Irina, thanks for providing such an interesting topic. The responses have been interesting to read. I believe others might categorize the majority of my clothing as ordinary. I prefer solids, low contrast levels, classic tailoring, and simple pieces. I’m not sure minimal applies because I do enjoy interesting details, and statement accessories. I have grappled with exactly what I like and what I want to portray to the world. Using inspiration from others, including store mannequins, fashion photos, Angie’s suggestions, etc. has led to experimentation with style elements I might not otherwise have tried and helped solidify my personal sense of style. I feel awkward and uncomfortable in clothing that does not also closely reflect my key style adjectives. Even-though my style recipe includes simple and ordinary components, I believe the resulting outfits look and feel elegant (from my perspective) and maybe even unique once I add my glasses frames, hair, jewelry, belts, scarves, shoes, toppers, and bags into the mix. For me, the accessories add the uniqueness. Maybe this leads to the question of whether my accessories are unique or ordinary? I’m fairly positive no one else has the same collection of accessories as me because I have collected mine over a lifetime. So even if I purchased an outfit (entire) from a store mannequin, my accessories would add enough uniqueness to bring me joy. Someone else might avoid mixing pieces together in an outfit if they first saw them on a store mannequin. I am unlikely to imitate a total outfit including accessories, but I will take inspiration and use elements or features to build my own version.
Social norms and context play a role in deciphering if something is ordinary or unique. I tend to be happiest in dressier clothing than that worn by most of the people in my community. For example, I wear blazers to a workplace where everyone else is dressed in sweatpants and tees. It certainly makes my style unique, but it is not particularly unique for professionals to wear blazers.
