How to Find Your Style: A Guide and Quiz

Last month, a client came to me for a wardrobe review in utter despair. Over the course of a single weekend, she'd impulsively spent a significant portion of her salary on marketplaces, buying rhinestone-embellished crop tops, extremely low-rise jeans, and chunky plastic jewelry. "Olena, I just wanted to try on a Y2K look, but now I look in the mirror and see a teenager at a costume party, not a 32-year-old woman," she sighed. It's a classic trap.

The internet is dictating new rules of the game. While trends used to last for years, today TikTok and Instagram algorithms bombard us with new micro-styles every week. Barbiecore to Librarian Core , from "quiet luxury" to "mob wife" aesthetics. A natural question arises: How to find your own aesthetic in clothing without losing your own individuality and without breaking the bank?

Unlike the typical glossy magazine advice that urges you to completely overhaul your wardrobe to suit the latest fashion trend, I offer a completely different approach. Over 14 years of working as a personal stylist, I've discovered one golden rule: aesthetics are just a temporary add-on, an accessory on top of your fundamental personal style. We've covered the origins of this phenomenon in more detail in our complete guide. Types of Clothing Aesthetics: A Guide to Core Trends Today, we'll take a practical look at how to tame these trends.

Style vs. Aesthetics: Why We Confuse These Concepts and How to Reconcile Them

The first thing we do with new clients is draw a clear line between style and aesthetics. Imagine a high-quality, expensive cake. Your layers and soaking are personal style It develops over the years and is based on strict variables: your lifestyle, body type, archetype, and professional goals. But the cream, the cherry on top, and the sprinkles—that's it. aesthetics It's a filter, a seasonal mood, the very spice that keeps a basic wardrobe from becoming boring.

Why is this "cream" constantly changing? A report by the authoritative analytical agency WGSN (2024) coined the term hyperfragmentation of trends Analysts have proven that the average lifespan of an online aesthetic (a so-called core trend) is currently only 3 to 6 months. The fast fashion industry benefits from making you feel out of fashion after just one season and then heading back to the store.

"Chasing every new aesthetic is voluntarily signing up for perpetual dissatisfaction with your wardrobe. Your task isn't to keep up with everyone, but to choose the seasoning that will enhance the flavor of your main dish."

The 80/20 Rule: Stylists' Secret to a Smart Wardrobe

My personal stylistic formula, which saves my clients' budgets, sounds like this: 80/20 Exactly 80% of your closet should be made up of your basic style items. These are those perfect straight-leg jeans, a high-quality cashmere sweater (like COS or Massimo Dutti), and a perfectly tailored jacket. These will last for years.

The remaining 20% can safely be devoted to fleeting aesthetics and experiments. Leopard-print tights? A bow hair clip in the style of Coquette? Narrow-framed glasses for Office Siren? Go for it! If you break this proportion and fill your closet with "aesthetics" by 60-70%, you're guaranteed to face the morning problem of "a full closet, but nothing to wear." You simply won't be able to assemble these accent pieces into a cohesive picture.

How to Find Your Style in Clothing: 4 Steps to Informed Choices

To understand what mood you want to project right now, you don't need to rush to the mall. During our first consultation with clients, we always begin with a visual audit. Here are four steps you can take today.

• Step 1: Digital Mood Board. Check out your saved photos on Pinterest or Instagram. According to Pinterest Predicts, our personal aesthetic begins not with specific items, but with atmosphere. Don't look at dress styles. Look for patterns: what colors dominate (deep burgundy or pastel?), what textures (smooth silk, rough leather, or fluffy mohair?).
• Step 2: Film and Music Audit. Your favorite screen heroines are the key to your hidden desires. If you rewatch '90s films for Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy's minimalist looks, your current destination is the minimalist aesthetic, or Old Money.
• Step 3: Reality check. This is a moment of honesty. The desired aesthetic must survive in your actual schedule. This doesn't always work. Honest limitation: if you've fallen in love with a relaxed Cottagecore (Floral dresses, straw hats, linen aprons), but you work 5/2 in a corporate office with a strict dress code, this aesthetic won't fit into your everyday life. Save it for 20% of your weekend wardrobe.
• Step 4: Digitizing your wardrobe. Load your essentials into MioLook To clearly see what elements from your current base can be combined with the new aesthetic. This will prevent unnecessary duplicate purchases.

Interactive test: Which aesthetic do you prefer right now?

I developed this short navigation guide based on my clients' requests. It's tailored not to fleeting trends, but to your personality type and your sense of comfort. Answer these five questions and count the letters you get.

1. Your ideal day off is:
A) A trip to a contemporary art exhibition and brunch at a minimalist cafe.
B) Morning yoga, matcha with plant-based milk and a walk in the park.
B) A spontaneous party with friends until the morning or a rock concert.
D) Reading a novel in a cozy coffee shop, buying fresh flowers.

