How Personal Style is Determined

I get asked about this constantly. It's the basis of a course I’m working on that will go deep into the fundamentals of style essences. But I have noticed something increasingly obvious lately. Style is determined by more than just our facial features, our height, and the shape of our bodies. There is an energetic quality we express that sometimes just isn’t obvious from external indicators. Click to read more >

2025-04-09T13:36:55-07:00

Iris Apfel: What Made Her So Famous?

Iris Apfel Amazon Print

You may have heard that Iris Apfel, the self-described “geriatric starlet,” died earlier this year at the age of 102. Many of us learned about her only fairly recently through her most recent incarnation because she broke so many barriers about what constitutes fashion and who is “allowed” to represent it. But despite all the media hoopla about a 90+ year-old being an overnight sensation, her style roots, and the range of her influence over several decades, ran very deep. Click to read more >
2024-06-12T11:20:40-07:00

Where Are You Going? How do You Want to be Seen?

[This is an article I wrote, originally posted in Honey Good in February. I wanted to share it with all of you because it is pertinent now, and always.] That’s the question that Joan Songer, founder of Personal Style Counselors, always asked her clients, as a starting point. It’s a great question. And it’s one we subconsciously ask ourselves every time we get dressed. [...]

2022-03-07T12:43:27-08:00

Gift Ideas for Different Style Types

Photo by Drazan Zigic

An old friend told me that she gave gifts to people that she, herself, liked. She cited the tenet: “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” I thought this was a kind a flawed idea for gift-giving. What if the person is nothing like you in taste, style, or preferences? [...]
2023-11-20T13:17:36-08:00

Can You “Buy” Good Taste?

A few years ago, in a book review about good taste, Jeffrey Felner - the witty and often acerbic arbiter of fashion - suggested that, yes, you can learn tricks to develop your personal style, but taste isn’t something you can learn; you’re either born with it or you’re not. That certainly puts a lot of us out of the running. And, frankly, I take exception. [...]

2024-05-02T22:04:19-07:00
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