‘Finding ones personal style‘ is a quest that is not applicable to me. I believe that style is innate within all of us. What I like, wear the most, buy repeatedly as replacements over the years and how I pair my garments becomes my personal style. We can how ever, refine it. Viktor Frankl in his book ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ wrote : between impulse and response, there is choice. In this context, I equate making choices to having a personal style. Instinct and spontaneity are cute in theory, but a terrible framework when it comes to building a closet that honors sustainability. A well reasoned “value system” and a sense of “need” have to dictate my choices. I can not be a slave to the fashion markets. I can not be a slave to the popular culture and the norms. I do not want to be a slave to my own whims. My personal style is my visual interface. It should be well designed and crafted. Minimalism, sustainable living, zero waste principles does not necessarilty equate to abandonment of culture and beauty. It all made me choose better and think like a curator. To do so, I heavily borrowed from Dieter Rams wisdom :

1. Good design is Innovative. 

“Design always comes about in connection with innovative technology. How can design be good if the technology is not on the same level ?”

With personal style, the mindset has to be modern and fluid. It has to adapt to the changing times and the need of the hour. Rejecting antiquated ideas of femininity/masculinity, constricting clothes, harmful dyes, painful shoes, figure hugging modern day corsets, circulation restricting clothes, products made in sweatshops, products that pollute our environment, hyper consumerism that causes indirect harm, using materials that are high on emissions, conspicuous consumption, ……

2. Good design makes a useful product.

“Good design optimizes usefulness and ignores anything that doesnt serve the purpose or works against it. “

Form and function are equally important. There are many garments made for women that fail at the basic ergonomic requirements. I am yet to meet a man who has purchased shoes that are painful to wear or clothes in scratchy fabrics. In introspection, I am yet to meet a woman who doesn’t own painful shoes or constricting garments. We even defend bad design because we have made peace with the pain or like the visuals of the garment or formed a habit or formed an emotional bond with the product. Patriarchy has taught women that they are partly ornamental and it’s necessary to suffer for beauty. It has given us this narrow definition of beauty and femininity that we try to adhere and reap the benefits of. I am trying to undo this learning. Form and function have to be balanced or it’s not a good product.

Every garment in my closet should be in regular use. It should not exist to make a guest appearance once per blue moon. It should not have been purchased to wear for that one ocassions or for that one specific instance. It should be usable on an everyday basis. If it only works in combination with a few other black swan-ish garments, it’s not a useful product. If a bag can’t be put on the ground or hold your everyday belongings, it’s not being a bag. If a raincoat does not come with a hood and needs me to carry an umbrella on the side, it’s not serving me well. If your shoes slow you down when you walk, they are not shoes. If your garments constricts your movement, they are making you a fashion victim. If your everyday garments require too much upkeep, they are stealing your energy. If your garments aren’t reasonably durable and make you buy replacements too often, they are a scam designed to keep you hooked to consumerism. Having excess takes away from the usefulness and utility of existing garments.

Over the years, I have changed my closet building strategy from : ‘buy what you love’ to ‘figure out what you truly need and then buy a version of it that you love’. Otherwise, I was buying all these beautiful things that were like random dots that didn’t connect. My idea of a good product has changed too. I expect a lot of return for every dollar spent. If I spend the money, I want it to be designed by an expert and produced by folks who are trained in the craft. If I don’t spend the money, I need it to be a second hand find that will last for a reasonable amount of time.

3. Good design has an aesthetic.

“Objects you use daily significantly shape your surroundings and can add to your sense of well being.”

Modern and industrial – are too cold for my taste. Maximalism – gives me anxiety. Gray can be too gray. Neutrals can be too neutral. I like color but in small doses. It is hard for me to describe my aesthetic. I like warm tones and old things. I need the negative space as well as the accents. I like natural materials that stay humble. I like noble metals that don’t solely exist to shine. I like signs of aging and decay. I like the wrinkles and the mends. My aesthetic does not have categorization. These images perhaps capture the beauty I am trying to describe :

This is my color palette :

Navy blue, black, gray, army green, deep reds, mauvy pink.

This is how I marry colors :

Navy blue + a splash of pink or red.

Navy blue + black.

Red + black

Army green + black.

4. Good design makes a product understandable.

” It makes it easy to understand the structure of the product. Even more, it can make a product talk. Ideally, it explains itself best.”

Do our clothes communicate something about ourselves ? Yes, by default. No, we shouldn’t draw conclusions at the face value. What would I like my viewers to understand from the way I dress ?

  1. “She likes simplicity”
  2. “She likes her navy blue”
  3. “She is loyal to her old clothes”
  4. “There is no off/on button for elegance on her body. She dresses the same way on days off, when at home, when at an event or when at a conference.”
  5. “She dresses the same irrespective of the social situation”.
  6. “She has a modern take on femininity.”
  7. “She looks at ease in her clothes”.
  8. “I have nothing to say about the way she dresses.”
  9. “I have always liked that outfit on her. I am glad she wore it today”.

The way I dress is firstly for my own pleasure. I really enjoy getting dressed everyday. I enjoy picking out my clothes from the rack. I like the act of pairing things together. I enjoy the act of making additions and integrating them with my existing closet. If I do manage to convey some information about me to the humans around me that is true, I would consider it a double win.

