim - in Better Call Saul - ponytail.

Claudia Winkleman’s beautiful Traitors wardrobe

Her wardrobe in that was absolutely sublime.

Lucy Worsley has an amazingly distinctive style.

I'm thinking of:
Esme Young - necklaces
Diane Lockhart (Good Wife) - necklaces
Chrissie Hinde - eyeliner
Bette Lynch - earrings
Hilda Ogden - Headscarf
Fran Lebovitz - cowboy boots
Amy Winehouse - beehive, although tragically, we'll never know if she'd have kept it up
Queen Elizabeth - pearls although that might just have been in The Crown!

I think they work because they're accessories, not a whole outfit, so you can carry it across a change of style. I also think it has to be something you genuinely like because that helps it look authentic and a real part of you, rather than (and this might be unfair but Gerry Halliwell comes to mind here) an affectation.

Ooh great thread and thanks so much to @newrubylane for the insta recommendation, fascinating account.

I would say these, as soon as I picture these people it’s what they are wearing:

Katherine Hepburn’s wide trousers

Iris Apfel’s glasses, bright colours and huge jewellery

Chrissie Hynde’s leather jacket, slim trousers and eyeliner

Claudia Winkleman’s hair is her trademark for sure. Her whole Traitors wardrobe in the first series especially was a mood - but it was a specific style for the show rather than HER personal style.

Bryan Ferry = a well-cut suit.

Taylor Swift’s red lipstick.

casting around for ideas for things that I like. Nothing springs to mind really

There’s your problem! It’s not about what other people wear or how they make themselves distinct - some of them will have stylists who make the decisions for them, but if you don’t, you really need to build your distinct look on what appeals to you. If you’re ‘into’ clothes / style / fashion you’ll fall in love with something every time you click on your favourite website. If in general you don’t much care - you’ll look odd and unnatural plonking an iron spider on your head.

Remember also that people are noticed for things that other people would hesitate to wear. Things that are too bold, or colourful, or lacking in a defined waist (the worst MN sin of all). I don’t claim any label at all for myself - all I know is that my suggestions are regularly ripped to shreds on S&B threads, but I can scarcely step out of my front door without being assailed by compliments on some aspect of my outfit. Which is never a deliberate aim - I’m just rigorously choosy in what I buy.

But a useful piece of advice - whatever your everyday budget, every season buy one extravagant accessory. (Whether new or pre-owned.) Something you fall in love with and can see yourself wearing for years to come. Maybe a ‘designer’ belt in the sales, or some ridiculous furry clogs, or a piece of jewellery maybe. Those things, added to a background of simple Uniqlo or Community Clothing or Cos garments, really will make you look ‘distinguished’.

Prue Leith, huge necklace and prominent glasses.