2. If you had to choose just one texture for the whole season, it would be:
A) Dense, well-shaped cotton or suit wool.
B) Smooth, sliding silk or seamless knitwear.
B) Distressed leather or distressed denim.
D) Translucent lace or soft cashmere.

3. Your attitude towards jewelry:
A) A simple watch and, perhaps, some stud earrings. Nothing extra.
B) Neat gold rings and thin chains (create a shimmering effect).
B) Chunky chains, chokers or vintage rings with history.
D) Pearls, ribbons in the hair, elegant pendants.

4. The main criterion when choosing shoes:
A) Status classics (loafers, strict pumps).
B) Maximum comfort (white sneakers, ugg boots, Birkenstocks).
B) A statement about yourself (rough boots, Cossack boots, platform shoes).
D) Grace (ballet flats, Mary Janes, kitten heels).

5. Favorite palette:
A) Black, white, beige, deep blue.
B) Nude shades, olive, milky, soft pink.
B) Black, burgundy, graphite, neon accents.
D) Pastel, dusty rose, lavender, cream.

Test Keys: Understanding Results

• More A — Old Money / Minimalism. You value structure, quality, and status. Your aesthetic is unfussy. Invest in well-cut pieces, heavyweight fabrics (cotton from 180 g/m²), and basic colors.
• More B — Clean Girl Aesthetic. Comfort and grooming are important to you. The "clean girl" aesthetic is built on health: glowing skin, smooth hair, relaxed yet luxurious fabrics.
• More B — Y2K / Grunge / Dark Academia. You have a rebellious spirit. You're not afraid of complex textures, vintage, and a touch of casualness. This makes it a great opportunity to hunt for unique pieces on resale platforms.
• More G - Romantic Core (Coquette / Cottagecore). Tired of the harshness of the modern world and want to add a touch of softness to your life? Bows, ruffles, and pastels are your tools for creating a safe, soft cocoon.

An important reminder: the test result is not a stigma for life, but only a vector for inspiration for the next couple of months.

The biggest mistake newbies make is the "overdressing" syndrome.

Remember the client from the beginning of this article? Her biggest mistake was overdressing. When we're obsessed with a new aesthetic, our brain (and aggressive brand marketing) dictates: Buy everything new, become a different person.

It's counterintuitive, but you don't need to buy new clothes to try out a new aesthetic. Buying fifteen cheap polyester items for the sake of a passing trend won't make you stylish. It will leave you with a mountain of low-quality junk that will lose its shape after one wash. Quality is always more important than quantity. It's better to buy one luxurious vintage belt for the same price as five synthetic tops—it'll elevate your entire look.

How to Incorporate a New Aesthetic Without Spending a Lot: A Stylist's Checklist

And now for the main magic I use in practice. Any aesthetic can be "dressed" on your usual base with three tools: a beauty zone, accessories, and styling techniques.

1. Makeup and hair (Beauty zone)

The face and hair are 50% of any aesthetic. I recently adopted a bold trend. Office Siren (Office Siren) for a client who works at a casual IT company, but she wanted a more put-together and feminine look. We didn't buy any new suits. We simply created a sleek bun, added some brown lip liner (a nod to the '90s), and paired her hair with narrow-framed glasses. The plain gray turtleneck instantly took on a new look.

2. Accessory group

Accessories are your spice. According to the 80/20 rule, they're the one you should allocate that 20% of your shopping budget to.
Take a simple white men's-style shirt (100% cotton) and straight-leg blue jeans. See how the details make all the difference:

• Old Money Aesthetics: We throw a contrasting cashmere jumper over our shoulders, put on a leather belt to match the leather loafers, and add gold stud earrings.
• Coquette Aesthetics: We tie a velvet bow in our hair, change our loafers for Mary Janes with white socks, and unbutton the top couple of buttons on our shirt.
• Grunge Aesthetics: We put on a voluminous worn leather jacket over the shirt, add rough lace-up boots and a massive chain around the neck.

The base is the same. The aesthetics change in 3 minutes.

3. Vintage and resale

If your aesthetic demands specific items (for example, authentic bags from the 2000s or Victorian-style brooches), don't look for them in mass-market stores. Mass-market stores produce flat copies. Instead, head to international or local resale platforms and vintage boutiques. An item with a story always looks more expensive and fits more deeply into a conceptual image.

Results: aesthetics as a game, not a strict set of rules

Fashion often tries to convince us that we must conform to a single ideal. But the truth is, your personal style is always bigger, deeper, and more interesting than any internet trend with the prefix "core." You are not a model for someone else's ideas.

Treat aesthetics like a fun game. One day you can be put-together and strict, the next, relaxed and romantic. Use trends to better understand yourself, your comfort limits, and your desires. Build a solid foundation of quality basics, and layer on top with whatever accessories and moods resonate with you today.