How to FIND Your Style (And Own It)

heroandvillainstyle.com may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post via affiliate partnerships.

So you want to know how to find your style.

It’s easier than you probably think.

But like all things, it requires effort.

So, that’s why I’ve outlined an easy, step by step, system for developing your style, to make the process as straight forward as possible.

I assure you though, following these steps and learning how to find your style will be worth your while, considering the benefits of becoming stylish.

You will have a powerful personal brand which you can make work for you.

But it is worth mentioning that this article only covers finding your clothing style. Having ‘style’ means much more than this, and will be addressed in another article.

So without further ado, lets get into how to find your personal style.

Step 1 – Ensure You are Confident (So you CAN ACTUALLY be stylish)

Confidence is key, and is a prerequisite of being stylish.

There is no point learning how to find your style if you don’t have the confidence to change what you wear.

Also, it is a reality that when you develop a sense of style, people will notice, so you will have to be able to deal with the attention (and perhaps looks) from others.

If you aren’t comfortable with your new style, or can’t handle the attention, you will just be playing dress up. You won’t really have developed style, and will be imposing anxiety on yourself.

After all, the objective of style and personal development is to enhance your life, not make it more difficult.

At the end of the day, your style is a reflection of you.

So, if you find a style that fits your personality, but can’t stand to wear it, it is a concrete indication that you lack confidence to be who you really are.

You can’t live this way.

And if you don’t do anything about it, you will never be stylish, and impose a handicap on yourself which will ruin your life chances.

So you must act NOW to build lasting confidence.

Step 2 – Define Your Style by Finding Inspiration

Looking around to get a general idea of what type of clothing you’re into is really the first step in finding your style. You must define what you are into.

After all, you have to start somewhere.

If you are entirely new to style, you will first have to pick a genre that you identify most with, such as ‘classic’ or ‘punk’. This will give you direction when you are finding inspiration.

Once you have a genre in mind, seeking inspiration will help you make the general style your style, by giving you the means to identify specific clothing pieces and combinations that you like the look of.

You should save the outfits and items of clothing that you like somewhere, as we will use them later.

You can find inspiration for your style in a couple of ways ways:

Style Icons

Ah style icons, the good old classic method of seeking inspiration that I guarantee your Dad has used at some time in the past (though his style icon was potentially from a 80s boyband).

The good thing about style icons is that there’s an identifiable personality attached to the style, as there should be.

That personality is usually confident and capable, two traits that you want to inherit.

Being a huge Bond fan, I have taken inspiration from all 60 years of James Bond’s style, such as Harrington jackets and polo shirts.

It’s a personality and look that I can get behind, and love the way how the clothing works together and functions.

More recently, it has been David Gandy and his modern takes on classic pieces that has taken my interest, and has gave me the opportunity to dress outside of my comfort zone.

You should research icons that are famous for embodying your style genre (duh) and find which ensembles speak to you.

Influencers & Social Media Platforms

Critics relentlessly target social media because influences set an ‘unobtainable standard of beauty’.

Well, if it’s unobtainable, then how does the picture exist? (If the didn’t Photoshop it, that is)

I digress – one of the factors that makes those images so incredible is the fact that the influencer has a sense of style, and likely looks incredible.

They know what works for them.

If you find an influencer with similar features as yourself, then what looks good on them is likely going to look good on you.

You can use the clothing they wear to broaden your horizons on different clothing options.

Two platforms that I find very useful for this are Instagram and Pinterest. In their search boxes, you can simply type in your genre followed by ‘style’, and you will likely be shown exactly what you are looking for.

It is very important to note that ‘taking inspiration’ should lead to ’emulation’, not ‘imitation’.

That is, if you like someones style, you should not copy it, but make it your own.

Step 3 – Try Things Out (ACT on your inspiration)

So you know the genre you’re into, and have compiled a collection of outfits and items of clothing that you dig.

Now it’s time to try things out, and see what actually works for you.

It is not possible to passively seek inspiration and become stylish – you have to act on the ideas you like and apply them to your wardrobe.

Try out Clothing Pieces

You should start to buy pieces that you like the look of, or that appear again and again in the photos you have saved, and systematically add them to your wardrobe.

After purchasing a new piece, you should keep a close eye on how you feel in it, how it looks, and if you find excuses to wear it.

From this, you can find what individual items actually work for you (and more importantly, which ones don’t).

By ‘trying things out’, I identified my favourite, staple pieces:

• Polo Shirts
• Chinos
• Button Down Oxfords
• Chelsea Boots
• Braces (Suspenders, if you’re American)

These are all items of clothing that I feel incredible in, love how they look, and want to constantly wear.

This is an important step because, as was my case, not everything that I liked in photos worked for me.

For instance, I think loafers look incredible on most guys in photos, but I can’t stand them.

The only way you are able to discover which items are part of your style is by trying them out.

However, you shouldn’t spend a fortune on any of them, as you’re not yet sure if it’s for you.

You should take advantage of fast fashion stores such as:

• H&M
• Zara
• Uniqlo

The items in these stores are generally cheap, but importantly allow you to see if they work for you or not. There’s no point investing a lot of money in something that you may, or may not, like.

And in a lot of cases, they are actually of pretty good quality.

Try out Combinations

So you’ve found clothing pieces that you love. That’s the hard work over.

Now it’s all about seeing what they match with.

This is easily done by either looking at the photos in your collection, or by trying the piece on with other items in your wardrobe.

You will find which combinations of colour, styles and patterns work for you, which you can replicate in the future and make a part of your style.

Step 4 – Learn & Tweak

By following the first three steps, you will have developed your style and found out what you like.

But, at this stage, you have not reached your full stylish potential.

You can continue to develop your style through knowledge.

It may surprise you to learn that there is a degree of science to style.

Understanding it will allow you to make calculated adjustments to your clothing which will maximise your impact, and make everything work together more cohesively.

Topics with a concrete basis include ‘what colour to wear for your skin tone’, or ‘how to dress for your body type’.

By learning about the fundamentals of style, you will be able to fine tune your already established looks and make sure that every outfit you put together projects you in the best light possible.

Luckily, this doesn’t necessarily mean diving into a large, dusty ass book on prehistoric men’s style.

Thanks to the digital age, there are some excellent resources here on the interwebz that you can learn from.

Some of these include:

Real Men Real Style

The Modest Man

The Genleman’s Gazette

Hero and Villain Style (I’m so humble, I know)

Step 5 – NEVER Stop

By following steps 1-4, you will have developed confidence, defined your style, tested it out and learned more about the science of style, so you can always be on your A game.

It may be the case that you feel like you have completed your style journey.

Well, I hate to inform you – nope.

The journey of developing your style is a long one, and one that I’ve personally been on for three years and haven’t yet completed.

If you keep leaning about style and trying new things out, not only will you build a larger personal arsenal of things that you enjoy to wear, but you will always look fresh and up-to-date.

You must never stop developing your style, because there will always be something else out there that you will love (but haven’t found yet).

Conclusion – How to Find Your Style

So now you know how to find your personal style.

It’s not a particularly hard process.

But by finding it, you will open yourself up to a plethora of benefits.

It is an essential part of you person.

So take action today, find inspiration, and act on it.