Why do we care about our figure flattering priorities? Why do we bother with accessories and make-up? Why do we want fabulous hair, straight teeth, and great skin? As long as we’re clean, covered and comfortable, why should we expend the effort to look appealing and attractive?

You wouldn’t be reading this post unless you were interested in fashion, personal style, and your physical appearance. But your reasons for caring about style might be different to mine. Here are nine things that drive my interest in personal style. 

1. Style is Aesthetic

I’m a visual person. I’m happy, energized and proud when I’m surrounded by beautiful design. That’s why I go to great effort to make the things around me look nice to my eye. This includes our decor, artwork and garden, the way I wrap gifts, the crockery I use to present a home cooked meal, and the way I plate food. Even our Yorkie Sam’s collars, the tissue holder in my bag, my iPhone case, and our luggage tags are not chosen randomly. Thought went into whether they look visually pleasing. The way I present myself to the world is a natural extension of my aesthetic appreciation for everything.

2. Style is Creative

Personal style is a creative outlet. Our body is the canvas and our wardrobe items are the raw materials. I view outfits as a creative expression, and they are no less an art form than a painting on a wall or a nicely decorated room. And it’s a form of expression that’s available to almost everyone. 

3. Style is Confidence

The way I look on the outside affects the way I feel on the inside. When I’m happy with my outfit and feel attractive, I’m active, positive, strong, and feel that I can take on the day. Of course, feeling good about my outer appearance is not the only thing that builds confidence and gets me through the day. But it helps.

Psychological studies also show that people who feel that they are dressed appropriately for a job, perform better at that job. Psychologists even have a name for this phenomenon: Enclothed Cognition.

4. Style is Communication

Our clothes, footwear and accessories overtly communicate our aesthetic preferences. They can also communicate subtle things, like our attention to detail, and cues about our personality. Our style can pique the interest of someone across the room or in a crowd before they’ve introduced themselves. Even if we don’t express anything about ourselves in our style, people will probably assume that we are and make some assumptions anyway. Like the subconscious first impression you make when you’re meeting someone for the first time. I embrace this form of communication because, to some extent, I do care what other people think.

5. Style is Entertaining & Fun

Dressing is an art form, which makes people walking works of art. I thoroughly enjoy seeing and looking at what people around me and in other geographical areas are wearing. I like observing the differences and similarities. It’s fascinating to look at and appreciate all types of style, and there is never a dull moment.

I LOVE clothes, footwear and accessories. I enjoy keeping up with fashion trends and what designers are creating. I thoroughly enjoy looking at wardrobe items in stores, online, and trying them on. I love to shop, both for myself and for other people. I love dressing other people too. It’s a hobby and an enjoyable way to spend time.

6. Style is Therapeutic

I am extremely relaxed about fashion, my own style, and my work with clients. Those areas of my life cause me no stress and give me lots of pleasure. I relax into every style analysis, closet edit, closet review, purchase, sale, hunt, shop, outfit creation session, and don’t let any of it boss me around. I enjoy online retail browsing because it can be a relaxing distraction when other stuff is stressing me out.

7. Style is Community

Fashion trends and timeless style have the power to unite people from around the globe in a way that few other subjects can. The YLF community is a very good example of this. Most of the people in our social community have never met in person, yet feel a sense of camaraderie and friendship because they share a common interest. Being part of fashion community is social, fun, and therapeutic when the members are supportive, helpful and positive to one another.

8. Style is Culture

The older you get, the more you look back on previous eras and realize how the essence of time is captured in style. The bohemian vibe that captures the social liberation of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Or space age looks that reflected the emergence of technology in the ‘80s. When looking at a picture of an event, it’s quite easy to judge the time in history based on the fashion and style.

There are cultural differences in fashion and style across the globe that make the world a more interesting place. And similarities that bring us together.

9. Style is My Career

I’m a fashion stylist, and a style activist. Fashion and style have been a part of my career for 27 years. It’s part of who I am. I love to share it with other people. It’s a privilege that I can also make a living from something I’m so passionate about.

Fashion and style can be frivolous, fickle and superficial, and it mustn’t be taken too seriously. Yet it can help us meet our needs to create, communicate, build confidence, appreciate diverse aesthetics, define ourselves, have fun, relax, and share things with others.

Over time, wardrobe items will tear, pill, scuff, snag, stretch, fade and get stains. Laundering an item weakens the fibres, changes the fit, and dulls the colour. Items were made to be worn, but I do want my favourite items to look pristine for longer. So I make a point of “sharing the wear”. Here are three ways to do that.

