I am attracted to “opposites”. I enjoy wearing classic items as much as sporting hot off the press trends. I like fitted clothing, but I also like voluminous items. I have a big thing for both ladylike styles and tomboy styles. I love my Kate Spade stilettos as much as I love my 20 eyelet Dr. Martens boots. I’m just as happy wearing a romantic, soft lace blouse as I am wearing a stiff, masculine button down shirt. I enjoy sporting a neutral outfit as much as I do wearing hectic colours. I love black as much as I love white. Bring on the patterns and the solids! The retro and the modern. 

I realize that I sound like I’m suffering from style schizophrenia, but I believe you CAN integrate opposites into a single cohesive style. In fact, marrying my opposing style preferences is one of my style goals. Here are some of the things I do to make it all work.

• Classic Grounding: I mix crisp classic wardrobe items in with the rest. That way the ensemble feels grounded. I also enjoy the style consistency that is created by wearing classic items several times a week. I miss the classics when I omit them from my ensembles.
• Minimal Balance: I create cohesion by not wearing jewelry and keeping my outfits minimal. 
• Simple Statements: I generally choose simple designs that don’t have complex styling details. The cleaner the look and the more simple the cut, the more I like it. This allows the luxurious fabrication and colour to do the talking. 
• Colour Discipline: I create cohesion by sticking to well defined colour palettes. I wear black, white, cream, ink blue, grey and saturated warm sour brights. 

So instead of being a specific set of style preferences, my signature look is more about the recurring themes in the outfits I wear. Modern, classic, crisp, minimal, simple and bold.

Are you attracted to opposites?