As much as people ask me to help with outfits and as much as I love fashion, I’m no stylist. What advice I can offer (something so helpful) is creative constraints within your brand story. Sometimes when things are too open you can think of nothing. But when you narrow it down to a theme, the possibilities become endless.

If you told me to get ready for a random party I would feel stumped. But if you told me to get ready for a cocktail party at Modernism Week in Palm Springs (YES PLEASE!) I’d have 100 ideas immediately. That narrows it down to 60s mod or 70s, dressy dress or jumpsuit.. see how quickly you pictured it!

By narrowing it down to 3 words, you’ve given yourself more creativity.

So let me introduce to The 3 Style Words by Allison Borstein.

Allison Borstein (do a deep dive on her TikTok) came up with the 3-word theory and it’s probably my favorite thing I’ve discovered this year. I’ve been trying to apply it to everything in my life.

Shout out to my stylist client Style Decoded who helped me come up with mine. And I’m still refining them.

My current style words are:

1. Vintage or Classic
2. Tailored
3. Bold

Most of us are doing two out of the three. But where it gets interesting is when you add the third element. I’m vintage and tailored, but when I add in the bold (which can also be vibrant or colorful), I feel the most ME. And I get the most compliments from strangers.

The 3 words can be applied to your personal style and also coming up with 3 words for your branding is so helpful. They might be different for your personal style vs your business style but there will also be some overlap.

Here’s a great example of a pesonal branding session for Allison’s company Your Beauty Inc where she nailed her brand words:

Timeless, Classic, Irreverent, Beautiful, Vintage

She picked 5, but you can see how similar timeless/classic/vintage all are.

So the next time you have a photoshoot or event, think of your 3 style words first – and see what magic you create when you feel the most YOU!