More Items in Rotation

If you spread the wear evenly, then the items in a larger functional wardrobe will take longer to wear out. This isn’t so much about having a large wardrobe as it is about ensuring that you purchase items that are going to be worn. A dysfunctional wardrobe with many wardrobe orphans can make even a large wardrobe feel small. Conversely, a modest size wardrobe can feel large if the items were bought strategically.

Multiples of Similar Items

When you have multiples of similar items in rotation, they will all look less worn over time. These can be wardrobe essentials, wardrobe basics, completers, or statement pieces. For example, simple white footwear across styles that span the seasons are a wardrobe essential for my style. They are workhorses and I wear them many times in a week. The key is that I have many pairs of white booties, loafers, flats and sandals, which keeps them looking fresh, crisp and less scuffed over the years. If I had one pair of white boots that I walked in all season, they’d be battered after three months.

I also have a large collection of outerwear and handbags, and the items have held up really well. Some of my almost ten year old coats and bags look fairly new because I swap out the look very frequently, which shares the wear. If you sport the same bag all year, and the same pair of boots all season, they’re going to look worn fast.

Pick the Right Item from the Pile

When you have many pairs of panties, bras, socks, camisoles, tees, PJs, turtlenecks, thermals, sweatpants, workout tops, leggings and the like, it’s easy to keep on wearing and laundering the same ones instead of sharing the wear across the range. Put freshly laundered items at the bottom of the pile, or deliberately reach for items that are further down.

This isn’t essential. You might prefer your bags, jeans, sweats, leather jackets, and footwear to look worn because you like a rough-around-the-edges vibe. Maybe you’d prefer to have a small, tight wardrobe that you replace more frequently to prevent outfit boredom. Or maybe you’re fine for some items to look worn and others to look pristine.

I prefer my items to wear evenly across my wardrobe so I can enjoy my favourite items for longer. Sharing the wear helps me to do this.

• Fashion giant ASOS is launching a homeware line on 4 February.
• The Guardian reports that more and more fashion brands are adding home accessories to their offerings.
• People have mixed feelings about Zara’s new logo.
• Condé Nast is planning to put all its titles, including publications like Vogue and Glamour, behind a digital paywall by the end of this year.
• Mickey Drexler has retired as chairman at J.Crew.
• J.Crew is partnering with non-profit organization Habitat for Humanity for its denim recycling programme.
• Under Armour will make the space suits for Virgin Galactic flights.
• The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) has released a report on inclusion and diversity in the American fashion industry.

Fun Fashion Fact

During a recent Paris auction, Le Smoking, a highly sought-after custom tuxedo trouser suit made by Saint Laurent for French actress Catherine Deneuve in 1982, fetched 20,000 euros (just under $23,000). This makes it the highest amount ever paid for any le smoking at auction.

Skirts with ruffles, flounces, pleats, and flares tend to exude a pretty, playful, elegant, precious and soft integrity as opposed to a hard-edged, strict and no-nonsense vibe. That’s fabulous if you like to wear soft and pretty outfits (which I personally do). If it you don’t, you can easily toughen up the pretty skirt by adding a black support act and toughening up the shoes.

Here are four examples.

1. Nod to the ‘90s

Combine an oversized pullover with a flared midi skirt and finish of the look with tailored black heeled boots. They can be short or tall with any style of heel. But keeping them tailored is key because it adds structure to the look. A pullover with a welt adds a little structure too.

2. Combat Bombshell

This straight skirt with ruching and gathers is more bombshell than the rest because it hugs the figure and showcases the contour of the body from waist to calf. The addition of the roomy cropped pullover and flat combat boots relax the bombshell vibe and add some tough. The black items add the harder edge. Feel free to add black hosiery to the outfit.

3. Classic Fabness

This is my favourite of the three because it’s the prettiest and most tailored version to my eye. Combine a fitted black turtleneck or crew neck with a fit-and-flare midi skirt. Tuck or semi-tuck the top to showcase the waist. Add black tailored mid-calf or tall heeled boots. The heels can be low or flat as long as they’re very tailored. Patent black boots add a bit more severity too. Note that there needn’t be black in the pattern of the skirt because a black top and boots creates a complement that pulls the look together despite the colours in the pattern.

4.Eclectic Plaid

This mix is unique and juxtaposed. A ruffled top with a sporty zipper is combined with a ruffled A-line plaid skirt. The glitzy flat black boots add the tough and hard edge, as does the black and silver hardware in the outfit. On the other hand, the sparkly socks throw back in some playful softness. Black opaques and black shooties could work too.