Is your dress sense logical or instinctive? - YouLookFab Forum

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Is your dress sense logical or instinctive?

Ornella

(website)

Veteran

To expand on my question... assuming we've all landed here (initially) to enhance our dress sense and style in general, with great OT discussions as the unexpected added bonus, I was wondering if your styling is based on logical choices (a bit like maths: you know the formulae for your body type + right colors + occasion) or is it instinctive (you throw things, knowing they'll somehow work together)?
I would assume it's never 100% one or the other for anyone, but if it was - how would you describe yourself?

I'm logical all the way and have to 'blame' a few things for that. I've spent most of my adult life struggling to find the long(er) sizes, so used to buy things just because they were long enough without thinking too much what could they be paired with from my existing clothes. No wonder I effortlessly qualified into that "20% wardrobe worn 80% time" category Also, my professional, technical brain is inclined to think in the simple terms of formulae, so once I've finally cracked those for my bodytype, paired with ditching the unflattering colors, somehow things started to look a lot better.

My sister, on the other hand, is very instinctive, she just knows what works for her or can give me good recommendations, without thinking too much in terms of bodytype or color. She's just knows (and do I envy her or what). She's also very artsy and used to paint in her spare time before, and I believe it plays a significant role in having the skill. But, I'm not sure technical/artsy really is an explanation for why the two of us are different in our dress senses, although I think it may be connected.

How about you, how do you see your dress sense?

Dressing

33 replies

Latest reply was from Mac

crwilson

Veteran

Mine is definitely logical, which is part of my struggle, I think. I envy those who can put things together intuitively. I tend to be analytical by nature, and I have really, really poor spatial perception, so in some senses I think that I need to memorize rules because my "intuition" doesn't work that well in this regard.

Queen Mum

Veteran

add me to team logical. Once I figured out my "rules" things started falling into place.

Kristine

Veteran

I think I'm logical although I'm slowly learning to be more instinctual. If most things in your closet flatter you, and work in a similar color scheme, then it gets easier to put them together. Sometimes my instinct will work out beautifully, other times it completely flops.

I definitely have shopping rules, or at least guidelines, for what tends to work on me. I use logic for my base, then side more with instinct for accessories.

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

I am logical too. I have not even thought much about style and dressing until I began to read on this topic about 6 years ago. However I learned that your instinct can be trained if you have the basics figured out. You can only break the rules when you know what they are! I often build my outfits in my head an it works well about 80% of the time.

April

Veteran

If I had an instinctive sense of what looked good on me, I'm sure I would never have found this site.

Deb

Definitely Team Instinctive.

Not to say my instincts are always right! :-O

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I am 100% on Team Instinctive. I am not a logical person at all. I feel my way through life and through my style. In the Myers Briggs, I consistantly score a 98% for *Feeling*.

Patty

Veteran

To be on either team I guess you have to be able to make good decisions --I second/third guess everything so I am team Overwhelmed.

Kate

Veteran

I think I've needed to learn a lot of rules in order to be a better dresser, and now that I know the rules I've become a bit more comfortable breaking them in ways that still work. So I'm on team logical, but I'm slowly allowing myself to be a bit more instinctive.

Maya

Veteran

Must it be one or the other? I start out by instinct but if it doesn't work I need to know why so I can adjust it or abandon it effectively.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Not sure on this one. I instinctively know what I like but I think it takes some amount of logic or formula to put together a cohesive working wardrobe.

Louise

Veteran

Now I know what works for me it's instinctive and I just throw things together x

Diana

Veteran

Instinctive - it's more fun that way! - although I think to develop a good instinct, you have to start with logic, if that makes any sense. (i.e. you have to understand the rules before you can break them).

I'm not saying my instinct always works - far from it - but I will always try on outfits rather than automatically nixing them because they don't logically "work". And I never plan my outfits in advance, except maybe for things like special occasions - it always comes down to how I feel at the time I'm getting dressed. This is why it stresses me out to pack for trips.... the combo of compulsion to pack super-light and unwillingness to plan outfits in advance is really stressful.

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

Mine's instinctive. I think that I came here looking for more logic, and that's why I like things like the MOTG formula's and 'rules' like PPL.

