Many women we meet have been struggling with some element of their style for years. They know they want to look good, but more importantly, what’s coming up for them is the absolute imperative to feel good in their clothing. To not only feel physically good, which often translates into feeling physically comfortable, but to feel psychologically good.
We meet many women who often have great information about the practical elements of their style – what colors, cuts, fabrics, and proportions will flatter their figures – but they haven’t yet worked out how to feel psychologically great in their style.
They want to feel like themselves, and not just that but the best version of themselves.
Discovering their Style Type is often the first step in the journey to feeling psychologically fabulous in your style, and your clothing.
You’ll note the words “first step” and “journey” in that sentence.
Discovering your Style Type is a significant step in what is often a lifelong journey.
Expressing your style essence in an authentic way is the goal for many intelligent women
If you already have your Style Type Report, we want you to have the best experience possible in using it. So, in this article, we’re going to share with you some of the ways to tap into the magic that your Style Type represents, so that you can start to chart and travel YOUR authentic style pathway.
Your Style Type Report was written from a very deliberate perspective.
Every section and every sentence are imbued with Psychological Type knowledge, expertise and experience.
It’s So Natural and Ingrained, You Can’t See it
We understand that part of coming to understand and embrace your Style Type is recognizing what you do naturally and innately.
Our experience in Psychological Type tells us that it’s quite common for there to be a low level of conscious awareness of our innate preferences and gifts. People believe that they “are just the way I am” and haven’t yet honed the ability to identify and recognize their innate gifts.
We think either that everyone has these same gifts (so we don’t recognize them as gifts – they’re just common qualities) or that they aren’t that special.
When you embrace your Style Type more fully, you recognize the fallacy of these assumptions – not everybody can do what you can easily and naturally do, and your gifts are indeed special. There is nobody else quite like you!
Even women of your Style Type will differ in significant and personal ways, and part of the Style Type journey is to recognize your unique approach to style.
Amazing Accuracy
If you have not yet gotten beneath the surface of your Type, when you first receive your Style Type you may not be able to recognize how amazingly accurate your Report is at describing your style essence – what lies beneath your style behaviors at the core of your being.
Once you start applying your Style Type Report, it has the power to be utterly transformational. When you first read your Style Type Report you may find yourself thinking that there’s an obviousness to the content.
One reason this happens is that you are so familiar with your way of being that you don’t fully grasp or recognize your unique psychological DNA, and how your Report reflects that.
Your Style Type Report contains content that is true to your Style Type, and not to others. This is why you can find yourself reading your Style Type Report, nodding your head because you are agreeing with all you’re reading.
It can take time and insight to realize how utterly amazing it is that your style DNA could be so accurately described by people who’ve never even met you.
Your Style Type Report describes your style DNA – the essence of who you are
Those who understand the “magic” of their Style Type Report have said it’s almost eerie how accurately their Style Type Report reflects their approach and attitude to style – their style DNA …
…it’s almost like a set of hidden cameras was set up in their home and closet, capturing their behavior then writing it in their Report.
Aha Moments – Tapping Into Your Style DNA
Your Style Type Report, once applied, has the power to be full of AHA moments.
Here’s one example: –
“Major AHA Moment – there’s a line in my Report that says: You are the Style Type most likely to dress to accommodate the environment by what you wear.
Reading this now, I am struck by how obvious this is, and I’m amazed that I didn’t see it sooner, but I am overjoyed to have finally gotten this.
We have a vacation home at the lake where we spend lots of time, and I’ve always wanted to bring more of my Lake House style into my City style, and play more with my love of colors, patterns, and fabric. There are situations where it will work, a barbecue on a beautiful sunny day, or one of those hot summer evenings when dinner at an outside café is the only place to be. But otherwise I’ve been struggling with reconciling these two Style Locations.
Despite having a full wardrobe at our Lake House, I keep taking clothes back and forth, “just in case”. When the reality is that I have two completely different wardrobes and lifestyles, both based on the environment. This has only just dawned on me – and there it was, in my Report all along!
It’s not that I’m a different person in the City to at the Lake – it just happens that my Lake House wardrobe suits my personality and coloring better than my City one. Major insight!
