Bloody hell, I've found a 'style theory' that fits me!

[NoGarlic]

I have never paid to have my colours done. I wear any goddamn colour I like and, if it doesn't seem to suit me, I change my makeup. I once got a free trial of a 'system' and got so bogged down in all the cool spring, deep autumn shit that I almost felt like crying. That's when I realised these strictly rule-based category things were definitely not going to bring me joy!

I'm an inverted triangle. Or I was. Now with a belly like a Buddha (the mature one, not the gamine boy monk), I must be ... a triapple? Fashion advice for triangles always starts with minimising our broad shoulders, then adding bulky curves to our bottom halves. Not only does this suggest one of those toilet roll cover dolls, why should anyone be disguising their shape? I ain't minimising shit, babes. Square necklines all the way for me and, yes, I'll take the one with the pleats on the oversized shoulders.

So I opened Yet Another Style System in a spirit of wry curiosity. And I thought ... Oh, this makes sense to me! Beyoncé, it says, is a rounded Yin of the 'Romantic' variety. Lady Gaga's an angular Yang, type 'Dramatic'. Can't argue with either of those.

Here I am - a 'Natural' Yang which, it turns out, is a rectangle with rounded corners. They say oversized, unstructured, layered, summing up my own style reasonably well - and, best of all, they aren't telling anyone to minimise themselves or 'give an illusion' of some other woman's body shape.

I'm ignoring all the guff about earth palettes and tribal jewellery. People flogging 'systems' can't help going into prescriptive overkill. But for the many S&B members posting in despair of ever finding their style, looking for actionable guidance - check this one out. There are only seven types, you might find yourself here.

I've seen that - good for you. I did pay for getting my colours done and found it super helpful. Going back for a style consult.

I've read the whole thing and literally don't understand it, it must be just me. I'll just go back to my 'style' of whatever seems nice that's currently in Marks and doesn't have too high a neck or be clingy. I've had my colours etc analysed three times and had different results each time too - I think I'm just an anomaly

I approve of your style, @LovelyDonkey! I think rules and checklists spoil the fun, but do appreciate that many people either aren't visually oriented or have had their confidence sucked out by mean-minded people in the past. A system can provide a good jumping-off point for them, and at least this one's simple.

Sounds over complicated to me, I'm not a fan of being boxed into styles because of arbitrary rules.
I'll stick with dopamine dressing, the only 'rule' is that my clothes make me feel happy. No worries about wether I'm a triangle or a winter or too mature...

I agree with you, @henlake7. I was just surprised to see myself represented by one of these systems. They do go too prescriptive (imo) - as I guess they have to if they're selling a consultancy service - but it made sense to me as a set of principles, far more than the other approaches I've looked at.

Those tight, ruffled outfits, so amazing on Beyoncé, are the ONE style I cannot pull off at all! With my square build and laissez-faire attitude, any such thing makes me look like someone's washing got caught on the shed. I'd wear that striped coat better than her, though, and could totally rock Gaga's baggy trouser suit as long as I could destructure the jacket a bit.

The article's really badly written, and they've used the same outfits as illustrations for different looks 😂 I guess that proves 'rules' are only guidelines!