The Art of Personal Style — Same Girl, Better Boots

There's a version of ageing gracefully that involves softening. Feminine florals. Pretty dresses. Pastels. A gradual drift toward what women are supposed to look like once they reach a certain age.

But what if that was never you to begin with?

Personal style isn't something you find by following trends or reading what's in season. It's something you uncover by paying attention to who you actually are — and then having the confidence to commit to it.

The pressure to be someone else

Most women spend years dressing for other people. For workplaces. For occasions. For a version of femininity they feel they're supposed to embody. The result is a wardrobe full of things that don't quite feel right — pieces bought under pressure, worn reluctantly, quietly donated.

The turning point usually comes when you stop asking what you should wear and start asking what actually feels like you.

My own example

I was always more tomboy than girly girl. I'm still essentially the nine year old in the school photo — jeans, tee shirt, messy hair. The difference now is that I might have a pair of pointy pink boots on with those jeans. That's about as much as things have changed.

My signature is masculine with just a slight feminine edge. A vintage tuxedo jacket. Baggy combat pants. A good quality black tee. Italian boots. It has barely changed across decades — because it was never wrong to begin with.

I tried the feminine version. Dresses, softer silhouettes, more delicate pieces. I felt like a fraud every time. Clothes should feel like you. And when they don't, you know it immediately.

The rules worth keeping

A few principles that transcend personal aesthetic and apply to almost everyone:

Never wear pattern near your face unless it genuinely flatters your features. Pattern draws the eye — make sure it's drawing it somewhere useful.

Invest in shoes and boots before anything else. The right footwear elevates everything above it. A beautiful pair of Italian or Spanish boots worn with simple basics will always outperform a new outfit worn with mediocre shoes.

Quality over quantity. Ten pieces you love will serve you better than forty you feel indifferent about.

On colour — find your tones and hunt for them

Understanding what colours work against your skin is one of the most useful things you can do for your wardrobe. Not trends, not what's in the shops this season — your actual tones.

As a visual artist I understand colour intuitively. I suit muted, dusty tones — dusty pink, mauve, soft sage. The challenge is that shops rarely stock these shades well, tending toward either too washed out or too bright.

Because the right tones are genuinely hard to find, I default to all black. And honestly — it works. Black is consistent, elegant and endlessly versatile. But when the right dusty pink or mauve piece appears, it goes straight into the wardrobe.

Find your tones. Then hunt for them patiently rather than settling for something close.

Building a signature style

A signature style isn't about wearing the same thing every day. It's about knowing your aesthetic so clearly that getting dressed stops being a decision and becomes second nature.

Trends are designed to make you feel like what you own is no longer enough. A signature style operates entirely outside that cycle. When you know who you are aesthetically, a new season has very little power over you. You're not shopping to keep up. You're shopping selectively for pieces that slot into something already established and already yours.

Think about the outfits you've felt most like yourself in. Not the most complimented. Not the most appropriate for the occasion. The ones where you looked in the mirror and thought — yes, that's me.

Start there. Build from there. Stop apologising for it.

Quality over fast fashion. Investment over impulse. A signature over a wardrobe full of maybes.

That's the art of personal style. Not fashion. Just yourself, dressed well.