You’re Not Buying the Bag. You’re Buying a Holiday from Yourself. Here’s a question worth sitting with before you tap “confirm purchase” next time: are you buying something because you want it, or because you want a feeling to go away? It sounds confronting. But understanding the difference is one of the most useful things…
What are the key wardrobe basics I need? Type this question into Google and you’ll get the same answer fifty times over: a white shirt, dark jeans, a trench coat, a little black dress, nude heels. Pin it, buy it, you’re sorted. Except you’re not, because that list was written for nobody in particular. It…
Do You Actually Suit Prints? (It’s Not a Matter of Taste — It’s a Matter of Physics) “I find prints tricky, I’m not sure about finding my preferred shapes and colours when trends don’t necessarily reflect them. My daughter says I should just wear solid colours and neutrals, but I like some prints,” wrote a…
A delightful reader wrote to me with this query: “I can’t believe that it’s now been about 10 years since I started reading the blog and taking all of the programs and masterclasses, and I would still say that it’s some of the best money I’ve ever spent! “I turned 60 in March, and maybe…
Before You Buy a Single Thing, Do This First Patricia is 80 years young, and she wants to look fabulous again. After five years as a full-time caregiver, she wrote to me asking where to start. Her words: “By necessity, I fell into lots of bad personal care habits, and now I would like to…
The final of my top 10 most Googled personal style questions is “What colours look best on me? I’ve been asked this question more times than I can count. In consult rooms, on comment threads, in DMs at 11pm from women standing in front of their wardrobes having what I can only describe as a…
Here’s a question I get all the time, and it makes complete sense that you’re asking it: “Imogen, I keep buying things I never wear. What is wrong with me?” Nothing. Absolutely nothing is wrong with you. But something very interesting is happening in your brain, and once you understand it, you’ll have a much…
A lovely reader recently wrote to me with the following conundrum: “I have smooth, wavy hair, with textured skin and have read your post about how to wear texture when you’re naturally smooth, but as I’m the opposite, I wanted some tips on how to wear smooth fabrics when you’re textured.” Ways to Add Smoothness…
I have been asked this question so many times I could answer it in my sleep. And honestly? That tells you everything. If “business casual” were actually clear, nobody would need to ask. Here’s the uncomfortable truth. “Business casual” and “smart casual” are not dress codes. They are dress code suggestions written by people who…
Lois wrote to me recently with something I hear all the time: “I’ve got too many clothes and I love them all. I need to donate more and I can’t seem to cull them out.” Sound familiar? You’re not alone. Wardrobe overwhelm is one of the most common things my clients come to me with,…
I had a question from Margie recently that I suspect a lot of you will relate to. She’s a Classic style personality living in Texas, where summer temperatures sit in the high 90s to low 100s Fahrenheit, which is roughly high 30s to low 40s Celsius for everyone else. She wanted to know: how do…
The Most Googled Style Question That Isn’t Really About Style Have you ever typed into Google something on the following lines: How to wear [specific item] (e.g., barrel-leg jeans, sneakers, oversized blazer)… Every day, millions of searches are typed into Google that follow a familiar pattern. How to style a blazer. How to wear an…
In our Top 10 Most Googled Style Questions, the next on our list is “How Can I Dress More Confidently and Powerfully?” It’s an interesting question, as research on confidence suggests that it comes from action and building skill. This is why just following the style formula of someone else, who is not you, won’t…
Colour Is Not a Matter of Opinion. It’s a Matter of Science In the top 10 Google searches on personal style, colour is a hot topic, and searches by people wanting to know which colours match their skin tone have risen exponentially over the past few years. With the rise of AI tools, people have…
The Wardrobe Problem Nobody Warned You About Nobody tells you, when you are building a career, that you will spend a significant portion of your professional life trying to solve a problem that has no official name. It sits somewhere between “what should I wear to work?” and something considerably more complicated, something closer to:…
Following on in our deep dive into the most commonly Googled style questions is “What are the latest fashion trends and how do I wear them?” It’s an interesting question: as fashion trends change, the older we get, the less aware we often are of them. Yet how we are perceived can be influenced by…
How do I dress for my body shape? is one of the most Googled questions around personal style for women. In fact, I’ve got many of the answers here on Inside Out Style if you want to find out – take my free body shape calculator quiz and download your body shape bible for the…
As a child, I learned to sew. I was lucky, my grandmother taught me to knit, and my step-mother taught me to sew (as she sewed), and I always loved making things (we did a lot of toilet roll craft in our house and for many years had napkin rings covered with wool made from…
“What does my clothing say about me?” is the next in the top 10 list of most Googled style questions. Every morning, after deciding what to wear and donning your outfit, before you have said a single word, you have already made a statement. You have communicated something about who you are, what you value,…
Melissa asked a brilliant question: “How do I go about balancing my natural flamboyance with the practicalities of being a mum of four?” First of all, there is absolutely no reason why you cannot have your natural flamboyance in your style. Being a mum of four does not mean your personality has to disappear. It…
Stop Buying Clothes. Start Seeing What You Already Have. We’re looking into the next most Googled question about style: “How Can I Make My Current Wardrobe More Stylish?” If you go on social media, the answer will be to shop more. Follow some influencer’s list (that they’re getting paid to promote) and supposedly your style…
