The words “logical” and “fashion” aren’t often found in the same sentence. However, if you agree that you are more important than your clothing, then it logically follows that an element of harmony is essential to creating your best look.

Why harmony? It’s simple: similar objects tend to blend and harmonize. Dis-similar objects will stick out and create some degree of disharmony. To create an appearance of harmony, the lines, shapes, scale, size, and texture of your clothing should repeat those present in you.

In addition to harmony, there are the Design Principles of balance, proportion, rhythm, and unity that can be used to create the visual effects that you desire in your appearance.

How do you apply this to your look? Smart purchases depend on your knowing how to identify the pertinent factors and understand the criteria that adds up to make a garment a success or not. There are a lot of variables. 

Everything from the buttons to the texture makes a difference in how it looks on you. The most seemingly insignificant details can add up to make a garment a complete flop on you. A few too many details that are not quite right can cause a garment to be a disaster on anyone.

Most people don’t have a guide. Publications that give you advice about recent products, like Consumer’s Report, are popular because people need a way to be able to decide which cars, computers, and stereos to buy.

Fashion changes constantly. It’s easier than ever to find out what’s available between online options, stores, magazines, and blogs. But most people don’t have a way to know what’s truly right for them. In addition, personalized information is needed along with training that teaches you to evaluate clothing for yourself.

What criteria to use?

“What criteria could you use aside from label and price, when considering a garment?” Most people go shopping, try on clothes and look in the mirror. Usually the approach is to look to see if they “like it”. While of course you want to like the clothes you buy, that alone is not adequate criteria for a good decision.

I had an artist in my course who had a lot of “interesting” clothing — very unique, creative garments. Most of them were wrong for her though. In some outfits she looked too bizarre, while others were just for someone else.  

She realized that she’d been buying them because she liked them, with no regard or knowledge about what was best on her.  She shared it was freeing to know that she could like something without having to buy it and wear it herself. “Now I know that I can like a lot of things — but for someone else, not for me!

“Do I like this on me?”

The more analytical shopper will ask themselves, “Do I like this on me?” This is a good question to begin. The trouble comes when there’s something you about it that they like — and something you aren’t quite sure about. Without training to analyze it logically, the most common reaction is to ask someone else. They turn to whoever is handy…a friend, a sales person. “Do you like this on me?” Then of course, what you’re getting is another opinion, a subjective evaluation based on someone else’s values and tastes. This can get very murky.

The person is more important than the clothing.

A lot of clothes look pretty good on a faceless mannequin, but on a human being you need to consider how it looks on them! This is because the person is more important than the clothing.

To look harmonious and beautiful in your outfits, there are specific ways clothing should be evaluated. This is not a general sort of thing, it’s more in regard to its appropriateness on any particular person, like you.

Easy once you learn how it works…

Anytime you buy a garment there are at least a couple dozen things to consider. If you only thought about just the style, lines, texture, color, design, shapes, scale, neckline, length, cost, practicality, fit, quality, versatility, and overall impression that would be 15 decisions!

Then there’s the Style Messages, your body shape, levels of dressiness, appropriateness, and more. It may seem like a lot, but it’s very fast once you learn it!  If you don’t consider all these factors, you are likely to wind up with something you really don’t like or want to wear later.

When you find an item that’s right on you, then you need to decide what to wear with it! More decisions. And which accessories — shoes, bag, and jewelry will work. It goes on and on. Every outfit has probably 30-40 variables in the design elements and visual messages of all the parts.

But there is a better way!

Before this system, I felt positive about my ability to make good decisions in life.  But my decision-making process, for clothing was another matter. It’s amazing that I ever got anything right. It was only after I’d studied art and Harmony for years — and trained my eye that I knew how to figure it out!

You can learn this for yourself. After working with thousands of clients, I know that women and men are very capable of making wise decisions once they know how to ask the “right” questions – the ones that lead to the “right” answers.

That’s what the Designing Your Self process does: It gives you the questions and the ways to get the answers for yourself.