I was recently asked to define my ‘style’
Which made me think about what 'having style' means to me (with 📸)
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I was recently asked to define my ‘style’. It was a challenge. And it made me think about what having style means to me.
This essay is what I came up with (with 📸)
Plus, a lesson in being explicit about what you want.
A few weeks ago I received an email from the editor of a magazine
It was an inquiry to find out if I’d be open to being photographed for the cover. In the email the editor said, ‘You have such an incredible sense of style and I think you would make a really dynamic, joyous cover.’
It was the first time I had been asked to do anything like this and a procession of thoughts followed. The first were the lyrics to Madonna’s Vogue1. Then, what a lovely thing for someone to say. Finishing with, do I really have an “incredible sense of style”?
The shoot would happen in Lisbon (here are some of my favourite spots in this wonderful city).
Discussions continued and I soon learnt that I would be working with a make-up artist, which I am used to for most of my TV work. But I would also have a stylist with me for the day, someone who would source, curate and coordinate my outfits. And there would be four ‘looks’.
This would be new territory for me
I have never worked with a stylist before. And I’ve also never ‘done a photo shoot’ (wedding photos don’t count). For any jobs, I have always dressed myself with clothes from my own wardrobe. But now, I’d have someone figuring this stuff out for me. It sounded exciting, and very glamorous.
I was asked to provide my sizes and any ‘clothing preferences’ for the stylist.
I was a bit confused.
‘You might need to give me some guidance as to what you mean by ‘clothing preferences’?’ I replied.
I had a call with the photo director to give her an idea of the sorts of things I like to wear. ‘I love colour and bold patterns!’ I said. ‘And I love to wear items I pick up on my travels.’
‘Great!’ she said.
The next day I received a multi-page photo shoot mood board with a whole section dedicated to styling. It consisted of a collage of chic women wearing various iterations of summery outfits. One text box read ‘flowing patterned dresses or top and skirt combos would be nice.’
Oh, I thought.
Now I understood why they had asked for my clothing preferences. If I didn’t explicitly let them know I wasn’t a flowing-maxi-dress-and-sun-hat kind of person, how would they know?
It was at this point I realised I was going to have to articulate what my style actually is. It’s not something I’ve ever had to put into words before. And it wasn’t even something I was entirely conscious I possessed.
But I suppose there have been clues
In May I interviewed Chris van Tulleken, doctor and author of the wildly successful and brilliant Ultra-Processed People, on stage at Hay Festival for BBC Radio 4.
We met beforehand at the onsite restaurant and as we walked over to the BBC tent together, he looked me up and down and said, ‘This is a great outfit. Do you have a stylist?’
I was wearing oversized khaki high waste denim trousers and a bright yellow fleece (both from Finisterre), a colourful African print jacket I had brought back from Tanzania, blue and orange high-tops and some big earrings.
I was slightly taken aback by the question.
‘No, I don’t. Why, does it look like I have a stylist?’
He mentioned his wife writes about fashion and had helped with what he was wearing that day (all black), but that he would like to wear more colour, like I was.
In a recent post about paying it forward, I wrote about how, when speed walking through London’s Soho on the way to a meeting — wearing a blouse and trousers that clashed in both colours and patterns, more big earrings and those same high-tops — a guy remarked, ‘I like your outfit' accompanied by a nicely-put-together nod of approval, as he walked past.
I grinned and shouted, ‘Thank you!’ as I powered past him.
And just yesterday I received a comment under one of my Instagram posts from a luxury bespoke tailors (by appointment only, thank you very much) that read, ‘as Saville Row tailors, we loveeee your style!’
OK then. Perhaps I do have a sense of style.
But what does having style even mean? And how would I define my style?
What does having style mean?
The answer to this question will be different for everyone.
For me, someone who has style is someone who dresses for themselves in a way that would only really work for them. It’s about having the ability to match our inner selves (which will be as unique to us as our fingerprints) with our outer expression.
