Weekly Newsletter #6: How to Create a Style Uniform (Website)

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Author

Kerryn Rutherford
December 01, 2023

Personal Stylist sitting on an arm chairr

AUGUST SPECIAL

For the month of August, we are offering a "free upgrade" on our personal styling packages.

Get Energised for the price of Cleanse, Empowered for the price of Energised or Enliven for the price of Cleanse.

To access this offer, reference the Aura Newsletter in your email.

Hand me a Spicy Marg - It’s Friday!

Being able to sit down and write this newsletter is the highlight of my week.

Thank you for being here and letting me combine two of my biggest passions - personal styling and writing.

This week we’re unpacking the notion of a “style uniform”.

Having a style uniform is perfect for those days (or even weeks) were you need quick-to-wear, fabulous outfits without the time and effort.

I fall back on my style uniform in two instances:

  1. when I need the comfort (and power) a good outfit can provide; and

  2. when I’m feeling lazy and uninspired.

Over the past 5 days, my style uniform has been put to good use. Getting dressed makes me feel more motivated when working from home, but, this week, I felt hamstrung by Sydney’s temperamental weather and didn’t feel like “shopping my wardrobe”.

Instead of trying to re-invent the wheel, I fell back on my favourite outfit combination (more on that below).

The ease in which I was able to get dressed this week inspired me to share this helpful principle with you.

Happy reading x

Style Principle #5: Style Uniform

A style uniform is a fail safe outfit combination that you can utilise when you:

  1. don’t have time to think about an outfit, but want to feel fabulous;

  2. are heading out and feeling flustered about what to wear; or

  3. want to streamline your closet and create a capsule wardrobe.

For some, a style uniform is a tried and tested outfit combination that they will wear everyday, without fail, like Anna Wintour or Phoebe Philo.

ANNA WINTOUR

PHOEBE PHILO

For others, (like me) a style uniform is a handy outfit combination to fall back on when we aren’t feeling great about ourselves or don’t have the time (or confidence) to workshop looks to find the right one.

My go-to, confidence-boosting, never-fails-me, outfit combination is high-waisted bottoms, and a top with a half tuck. This combination can be tweaked depending on the occasion by swapping out casual items for dressier ones.

For example, if I am WFH, I’ll opt for high waisted jeans, a knitted jumper and casual shoes (think sneakers or clogs).

For a smart-casual event or dinner, I’ll swap out the jeans for a darker wash and trade the jumper for a fitted t-shirt with a blazer.

To determine your style uniform, think back on an outfit you felt fabulous in. Make a note of the piece or pieces you were wearing and the styling tricks you employed to bring the look together. Alternatively, think back on the item or items you reach for when you’re rushing to put an outfit together.

We don’t need to mix it up everyday. There is nothing wrong with having a go-to combination, particularly in circumstances where you’re already feeling nervous.

A style uniform can simplify getting dressed each day, save you time and allows you to take the pressure off by wearing what makes you feel most like you!

IN THE KNOW

CONTENT WE’RE LOVING THIS WEEK

#1 WE’RE READING - Anna by Amy Odell

It was only a matter of time before we recommended Anna by Amy Odell. In this “unauthorised” biography, Odell explores Anna Wintour’s life and career - how it started, how it’s going and how Wintour has managed to remain the most powerful woman in fashion and fashion publishing. Written over three years and supported by extensive research and interviews with colleagues, friends and industry experts, Anna is a well written and easy-to-read biography filled with interesting insights. We were intrigued to see just how far Anna’s influence extends outside the fashion industry. If you’ve read it, hit reply and let us know your thoughts!

We enjoyed this conversation between Business of Fashion Founder, Imran Amed, and author of Anna, Amy Odell. Whether you want to get a feel for the biography or dig deeper into the writing of Anna, this 30 minute chat goes further than the biographer and offers extra insight and intrigue into where people turn to get their fashion fix and whether Vogue still means something in the industry.

Limitless is streaming on Disney +.

#3 WE’RE WATCHING - Limitless on Disney +  

No-one can accuse us of being one dimensional with our recommendations! In this docu-series, Chris Hemsworth is on a mission to discover how we can all unlock our potential and be fitter, healthier and happier. Each episode focuses on a different lesson (stress, fasting, memory, shock and strength) and Chris works with experts in each field to help him complete epic tasks. You learn a lot about the restorative power of the human body and mind and the effects of stress. As with anything by National Geographic and Daron Aronofsky, Limitless is brilliantly produced, educational and entertaining.

We had the pleasure of working with Rina under our Empower Package, which includes a wardrobe cleanse, 2 hour shopping session and a 1 hour wardrobe integration session to workshop looks with your new items.

Through our Empower package, we worked with Rina to re-organise her wardrobe, identify her style goals, let go of the clothes that were “holding her back“ and identify the gaps in her wardrobe that we needed to fill during our shopping session.

Working with Rina and seeing her in the outfits we put together for her, as well as the outfits she has felt confident enough to put together herself now that she has identified her personal style, has brought us so much joy.

Everyone deserves to feel powerful, confident and empowered when they get dressed every day. We love being a part of this journey!

Nelson Made is a slow fashion, Melbourne based footwear brand. Producing shoes that are made to last and which transcend trends and seasons, we are huge fans of their strappy heels, elegant sandals and tailored loafers. No matter your personal style, Nelson Made’s shoes are beautifully constructed in stunning designs. The brand “challenges the rampant consumerism of fast fashion“ by producing small quantities of shoes in limited drops and in ways that have a minimised impact on the planet. They want you to cherish your pieces, adding their shoes to your forever wardrobe and wearing them for years and years to come.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU 

Hit reply and let us know your thoughts on this week's newsletter. Send through any style questions and we'll include them in our next newsletter (anonymously of course!).

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