Foundations of Your Style Type
Let’s start at the very beginning (we hear it’s a very good place to start). Let’s touch briefly on what a Style Type is and where it came from.
Style Type is a term we coined to capture the combining of style concepts with a theory of personality type that’s been in existence for over a century. This theory is called ‘psychological type’ and is based on the research and thinking of a Swiss psychologist, author and one-time protégé of Sigmund Freud, Carl Gustav Jung.
CG Jung (as he is most commonly known) studied people and examined the patterns he saw in how they went about life. And specifically how they took in trusted information (perceived things) and made decisions (came to judgment). He also looked at their orientation in terms of energy. His thinking and research led to the renowned book Psychological Types, published in 1921.
CG Jung’s central ideas were taken by the team of Myers and Briggs and turned into a resource (the Myers Briggs Type Indicator® or MBTI®) – a model of 16 personality types which has been used extensively with millions of people now, since the 1970s.
It is these 16 personality types that we have linked style concepts to, to create 16 Style Types.
Feel free to do any further research on CG Jung, Myers and Briggs, and Psychological Types; you could start by reading our article here.
Type and Style
The Module 4 material is a foundation for the remaining program Modules which have a Type basis (there are two coming up – Modules 6 and 10). So it’s good to have a solid platform of understanding about your Type for those upcoming Modules.
In addition to that, understanding yourself more fully helps you develop your style. How does this happen? Because authentic style comes from the inside out – style is never just about the exterior and the clothes you wear. True style starts from within and shows on the outside.
By understanding yourself better, using the Psychological Type theory of personality, you will be better able to:
- Feel the “best you” and be authentic in your clothing choices and style expression, because what you wear is an expression of the inner you. Your approach to style emanates from your core as a person.
- Use your personality gifts to feel more confident in yourself. Truly stylish women always have that “personality” piece – they never look like they’re wearing a costume but instead they inhabit their clothing effortlessly and ‘naturally’ as a second skin.
- “Know yourself as the beginning of all wisdom” (as Aristotle so beautifully put it) and use this as a key ingredient to developing your most authentic and stylish self.
These Type concepts applied to style are quite a journey, and the material in Module 4 represents one of the first “Type” steps of that journey. In that regard, they are not quick fixes, so take your time and remember that to “know yourself” can take a lifetime!
Sources of Type Information
In this Module, you’re invited to reflect on yourself and on key interactions with others, through the lens of Psychological Type. You need some knowledge about Psychological Type, although you don’t need to be an expert by any means.
Consider these sources of Type data as you go through this Module’s Explorations:
1. Your Style Type Report. Every section and every page in your Style Type Report has a Type foundation. Your Report is woven through with Type data:
- The style pillars explored in Module 2
- Pages 3, 6 and 7 – material explored in Module 3
2. The Appendix in this Module, with two descriptions of the 16 Types.
3. The knowledge you have gained so far in this program. It’s quite possible that you know more about your Type than you’re giving yourself credit for.
4. We’ve also created a Gifts.PDF for your Style Type, you can download it from your MY REPORT page (in the blue menu bar at the top of this page) and use throughout this Module’s Explorations.
The Journey of Self Awareness
Learning about your yourself by discovering your Style Type can be like opening the door into a new world you never knew existed. You can feel like you’ve been given the ‘keys to the kingdom’ – that a new and enlightening way of understanding yourself, and others, has just been revealed to you.
And whilst for most people understanding their Type is a hugely positive experience, there can be ‘light and shade’ in having such a powerful mirror held up to see who you naturally are.
It can also be a relief to know that there are others just like you, people who share your Style Type and have a similar way of ‘doing life’ to you (although, of course, we are each an individual and there are many factors which make up who you are and your sense of identity, as you explored in Module 1).
In the following section is a map. This graphic shows key milestones that you may find yourself travelling through, resting at, and exploring more aspects of, along your own journey of self-awareness using Style Type as your guide and lens.
It’s interesting to note that for many who start this journey, they find that there really is no destination – it’s an ongoing process of self-discovery. As with most great journeys, the traveller chooses the pace they go at, how long they stop and rest (and take in the view), who they travel with, and what sights they wish to explore more of (and learn from).
