While clicking through Style.com and drooling over the fabulous runway looks that you one day hope to see in person, maybe via the front row, you might start to wonder how the designers are able to turn out collection after collection of new looks while still maintaining their overall artistic visions as designers. The answer is simple—they get inspired!
Inspiration comes from everywhere. People, places, things, abstract concepts, nouns in general.
Summer, The Rolling Stones, birch trees, drag queens—the list is literally endless, and there’s no right or wrong. Designers combine inspirations together to create a unique look for a collection. For example, Rodarte’s Spring 2010 was inspired by California condors and nuclear bombs. And here are some photographs of Phoebe Philo’s inspiration books for the Fall 2010 collection by photographer Scott Schuman from his blog The Sartorialist.
At this point, you might be asking yourself, so why should I care? Well, my petulant little darlings, you should care because you can do it, too. Yes, you too can get inspired and make your wardrobe into the wardrobe you never knew you wanted it to be, a perfect sartorial reflection of yourself.
The wardrobe I never knew I wanted it to be? What on earth are you talking about, Elyssa?
Here’s the thing: we like stuff. And there’s some stuff we like more than other stuff, stuff we’re drawn to more than other stuff. And to get inspired, we have to find out what that stuff is and why we’re drawn to it. When you look through a magazine, do you pick out polka dots more than florals? Blacks and whites more than colors? What movies do you love? Are they from the 1940s in glorious black and white, from the 1960s in outrageous Technicolor, or from the 1990s in subtle realism? What kinds of buildings are you drawn to—distinguished old brick or steely modern? Everything you like says something about the way you might like to dress.
It’s a really fantastic thing to be able to take the things you’re visually drawn to and make your wardrobe reflect that. Not only is it fantastic, it’s also easy. When I teach The Art of Personal Style at Carnegie Mellon, one of the assignments my students do is assembling a Look Book or Inspiration Book, based on Isaac Mizrahi’s Inspiration Board from his book How to Have Style. I ask them to collect pictures of things in it that they’re visually drawn to—some people had pictures of trees, chandeliers, fruit, furniture, Led Zeppelin, Ray-Bans, candy, pancakes—just like the possibilities for inspiration itself, the list is endless. Here are some pictures of my Inspiration Book:
And then of course there’s my wall (or rather a cross-section of it):
I’m not saying you have to go to those lengths, of course, but a book is a good place to start. I just snagged an old binder and a box of sheet protectors from Office Depot (box of 200, $14.49 at OfficeDepot and went to town. As I tell my students all the time, “When you see something you like, it goes in the book.” It can be from magazines, newspapers, life in general (ticket stubs, photographs, flyers).
But once you start collecting it all together, you’ll start to see patterns. You’ll look at the book and maybe you’ll see a prevalence of hot pink, or brown, or turquoise, and those are things you’ll want to add to your wardrobe here and there (you don’t want to make it look like you shop at Pink, Brown and Turquoise ‘R Us). Or maybe you’ll see lots of really urban lines on your photos of the Brooklyn Bridge and incorporate that into your wardrobe with pinstripes. It just takes a little bit of thinking and a little bit of creativity to connect the dots. Soon, though, your wardrobe will be a reflection of the unique individual you really are instead of walking around in the horrific North Face, leggings, Uggs, Longchamp combo that makes everyone look like really poorly dressed clones. Ugh and double ugh.
Just to break it down, here are the steps you take to make your own look book and get on the inspiration superhighway:
- Hit the Books! Grab a binder and make it say who you are—decorate it with Sharpie, glitter, collages, wrapping paper, anything you like. Once you’ve done that, fill it with those sheet protectors I mentioned before so you can…
- Fill Up the Book! Like I said, anything and everything can go in the book. Classified ads from The New Yorker, pudding recipes, pictures of panda bears, you name it. Don’t restrict yourself to just fashion or clothes because sometimes that can be limiting—you’re only looking at clothes. But if you look at the entire world around you and begin to see what you’re visually drawn to, that’s a lot more helpful if you want to infuse those visuals into your wardrobe.
- Look at the Book! Once you’ve got a nice amount of pages (probably 15-20), look at them. You’ll start to notice patterns in things that you’re drawn to. Either write down what these things are or make a mental note then…
- Consult the Book! A big part of making and looking at the inspiration book is not only finding what you’re drawn to, but actually putting those things into your wardrobe. Are you drawn to silver? Then wear silver! I used to think to myself, Oh, I wish I could wear (insert clothing item here)…but then I started to ask myself, well, why can’t I? An inspiration book will help you target the styles of clothes you’ve always wanted to wear but never did for whatever reason.
- Love the Book! Like a good puppy, the book is happiest when it’s fed. So keep the book happy and show it love by feeding it! Keep adding to your book and you’ll continue to get inspired. What’s also great about the book is that it changes with you. You might’ve been into Chuck Taylors two years ago, but love a good Michael Kors wedge now. If something isn’t working for you anymore, just take it out! But keep adding to it so you always have a place to look for inspiration.
- Keep Consulting the Book! Once you establish what you love, you can keep going back to the book for more specific inspiration. How are you feeling today—Valley of the Dolls meets Patti Smith? Rihanna meets Pete Doherty at the prom? Go to your book to help you pick out your clothes and establish your mood for the day or night. It’ll eventually become a part of your routine and inspiration will flow out of your fingertips.
In addition to the Inspiration Book, you might also want to take a look at some figures who have been traditionally regarded as style icons and take what you like from their looks and make it your own. Say, for example, that you like Jackie O’s pearls and sixties sweetness
and Debbie Harry’s rock and roll soul
. Try blending the two and wearing a vintage concert t-shirt with strands of pearls, slim jeans, and kitten pumps. Voila! A fantastic look! It’s as simple as mixing and matching and adding yourself—like fashion math (my favorite kind).
From my inspirations, I learned that I like to blend masculine pieces with feminine ones, like blazers and fluffy skirts, and that I also like clean, classic lines and bright colors. I’ve used these patterns I’ve picked up on to make a look that’s me, really me, not just what everyone else wears. Because really, the only things you should be wearing are the things that are you, and getting inspired can help you do that. So go forth and get inspired, my darlings! You only have fabulousness to gain.