What is authentic style and how do we achieve it?

I think that authentic style is where we feel most like ourselves – a way of presenting ourselves to the world, that most indicates our values and who we are, in a variety of contexts.

In a way our style makes us living texts. In other words, as we move through the world people can tell something of our life-story from what we choose to wear, how we move, how we speak and our body language…

It is inevitable that judgements will be made about us based on such things and as long as we understand that, it should be okay, because we are not all the same which is why the military has such strong uniform regulations to ensure that all troops are the same, to be treated the same and to complete the same tasks.

Those of us who are not in the military, but are part of mainstream western capitalist society have choices as to our style …

My dear friend, Tina, has her own style. This style has changed over time, which is another inevitability, and since I have known her she has embraced:

1. A professional look – skirts, blouses, cardigans, jackets, little pumps and cute flatties. She wore these with beautifully curled hair and minimal makeup.

1. A gorgeous retro look with fit and flair dresses with tulle petticoats, with the same accoutrements as above – which still worked in a professional context.
2. A boho look … this look has been paired with lovely long dreadlocks and is her current, and arguably her most authentic style yet!

Now, Tina has worn all of her looks with a lot of attitude and a fair amount of body art, which is her life’s text – she literally wears her life’s story on her sleeve. She does get a fair bit of judgement for her style: boho, dreadlocks and body art – but it’s not always negative, as I have been out with her and observed people wanting to read her beautiful tattoos.

This begs the question: then how does my friend navigate her way and even progress in a relatively conservative profession? Thus the authentic style thing is activated.

In fact, my friend is so much happier in her most recent style incarnation that she has made a huge change in her work life and now works in an alternative wellbeing field in which her style is completely acceptable and she is more authentic than ever …

The other thing to be aware of is that what we wear not only translates to other people who see us, but also impacts on how we feel about ourselves. There’s a considerable amount that has been written about this very thing in relation to colours and style and how people view themselves smarter when they’re dressed more professionally and feel happier when in a bright colour but really that’s a whole other conversation, although you can see how it links to this discussion..

For myself, even when not in a professional sphere I prefer a more retro “dressed up” look and I love feminine dresses, power suits with a feminine cut and pretty details, attractive shoes with a decent heel and all one colour outfits, longer hair, classic makeup, minimal jewellery .. and really so much more …

I treat getting dressed as putting on my armour and view my wardrobe accordingly. I like to lead with my strongest suit and choose what I wear by paying close attention to what I will be doing and ensure that I wear the correct shoes so I will feel comfortable and appropriate – in fact, I often begin building my outfit by choosing the shoes first …

As I have aged, I have gained a clear confidence in what I regard as my authentic self and style. I’m a direct, no nonsense, do-er rather than talker and I think that is conveyed effectively in my style which reflects my attention to details, strong colour statements and love for femininity and quality …

There are times where I wear more casual clothes but I usually keep it fairly structured.

What are your thoughts on authentic style and achieving such? I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below and like and follow me for more gems of wisdom lol..thank you for dropping into my little corner of the web …

Donna 🦋🧚🏻‍♀️❤️🙏