Analyzing Inspiration (Your True Style Pt. 1)

From Moodboard to Wardrobe

In 2021, I made the grave mistake of posting a Twitter thread of advice on how to shop more thoughtfully and, as a result, sustainably. Long story short, while I received quite a bit of backlash from not only the “just thrift!” crowd (mind you, you can still overconsume secondhand clothing and therefore should also thrift thoughtfully) but also the “let people enjoy things” mob, I also got a huge boost to my following thanks to people who were sick of the fast fashion rat race and looking for ways to slow down and take a more deliberate approach to how they get dressed.

It was that response that lead me to Substack, and, in just a year, this little newsletter born from Twitter has blossomed into thousands of readers and a pretty okay living for me as a writer—something I’d never imagined for myself, before (though I still have to supplement my Substack income with personal styling work in order to live comfortably in Los Angeles).

That said, there’s one question y’all have been asking me since I first put finger to MacBook keyboard: How do you figure out your personal style?

Well, the wait is finally over. For the next few weeks, I’ll be posting a series of guides taking you along the entire process of not just figuring out how you want to dress, but also how to actually build a wardrobe that fits the bill:

Step One: Inspiration (this article, Analyzing Inspiration) is all about what to do once you’ve gathered your, you know, inspiration.

Step Two (and Two-Point-Five): Interrogation (21 Questions And Answers to Find Your Style) is about sitting down to really figure out your wardrobe and style goals and where you are in your journey.

Step Three (and Three-Point-Five): Evaluation (How to Evaluate Your Wardrobe Pt. 1 and 2) tasks you with assessing your existing wardrobe to understand what you buy vs. what you actually wear, and turning what you own into a workable foundation on which to build.

Step Four: Actualization (Style Sentence-ing) is essentially putting words to how you want to look and how you achieve it. Your Style Sentence is meant to keep you on track as you begin planning and making purchases.

Step Five: Preparation (Starting From Scratch) is where we’re going to create your official shopping list.

Step Six: Execution (How to Shop Like a Stylist) is where I teach you to shop like me!

And so, without further ado…here’s how to make your wardrobe look like your moodboard.

Back in my day, making a moodboard meant getting a piece of posterboard (or a spiral notebook full of mini-boards categorized by vibe if you were really serious), sitting down with a fat stack of Seventeens, YMs, and Teen Vogues, along with a gluestick and scissors, and cutting and pasting to your heart’s content. It usually made no sense because, pre-internet, we were beholden to whatever existed in the pages of those magazines, without a lot of freedom to compile images that truly resonated with us, let alone reflected us.

These days, it’s easy. You can use Canva to make a digital collage; bookmark and organize images on Instagram; or, my personal favorite, make a Pinterest board. We live in an age where there is almost nothing new left to be made, so, whatever you’re imagining can surely be found somewhere: it’s just a matter of putting it all in one place. But, what do you do with it?