4 Ways Personal Style and Branding Are Similar

Embracing my creative weirdo tendencies I talked about in a previous post also extends into my personal style.

There are so many pieces and styles of clothing that I admire but my wardrobe skews dark and minimal while keeping things interesting with fun accessories, shoes and jewelry. Like everyone, I’m full of contradictions.

My style currently is what my goth and punk inspired teen self would think is cool and most of the time that works for me! Since I love layers and dark clothing my favorite seasons are fall and winter.

When creating my branding for Redesignia, I knew that standing out by leaning into those dark and moody colors would be different from the sea of beige online.

Expressing yourself creatively through getting dressed or your website visuals is important for feeling authentically you.

Whether you’re putting together an outfit or refreshing your brand, here are 4 ways that personal style and branding are similar.

Evolution Is Normal

Your clothes haven't stayed the same since middle school, right? Or if they have, way to go having a unique POV for fashion and staying the course!

I’ve made mood boards on Pinterest for everything from personal style to branding. It started on my personal Pinterest account more than a decade ago.

I created an account just to start frantically pinning wedding inspiration after getting engaged.

A few hours later after diving deep down the Pinterest wedding inspo rabbit hole, I came up for air even more confused about what my wedding should actually look like.

To see the evolution of my style you’d need to visit some of my oldest boards. These were started almost a decade ago and some of the styles referenced are definitely dated.

Just like how people say they want a “timeless” wedding or style almost anything can evoke a certain era or date the time period looking back on it with fresh eyes.

My personal style went from goth and punk inspired in high school and college, to more basic, toned down and grown up after graduating while eventually circling back to a darker and minimal aesthetic.

With how varied my personal style was through the years, I can only imagine how many evolutions my brand will go through. When your brand starts to feel like a piece of clothing that doesn’t fit the way you like any more, it’s time for a brand refresh.

They Take Time

Personal style and branding come from understanding yourself, your audience and your business. You can't skip over this step because it provides the most clarity in the long run. Both take time to cultivate and build.

Understanding yourself and how you want to show up in the world and be perceived is what we learn how to do for your business in a brand strategy session. Just like the three word style challenge all over TikTok by Allison Bornstein, these words will inform your future branding decisions.

Kibbe body types, color seasons, and TikTok aesthetics. What do these all have in common? They are all ways to learn about your personal style. I enjoy learning these new “rules” because sometimes there are gems of knowledge to be learned and lead to eventually breaking them more thoughtfully.

Perfect example: My color season is definitely a winter because I have a high level of contrast between my features like my hair and skin tone. This means the best colors for me are cool toned and high contrast like deep berry shades and my perpetual favorite color, black.

Does this stop me from wearing colors like the occasional pastel pink or olive green? Nope. But I do know why these colors aren’t always flattering. Who wants to be flattering all the time anyway? :)

Follow Trends Mindfully

The fashion trend cycle has grown so short that following every trend is impossible unless you’re online shopping a lot. You wouldn't change your whole wardrobe on a dime, hopefully, so why do that with your brand?

I’ve been cleaning out my closet recently, slowly but surely, and so many pieces were bought on a whim to get some of that sweet dopamine that online shopping gives me. Thankfully, most of these clothes I’ve worn at least a few times. I don’t have any clothes that still have the tags on them like one of my grandmas. Small victories.

Buying clothing intentionally isn’t just sustainable for our wallets it also helps the planet. See the documentary Buy Now on Netflix for more self induced shopping guilt. The easiest way to not spend a ton on Black Friday!

Besides being a waste of time, following every trend will confuse your ideal clients and business friends. Being consistent and recognizable across the internet by reflecting the real you on your website to social media platforms is how people remember you.

Know Your Bad Habits

When I decided to do a no-buy in 2024 for clothes the easiest way to stop feeling shopping FOMO was to stop online browsing, shopping and comparing across social media.

It may sound simple but stopping or minimizing this behavior stopped me from feeling fashion FOMO. If you don’t know about the latest and greatest trends and pieces you’ll love, or be convinced you’ll love, it’s really easy to not worry about them staying out of your closet and brain.

My bad habit for branding is sometimes overthinking my choices. Usually it’s easy for me to put together a mood board and narrow down the options.

But sometimes a new shiny font or illustration will pop up that I think I need. Spoiler alert: I usually don’t. Then it just hangs around my desktop eventually moving into the digital graveyard of creative projects and clutter.

Ready For More Brand Strategy?

If you’re ready to start the new year reflecting the real you online with a new or refreshed brand and site, book a free consult call or learn more about my brand strategy and web design packages.