I am so relieved at finally being able to see what is happening, this gives me choices for how to adjust my style in both my locations.
This is just BRILLIANT!”
And here’s another insightful observation from a one of our NT Style Types about the style blueprint section of the Report from a woman who has spent a concentrated 3 months focusing each week on one key aspect of her style and type:
“When I received my style type report, I only skimmed over the style blueprint section as it didn’t seem very specific to me and my style type. Now that I’ve gone deeper into my style and my type and really applied it to myself, I can see how accurate it really is. It relates to every other part of my report, and suits my style type to a tee – and I now know it is unique to my style type – none of the other type’s style blueprint is exactly like mine – and mine is perfect for me.”
These are just two of countless examples where women who are using and applying their Style Type to themselves and their style journey, are discovering just how deep and profound their Report is. To help you get the most from your Style Type Report, here are a few suggestions.
Suggestions for Getting the Most from your Style Type Report
- Be open to the idea that every section, and every sentence, is imbued with powerful and profound Type concepts. Nothing in your Report is generic, nor does any of the concepts in it apply to other Style Type Reports exactly as it does in your Report. Just reading (or worse, simply skimming) your Report won’t get you in touch with the how the content in your Report touches on the essential essence of your style DNA – you have to be open to the magic that’s in it.
- You’ll get at those profound and powerful concepts when you start applying your Style Type Report to your own life and style… you’re unlikely to get there through merely reading – you need to take action on the information in your Report.
- You may be so familiar with your way of being that the depth and richness of your Report isn’t immediately obvious. Your Report so accurately describes who you are and your style essence that you may be unable to recognize the brilliance of that (it hasn’t happened by accident, that’s for sure!) until you start appreciating more of how sophisticated and complex the theory of Psychological Type is. If your Style Type Report reads as obvious then you may not yet realize that what is written is innate to you (and does not apply to all Types).
- You may not know enough about your Type (or the theory of psychological type in general) yet to recognize the beauty and wealth that your Report holds – be open to learning more through application.
Half a Century of Experience
All the content in your Style Type Report that has a Psychological Type element to it was written, co-written and edited by Jane and Jill. This is important note because between Jane and Jill, there’s over 50 years of experience in using Psychological Type, including
- Designing and leading hundreds of impactful workshops with the world’s most recognizable corporate brands
- Working with thousands of individuals 1:1
- Authoring books and articles on the topic (Jane has ~30 titles to her name with respected publishers)
- Facilitating workshops within the international Psychological Type community
There’s a lot of experience there – you can rest assured that between Jane and Jill that they understand the 16 Types widely and deeply through their 50+ years of experience and have covered the important aspects of your Type. The third 16 Style Types team member, Imogen, is recently qualified in Psychological Type and is a respected image consultant and image consultant trainer, who also writes a globally-read style blog.
We say all this to reassure you that we aren’t interested amateurs who’ve spent an afternoon working on this – we’ve applied the very best of our extensive professional expertise and experience to bring to life an intelligent marriage of psychology and style.
There’s so much richness inside your Style Type Report – just waiting to be explored and embraced!
If You’re Not Sure You Agree with Your Report
We hope this doesn’t happen to you but if you find yourself reading your Report and having questions arise from it, the following section may be helpful to you.
When you read any content, focused on any area of life, that has a Psychological Type thread running through it and you disagree with some elements of it, one of these reasons may be the culprit:
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The material is incorrect
It is simply not accurate or properly written. The authors don’t understand Type well enough, or at least YOUR Type well enough, and they’ve gotten it wrong in some way. Keep in mind that any Type information you read may not resonate entirely with you – often 80% is a great target.
We’re human and therefore fallible, and it’s certainly possible that there are some tweaks in the Reports which would refine them even further. But hand on heart, it’s highly unlikely that your Report is full of blatant errors in its Psychological Type underpinnings, based simply on the wealth of almost incomparable Type experience we have between us (see About page + summary above).
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Your understanding of Type general, and your Type in particular, is at a foundational level and is still developing
If you disagree with some aspects of your Report and are at this stage of your Type journey, then you will have some understanding of some aspects of Type but there is much more for you to learn and fully understand.Type is a lifelong journey, and the most respected Type authors and thought-leaders are the first to say they are still learning – there is so much to get your head, heart, and soul around, it’s simply impossible to know everything.
