My Style Story
As a child, I loved to express myself through clothes. I binge-watched Stacy and Clinton’s What Not to Wear, I (somewhat regrettably) paraded around the halls of my middle school in red, thigh-high, pointy-toed suede boots, and even won ‘Best Dressed’ one year. As I moved into high school, body image insecurities hit me full force and I began using clothing to cope rather than as a tool for self-expression.
By my twenties, I had lost any personal connection to my style. Every clothing decision revolved around one question: Does this make me look smaller? I was frustrated by my closet. I still loved clothes and had certainly spent enough money on them, but had no sense of personal style to show for it.
Then one day, something finally shifted. I was exhausted from constantly fighting the way I looked and decided it was time to reconnect with the younger version of myself who saw clothing as a means of expression, not a form of armor. I dove headfirst into a years-long personal style journey, devouring the advice of every fashion guru online. I wasn’t looking for rules about how I should dress. I wanted guidance on how to develop a sense of style that felt truly personal.
Throughout my research, I couldn’t help but see things through my lens as a social scientist and researcher trained to uncover the core motivations that drive human behavior. I began to realize that all the style tips, tools, and advice I was collecting, whether explicitly or not, were aimed at helping people satisfy three fundamental needs: to be comfortable, to feel confident, and to express creativity.
With that realization, my approach shifted. I stopped following other people’s rules and started asking myself, What is consistent about the clothing or outfits where I feel most comfortable? Most confident? Most creative? I started to developed a deep intuition about how certain clothing items might make me feel. I learned how to pair confidence-boosting items or bold creativity pieces with comfort elements that made my outfits feel wearable. I got better at saying no to trends or style rules that didn’t feel aligned to what I was learning about my preferences. Finally, I realized I had found my personal style.
I began sharing this perspective with friends and loved participating in their “aha” moments as they started to view their relationship with clothing differently. I began to codify what I was learning into the 3Cs of Style™ method and ultimately, decided to start Undone Styling. My desire is to provide every client with a new approach to personal style discovery that results in lasting self-knowledge, not just great outfits.