We’re sometimes asked, here at 16 Style Types, a variation on this question: Does knowing your style type explain everything about your style? And the answer to that question is a very definite no. There are a few reasons for this, and we believe this is one of the strengths of our approach: that we know both the power and the limitations that 16 Style Types has, and we aren’t attempting to be something we simply could never be. And that’s because we understand a little about identity.
The first reason why knowing your style type could never explain everything about your style is it simply isn’t equipped to. Knowing your Style Type will get you more closely in touch with your style essence, but it won’t acquaint you with the other vital factors you need to get your style working – those elements that make up your style expression. This is why so many women are getting in touch to tell us that discovering their style type has been the missing piece in their style journey after having spent time learning about flattering their body shape, colouring and how to express their personality through their clothing.
Your style type does not determine your physical type (or vice versa) – and your physical type is a key factor in creating a flattering, sustainable, interesting and workable style. Your Style Type Report simply cannot provide you with that information, it simply isn’t possible. Just like you can’t get whisky from a bottle of wine, you can’t get information on what clothing is most flattering for your physicality by understanding your psychology. Your physicality and your psychology are two separate, yet inter-dependent, systems.
The second reason why knowing your Style Type can never explain everything about your style is because your style is influenced by many factors. Many many factors! Your Style Type is one of these factors, and an incredibly important one, but it sits amongst a veritable field of factors that contribute to who you are as a unique and beautiful human being.
Identity: Who are you?
We are very aware that the issue of identity is a huge field of study (you could do a PhD on identity and still be scratching the surface) and this article isn’t intended to cover all corners of this landscape.
We’ve put together the following graphic to outline the many parts that can constitute a person’s identity. This is not meant to be exhaustive but instead reasonably comprehensive and illustrative of the many common factors that are pointed at when someone refers to issues of identity.
In the field of psychology, issues of identity are considered to be key to a person’s development with a central tenet being that an individual’s sense of identity is determined in large part by the explorations that the person makes regarding certain personal traits.
We agree with that, and 16 Style Types is based on the central idea that the more a woman explores and connects with her style essence — by discovering her Style Type — the more her sense of style identity is positively informed and shaped.
We know that discovering your Style Type will unlock a door into a space that has previously been unknown or off-limits to many women. But discovering your style type will not — cannot — tell you all there is to discover and know about yourself and your style journey.
Why not?
Because there are simply far too many other factors in the mix.
The identity elements on the graphic following describe many of the core factors that contribute to your sense of identity – who you believe yourself to be — and therefore they impact your style.
You’ll note that your psychological type/DNA is but one factor on this graphic. And your psychological type/DNA is the only part of who you are that 16 Style Types is attempting to explore and unlock for you. Everything else — all those other factors — are simply beyond the reach of 16 Style Types.
We know these many factors are impacting on you, they are part of your identity puzzle to one degree or another, of the experience you are having of being yourself. And therefore they are impacting many aspects of your life, including your style.
The fact that knowing your Style Type tells you all that it does (and many women have told us it is the “missing piece” they’ve been looking for for years) is almost miraculous when you consider how populated and ‘competitive’ the landscape is, when it comes to all the factors that make up who you are.
Discover your Style DNA
If you want to discover your style DNA and explore how it can positive inform and shape your style journey, now is the time to discover your Style Type.