If you disagree with parts of your Style Type Report, we would encourage you to be open to the idea that your Type knowledge is still developing, and to remember the learning adage that “the biggest obstacle to learning something new is the belief you already know it”. Imagine it’s the case that you don’t know everything, and feel the relief that stems from being able to step into ‘beginners mind’ (a term from Zen which signifies having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying a subject, even when studying at an advanced level, just as a beginner would).
Be open to learning something new, fascinating and wonderful about yourself, your Type, and your style.
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Your Type knowledge is conceptual and theoretical and would benefit from greater application
This can happen when there’s a lot of “head knowledge” – you have read a lot about Type and are interested in Type concepts and ideas… you just haven’t applied it to your life in any sustained or significant way.Your Style Type Report is intended to be used – not just read.
Once you start applying the concepts and content in your Style Type Report to yourself and your style journey, it has the power to be utterly transformational. Simply reading anything about your Type is often a positive experience – confirming, reassuring, and illuminating. But reading alone is generally not transformational – it’s action and applying your Type knowledge to your life that makes it transformational.
On the My Report Download page you will find two additional PDF Resources – Style Profile and Get Traction. These are designed for you to use as a guide in applying your Style Type Report.
To get access to these PDFs, along with the additional resources (including videos on your Style Type), login to 16styletypes.com and click on the My Report tab in grey, at the top right of your screen. Along with your Style Type Report PDF, you’ll find these additional resources. Our online membership program will be released later in 2019 and is also an exceptional opportunity to apply your Style Type Report to your style and life.
When you download your Style Type Report, you get immediate access to additional resources to bring your style essence to life!
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You have been incorrectly Typed
If you haven’t yet arrived at your Best Fit Type, then you can find yourself frowning and shaking your head “No, not me” when you read material for a Type that isn’t your Best Fit Type. Coming to Best Fit Type can be a lengthy process, involving much reflection and self-examination, and we have an FAQ devoted to this issue.
Depending on where, when, and from whom your four-letter Type came from, including how much time you spent on the 16 Style Types self-discovery process, and your level of self-awareness, this may be an issue for you if you find yourself disagreeing with too much of your Style Type Report. Should you have a pre-conceived idea of your Type you may have chosen a Type (and therefore a Style Type Report) based on this untested preconception, rather than making a more informed and accurate decision based on your innate preferences doing our Best Fit Type Process.
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You are confusing learned behavior with innate preference
This can happen when you have a wealth of life experience and can “do a lot” – you have developed a lot of skills in various parts of your life and have a wide range of behaviors you can draw on. There may be additional (non-Type) influences which have contributed to your style development, and perhaps convinced you of something out of pattern. Maybe your mother was a different Type so you loved her classic styling (pearls, cardigans, neutral colors) and your style has been influenced in that direction, even though few of your Style Type would naturally be drawn to that style expression.
Your Report describes what is innate and natural for a woman of your Style Type and does not (nor is it possible for it to) include the full range of style behaviors and attitudes you may have, including those you have picked up through “nurture” or learned experience along the way.
Just because you can do something (including the ability to do something very well) does not mean this is an innate preference for you. We understand this can be a perplexing issue for some people coming to terms with their Type and have written about this so you can start to differentiate between what is learned and what you can do as distinct what is natural and innate for you.
There can be many factors which can stand between you and unfettered access to your style essence, and to your authentic style expression. If you haven’t already, give yourself the gift of exploring what might be getting in your way, which can help you re-orient yourself to chart a style journey that is uniquely authentic for you.
Getting to Your Best Version of Yourself
Our goal at 16 Style Types is to have you move closer to your style essence, your innate qualities that are at the core of who you are. Through applying your Style Type Report, you can feel psychologically great in your style – the best version of yourself.
Discovering your Style Type is the first step in the journey to feeling psychologically fabulous in your style. By using and applying the rich content in your Style Type Report, you are empowered to tap into the magic of your style essence, and chart and travel YOUR authentic style pathway.