Elly

Veteran

Hmm . . . not quite sure. I tend to instinctively know what I like and why it works, but that doesn't always help in translating an inspiration into a clothing reality. I tend to see something I like (whether it be fashion, art, ect) and think, "why?" Then a thousand little pictures and words flash into my mind and create a collage of other things with similar elements and feelings and things that bring out the same emotions and ideas. For example, I recently saw a magazine shoot with this image http://piperperabofan.com/phot.....play_media. Instantly it reminded me of morning light in the desert, a school I once attended, a pen and ink of my great grandfather that hangs in my grandpa's basement, a photo of an angel filigree off of a cross at the San Fransisco de Asis church in Taos, the adobe and sky paintings of Georgia O'Keeffe, and Georgia O'Keeffe's personal style. I also instantly absorbed the proportions (long legs, broad shoulders, thin waist). That as all instinctual. However, being able to adapt it and replicate it requires logic for me. Sometimes I have to break it down into what elements make the look special, what colors, what lines, what proportions make the look and which can be sacrificed. When looking at garments I have to be able to think about how a flat plane is going to look draped over a curved object and if the volume of the curves are going to compromise the line.

As far as just being able to look at a woman and suggest items of clothing that might look good, I am much better at doing this on other people than I am on myself. All my little mental idiosyncrasies about my personality and likes and dislikes (that don't come across because they are piddly) don't interfere and I also see other women's bodies more clearly.

Sihaya

Veteran

Great question. I'm definitely instinctive. And then through instinct have built "logical formulae" - such as instinctively knowing double breasted stuff doesn't look good on me, and now logically knowing to avoid even wasting my time trying them on.

Kari

Veteran

I'm definitely more instinctive, and that's not to say that all of my sartorial instincts point me in the right direction all the time. Which is a big part of the reason why I am here!

Becky

Veteran

I would say I'm instictive with colors and logical with everything else. There have been a few isolated times when I put something on and know it's a winner, but most of the time I rely on knowing I followed the formula and/or had YLF approval.

taylor

Veteran

What a great question. I think mostly instinctive and a dash of logic. But my instincts often needed tweaking

Steph

Veteran

I'm definitely instinctive in knowing what I like and what looks good on me. I am generally a very logical person, but I guess this is an exception.

Lisa

Veteran

I'm team logic. As I learn the rules for my body type and colors that work for me, shopping and putting together outfits is getting easier.

greenglove

(website)

Veteran

Instinct first and foremost.
Logic does show up after I make a mess.

MNsara

Veteran

Ha! This is helping me understand that I am missing the transition to logic. . .

I am first and foremost instinctive about what grabs me in style.

But then I can't say exactly what I like about it, or replicate it properly, or adjust it to my body, etc. I can't seem to transition to then apply any logic to my dress. . .

mamaKate

Veteran

Team Logic all the way, though my best outfits are those where a little bit of instinct snuck itself in. (or where the clothes came from my instinctive sister!)

Marley

Veteran

Instinct all the way for me. I find that when I think too hard or "try" to copy someone's look or follow the "rules" that that is when I make my biggest missteps. If I just go with my gut when I am dressing, I usually do pretty well!

Cilleena

Veteran

Well, I don't have a very good instinct with clothing, I have to have rules to follow. I am very logical about it. Whenever I let my "instinct" take over, I end up with a mess. I think because my instinct is to stick with very minimal details, bland colors, low contrast, simple, simple, simple and BORING! I tend to decorate the same way, so I turned that department over to my DH, who isn't very instinctive either, but isn't as afraid of color, decorative accents and texture. He dresses me much better than I do, but he's too busy to do my shopping for me. It's so weird too,because I really love details and color and appreciate different textures, but I'm totally ignorant of how to combine them.

judy

Veteran

Instinctive! But I think logic does play a helpful role in learning what instincts to trust!

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

Team Instict. I came here to try and apply more logic to my wardrobe. I do find, however, that after making an instinctive choice, I can use logic as to why something DOESN'T work. For example, those jeans don't work because the pockets are too far apart making my butt look wide.

Anonymous

I am Team Logic. I definitely need a formula for outfits and body type. If I go by instincts, I will mess up. When I go by instincts, I tend to copy someone else or some picture I saw somewhere. That doesn't translate well to my acutal body and lifestyle.

My formula is like this: Check calendar for activites + Check weather + Select shoes based on first 2 items + What pants will go with those shoes + What outerwear will I need based on first 2 items + Choose top + Choose accessories.

The choosing of the top and accessories is where I tend to be more creative and flexible each day.

But with all that being said, I do spend a good amount of time at the beginning of each season purging, sorting and editing my wardrobe so that most of the hard thinking and creative work is already done so when I face my closet each day I have already thought things through. I do assemble lots of outfit ideas beforehand so that most of the hard work is already done.

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