Our personal styles don’t just refer to the clothes hanging in our wardrobes. Our personal styles are an extension of our personalities and the essence of who we are.
Therefore, I largely interpret having style as not looking like everyone else.
For this reason, having style for me is not about following fashion trends or clamouring to buy the latest handbag or sneaker drop.
I would go as far as to say that following a fashion trend is the antithesis of having style; it’s dressing according to what an external source is telling you is good or bad, rather than knowing your own unique identity well enough to be able to express it through what you wear.
“Following fashion” and its trends — however you want to interpret that — is a bit like screaming, ‘I don’t know who I am, please tell me what I’m supposed to be!’
I have no interest in magazine clothing ads or reading about where people have bought their holiday sun hat from. And I wouldn’t know a Hermès Kelly bag if one fell onto me from a great height.
Just this week I received an email from a viewer about the top I was wearing on last week’s episode of Gardeners’ World (44:35).
‘My wife was really taken with your floral shirt! Can you point me in the right direction as to where I could purchase one? Label? Outlet? If you can remember, that is. Looking to surprise my wife for Xmas.’
My response (yes, I did reply):
‘The top was purchased from a vintage second hand shop in Lisbon I'm afraid. It has no label and I suspect it's from the 80s. Sorry about that!’
I loved being able to say this. I like that people would struggle to copy what I am wearing. Because for me, that’s sort of the point of style.
It made me think about visits to the US
Whenever I visit the States, there are two glaring observations I cannot fail to make.
The first is that it is so much more difficult to find whole, real food in the US — that doesn’t contain an A-Z rolodex of additives or added sugar — than it is in the UK. Even buying something as simple as bread is a minefield; so much of the bread in the US seems to contain sugar, for some unfathomable reason I am yet to uncover the source of.
The second is that – and please, lovely US readers, do not take this personally – but I do not see a whole lot of style when I visit the US. Apart from the occasional exception, most people seem to be wearing the exact same thing as everyone else – activewear.
I remember on my first visit to the US many years ago, I remarked to my now husband, ‘Wow, people are so sporty here! Everyone seems to be on their way to or coming back from the gym.’
‘No,’ he replied. ‘They’re just going to Costco.’
They really were.
I’ve never understood the lure of luxury brands
Big designer names – and their inflated price tags – are a thing I’ve never really understood.
Sure, perhaps they were once synonymous with careful craftsmanship and quality. But as this Vogue Business article reveals, ‘the public is learning that hero products from some of the world’s biggest luxury brands are often made for a fraction of what they sell for.’
The article goes on to say that, for example, there are concerns that workers in some factories used by Dior and Armani were being underpaid and experiencing sweatshop conditions.
One supplier had been assembling a $2,780 Dior Book tote for just $57.
This does not surprise me, at all.
I’ve shared my thoughts on mass-produced – anything – be it a big designer name or not, in why I really, really don’t like shopping. Putting a fat price tag on a product does not necessarily equate to it being of high quality or of high value.
A branded handbag / pair of shoes / capsule tee / [insert latest lusted fashion item here] is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. And it seems some people are willing to pay quite a lot.
I would always rather spend my pounds with artisan producers and makers, craftspeople creating things slowly, with skill and mostly by hand, from sustainable and ethically sourced materials, and having a sense of who that maker actually is. Whether we’re talking about food, furniture or clothes.
Here is a list of some of my favourite brands doing good, Part 1 and Part 2.
This is my style
Back to answering the question of ‘what is my style’.
On receipt of that mood board — and all the flowing maxi dresses in it — this is the email I responded with, word for word. It took me the best part of an evening to craft.
Regarding outfits, what I wear is a big part of my identity and I'm very particular with it; it's going to be really important for the shoot.
I've never worked with a stylist before, I've always dressed myself for jobs so this is a first for me. I therefore thought it worth me sharing some detail about my style for the stylist, and what I would and wouldn't be comfortable wearing.
