Personal style is that ‘X Factor’ which makes it easy for some people to find the exact things that suit them, while others struggle.

Ready for some good news? Style can definitely by learned. Here’s how.

What is personal style?

Personal style is about wearing things that work for you. That means they suit:

• your figure
• your skin and hair colour
• your personality
• your lifestyle
• your job
• the other activities you participate in
• the climate where you are
• the social environment
• your budget
• your comfort level

…and probably a few other things I’ve missed.

When your ensemble hits the right notes for all these criteria you have great style. In my opinion, if you look great but are sweltering / spent too much / your feet hurt / you can’t climb a tree with your kids, that just doesn’t cut it. Your clothes should fit your life, not define it. (I’m sure many fashionistas, eccentrics and goths would disagree with me though!)

So does this suit me?

The challenge when you go shopping is to quickly run through that list in your head and determine whether each potential purchase meets all those criteria.

If you think about it, you probably know more than you’ve given yourself credit for. Maybe you’ve learned through bitter experience that you don’t have the pain threshold for high heels or pointy toes. Perhaps you’ve noticed that the only shirt colors men in your office wear are white and blue. Or maybe you know that some things make your bum look bigger than others, but prefer to ignore that body part altogether.

Once you have some sense of what works for you, you can ask yourself whether each potential purchase will really work for you. A couple of readers who commented on Friday talked about how they do that. Collegesaver said:

When I go bargain shopping and I see something, I always ask myself, “Do I love how it looks on me?”If not, back to the rack it goes.

While Rebecca from The Space Between My Peers said she knows not to buy something when:

“it makes you feel as if you were wearing someone else’s clothes”

Personally, I know that if something looks a little strange but I don’t want to take it off, it’s set to be a wardrobe favourite.

Help! I still don’t know where to start

If you really haven’t ever noticed that you look and feel better in some things than others, I’m going to set you some homework. People much more talented than myself have written some great books on finding your personal style, dressing more attractively and putting together a great wardrobe.

Fashion tragic that I am, I’ve read a lot of fashion books, and narrowed it down to three favorites:

1. The Lucky Shopping Manual is the best general wardrobe guide I’ve encountered so far, with helpful tips for picking most types of clothing.
2. Does This Make Me Look Fat? is the go-to guide for anyone with body issues; it’ll teach you how to play up your best features while making the things you don’t like less noticeable.
3. Christian Dior’s Little Dictionary of Fashion is a new favorite, perfect for anyone who admires classic style icons like Audrey Hepburn. The style secrets that made movie stars so fabulous in Dior’s day mostly still work now.

These are the three most useful style books I’ve found so far; if you know of others that are great, please share!

You might also like...

Beijing Baby’s personal style journey
An aside to my ongoing series on finding your personal style… (last...

Clothing and style
Confession time: I’m a bit of a closet fashionista… and ever-so-slightly vain....

Tam finds her personal style
A couple of reader questions prompted me to write about finding your...

Exploring your signature style
Here are some fabulous style tips from Bargain Queen real style icon...

Fall into a new style
A change of season is a great time to update your style,...