Determining your individual, personal style can be a deceptively difficult task, as the simplest questions are often the most complicated to answer. The following are a few of the factors influencing why we dress:

Location– Where you grew up can have a pronounced effect on your style preferences. From different time zones to coasts to countries, you may be surprised to recognize how regional style signifiers continue to inform your taste.

Time– Not surprisingly, when you were born has a strong effect on later style preferences. However, this correlates less to the year or decade of your birth and more to the period of impressionable growth. We absorb our first culture like a sponge and are reacting to it for the rest of our lives.

Experience- This shapes your perspective on everything, and how it relates to personal style is no different. Possible influences can be anything from a trip you took, to a person you loved, to a movie you watched. In my house, Rear Window played often and Grace Kelly’s gorgeous costumes imprinted in ways I would only realize decades later.

What if, after examining all your biographical and cultural influences, you are still unable to identify your style? It’s really not a problem. If your presentation is age-appropriate and inspired while reflecting smart buying choices, thoughtful pairings and contrasts, and your own confidence… You’re exactly where you need to be.