I have no idea what type of clothes and accessories the stylist has access to and apologies if this is not the level of detail your models usually go into!
Please see below:
My style
Edgy, androgynous, unconventional, bold, utilitarian, OTT statement
I'm a bit of a tom boy and I would say half my wardrobe is from the mens section. I really enjoy wearing unisex outfits. I am not a "girly girl"
This is partly because I prefer oversized items and a boxy cut, I generally don't like tight fitting clothes (unless it's a two piece and the second piece is baggy / oversized / loose — I do quite like this)
That said, I am happy to wear a dress if it is edgy, a statement piece or unconventional in some way
I don't own a lot of clothes but what I do have is pretty much exclusively from Finisterre, second hand shops or picked up from my travels
I don't buy clothes from the high street and I don't want to look like I've stepped out of an H&M or Zara summer catalogue — this would be my nightmare!
I like to dress myself in unique pieces that no one else would be able to find and in a way that most people wouldn't do. My brief when I leave the house is usually 'no one else will be looking like this today'
Likes
Geometric patterns; patterns that clash; ethnic prints; indigenous-inspired; mismatching pieces to different outfits; layering; different textures; natural materials; handmade clothes; bold colours; black and white (I don't mind a fully monochrome look); things you can't find on the high street
My preference for the bottom half are trousers
I am OK to wear shorts but only if we're shooting in the sunshine (as opposed to in the shade) and not for any shots where I'm sitting
I am happy to wear a dress or skirt if it is edgy, a statement piece or unconventional in some way
My preferred length of skirt or dress is just below the knee. Just above the knee is the shortest I'd go (I'm 5'4)
I do like a high neckline
For footwear: casual sneaker / trainers (ideally colourful ones), boots, pumps, chunky shoes, chunky sandals (I generally wear crew socks with all footwear including sandals — if you have access to a collection of crew socks that would be great!)
Big statement earrings with every outfit are my signature
Even though I usually only wear earrings, I don't mind going big on jewellery for accessories.
Dislikes
Floral, food or botanical prints; anything too matchy matchy; synthetic materials; pastel colours
I don't like your standard 'girly' look, for example I am not a flowing maxi dress with a sun hat kind of person
And I'm not a strappy holiday sandal kind of person
I do not wear heels of any height
I've arranged a collection of images in this document [I’ve included a collage of what these images were below] that I think are indicative of my 'holiday' style. I will be packing most of these items with me.
A lesson in being explicit about what you want
I am so glad I took the time to actually think about – and put into words – what my style is. It was also a great exercise in being explicit about what you want and what you don’t want (in life, in work — anything really).
If you’re not explicit, you can expect people to do an understandably terrible job of trying to read your mind or worse, having to guess.
As a result of this detailed email I sent, the stylist had a precise brief and parameters within which to work and so did a totally amazing job. She ended up visiting couture designers and vintage shops around Lisbon and brought back some stunning options for me to choose from, that were totally me.
I adored all the four looks we settled on. One of them was a completely one-off handmade couture piece, retailing for about €1000, which is more than twice the amount my wedding dress cost (see How we had a London wedding for less than £15,000). I’ve never worn something quite so unique or beautifully crafted.
I’m pleased to report the shoot went incredibly well and I will share images when I can, in January next year.
It was also as glamorous a day as I had hoped, spent strutting around Lisbon, posing for the photographer in front of trams and at coffee tables with a little espresso in my hand, with my 5-person entourage touching up my eye shadow and adjusting my outfit at every opportunity.
I felt like a Hollywood star for the day. It certainly beat getting cramp at my desk from too much sitting or crammed like a sardine onto a delayed 2 hour long Avanti West train to conduct a short interview, before having to turn around and do the same uncomfortable journey back home.
Magazine editors please take note: I would be very happy to do many more of these glam shoots, should any of you be reading.
And here are those images of my ‘holiday style’ I also added to that email.