5. Good design is unobtrusive. ( not conspicuous / not attracting attention. )

“Products that serve a purpose have the characteristic of a tool. Their design should be neutral and leave room for users self expression.”

If I have a statement to make, I will make it as I see fit. I don’t want my clothes speaking louder than I intend them to.

Conspicuous consumption is my biggest pet peeve. There are garments / jewellry / accessories that exist to be worn only when everyone is looking. They imply a certain status / purchasing power / exclusivity / affiliation to a tribe / ….. Some garments exist for humans to put on a peacock-ing charade for the society. They are meant to be owned for the sake of putting on a show for others. We tuck them away when no one is looking. I participated in this sort of thing when I was younger. I no longer have the energy or the tolerance for it.

6. Good design is honest.

“Honest means not trying to make a product look more innovative, powerful or more valuable that it really is.”

Buy fast fashion but pair it with a Chanel bag to make it look more expensive.

Save your good clothes for party wear and buy cheap clothes for the everyday.

If you don’t want to take care of your silk, buy polyester made from fossil fuels to imitate it’s look.

A women in STEM field should not care about clothes and style. It’s frivolous.

Don’t waste your money on clothes. Invest in designer bags and sparkly metals instead.

Since you bought it, hold on to it in-spite of not wearing it. Don’t declutter.

…

This sort of thinking is not honest to the person that I am.

7. Good design is long lasting 

“In contrast to fashionable design, it lasts many years even in our current throwaway society. “

Well, there are two sides to this coin. The current throwaway culture is a result of the mindset of the humans in question. I wouldn’t blame the garments for my actions. I take full responsibility if I let go of a garment before its worn out. Buying items that I fall out of love too soon, is a contributing cause for the disposable mindset. Buying too much and not having the bandwidth to wear everything is a contributing cause for the way clothes are disposed. On the flip side, I have had seams coming apart and fabric thinning out unevenly forcing me to make upgrades well before the garment is worn out. Some actionable items :

The constitution of my closet will be 80% high quality everyday classics and 20% accent items in acceptable quality.

Do not buy more than 10 items a year. It’s easy to fall out of love with older garments when there is a constant influx of goods. It becomes harder to invest in quality when quantity increases. Everything goes underutilizes when there is too much to utilize.

Do not declutter an item unless it’s no longer wearable. Find a way to use it up.

8.Good design is thorough down to the last detail. 

“Nothing should be arbitrary or left to chance. Thoroughness and precision are expressions of respect for the user.”

Two sides to this coin : the buyer has to be thorough about her requirements. The maker has to be through about the product’s design.

I have become more meticulous and calculated about my purchases. I sleep on my wish lists for months and even years. If there is an ounce of doubt about a garment, I don’t buy it. If there is a little detail that is irksome, I return it. If I am mentally making a list of additional accessories needed to wear this garment, I veto it. If my body weight is fluctuating, I go on a shopping fast till I stabilize. When my professional life has highs n lows, I freeze my credit card. I am trying to minimize the emotional and impulse purchases.

With garments, I have some precise requirements. My leather jacket should drape a certain way. Jackets should have big lapels. My shirts should have that right amount of oversized-ness. The pants should stop right on the hip bone. My jewellry should have the right amount of dainty-ness. My navy blue should be an exact shade of RGB or else I will veto it. Paying attention to the details maximizes the pleasure I derive from the garment in the long run. It cuts down on the bad purchases I make.

The right mindset. The right garment.

9.Good design is environmentally friendly. 

“Design makes an important contribution to preserving the environment. It conserves resources and minimizes physical and visual pollution. “

How are the fibers made ? How is it spin into cloth ? How much recycled content is used ?

How is the garment dyed ? How was the waste treated ?

How is its supply chain structured ?

How are the factories powered ? How do the factories treat their waste ?

How far did it travel to get to my home ?

How durable is it ? Will it age well ?

Does its upkeep involve washing with petrochemicals or releasing micro-plastics into the water ways ?

Will it become vintage or is it designed for a landfill ?

How will I recycle it once it’s worn out ?

Will it return to the earth in a non toxic state ?

The answers to these questions are not readily available for most products on the market. But I can try to find out. I can support the companies who are transparent about their supply chain. Some makers are putting out this information to attract like minded consumers. If the winds pick up, some of this information will make it on to product labels like how packaged food has nutrition labels.

As a consumer, large closets are not eco-friendly. Excess consumption is not eco-friendly. Hoarding unused good is not eco friendly. Buying not so versatile pieces is not eco friendly. A good product and a right mindset – one cant exist without the other.

10. Good design is as little design as possible. 

“Back to simplicity. Back to purity. Less, but better. “

For the sake of growth at all costs, we sometimes create problems that we later have to solve with more innovation. We produce too much and then create ad campaigns to encourage people to buy. We extract too much from a finite resource pool and then worry about sustainability. Man made problems and man made solutions !! If it’s not broke, don’t break it to fix it. I have bought excess and then decluttered. I have patted myself on my back for taking fashion risks and then sold these garments away after realizing that they are not wearable. Fashion has this ability to create desire followed by dissatisfaction in what was once desired. Our minds can be tuned into believing we constantly need variety and new things. I rather stick to my uniform and practice simplicity. The less I need, the happier I seem to be. The simpler my clothes are, the more returns. Dieter Rams is a wizard and a prophet. Thank you for the lesson.