When I work with clients, both current and new, we spend a little time coming up with the right adjectives to describe both their current and future style. Sometimes the two sets of adjectives are very much the same, and sometimes they are quite different.

Of course, no one is holding you to these adjectives for life. Style is a journey, and not one to a permanent destination. Here I want to explore the appropriate adjectives of the current leg of our style journey. Perhaps in a year or so, we’ll reexamine the question. It will be interesting to compare answers.

After a fairly recent style epiphany, I feel that the following five adjectives best describe my current style:

1. Clean: I like garments, footwear, accessories and hairdos with very clean lines. I adore pristine clothing.
2. Simple: I want my outfits to consist of fewer items. I no longer sport interesting layered looks or wear lots of accessories. I am 100% an advocate of less is more.
3. Bold: I like to wear vibrant colours and outfits with high colour contrasts.
4. Modern: I enjoy sporting current fashion trends. I am still absolutely besotted with retro pearl necklaces and my late Mum’s vintage gold jewelry, but they MUST be worn in a modern way. My fashion forward haircut and specs help to modernize the retro aspects of my style.
5. Dressy: I adore luxurious fabrications and chunky pearl necklaces, and wear them daily. I am uncomfortable wearing t-shirts, casual jewelry and overly slouchy handbags. I am often the dressiest person in the room and that is fine by me.

There are words that I left off the list, like Modest, Polished, Chanel-esque, Urban and Practical, because I had to draw the line somewhere.

As for my future style, I am not inspired to change the adjectives at this point. But as I said, we’ll talk again in a year!

I’ve found that it’s easier to define someone else’s style with five words than your own. But give it a bash right here in the comments section. It’s a worthwhile exercise because it keeps the current leg of your style journey and the shopping process more focused. And the more focused you are about your style, the easier it is to put outfits together that feel completely right.

Which five adjectives best describe your current style? Do the adjectives change when you describe your future or aspirational style?