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Every person has a style, and every style deserves support. Enter your style strategy cheerleader and founder of BU Style, Natalie Tincher. Since 2010 Natalie has worked with hundreds of personal clients as well as large corporations and a major global news network—and she is here to guide you.
In this podcast, you will gain clarity and insights on how to connect your style with your authentic self through Natalie's style expertise as well as interviews with other style-supporting guests like designers, clients, and other professionals in and out of the fashion industry.
Whether you love fashion, fear fashion, or fall somewhere in between, it doesn't matter. This isn't about fashion; it's about exploring who you are and how to own your unique style identity. This podcast will help you cut through the noise and examine your personal style holistically so you can "wear who you are" every day.
Work is always a lot of work. That's what it is. Trust me, I've gone through years of therapy. Welcome to Wear Who You Are, a podcast that takes the fear out of fashion and holds space for everyone to explore how to connect your authenticity with your personal style. I'm your host, Natalie Tinscher, founder of VU Style, expert style strategist, and your enthusiastic friend and safe space of support. I believe that every person has a style and every style deserves a seat.
With over a decade of experience working with hundreds of personal clients, I've learned a thing or two about how to help others have a healthy and holistic approach to navigating how to build a wardrobe that reflects who you are. So pull up your seat and let's get started.
Hello everybody and welcome to a style school episode of wear who you are. So I really love these types of episodes because first I really wanted to be a teacher when I was growing up and this gives me a chance to do education in a sort of way. But it's really on my methodology and what I've seen over the years working with hundreds of personal clients and listening to you and the things that you're curious about in this world. So in this episode we're going to talk about what I like to call the ands of your style brand.
And that is how to create playful and stylish looks that flex the different parts of your style personalities. Now we talk about style personalities a lot and this episode we're gonna actually get into it. I realize I haven't really gone through what they are and how you can apply them and how we can enjoy sitting in the tension of the spread of your BU Style 6 personalities and how they show up in different settings that you're in.
I love talking about this because it really proves that fads and micro trends are distractions from true authentic style. And that's why we're here, right? Wear who you are, not what influencers tell you to wear, not what your sister tells you to wear, not what anyone else tells you to wear, your authentic style. And understanding your true style and how to communicate it gives you a roadmap that'll never age. Instead, it really evolves with you and with your life and the different phases that you're in. You can be relaxed and creative.
magnetic and polished. Also, if you haven't taken your B-Style 6 assessment yet, I highly recommend it, of course. This is the foundation of everything that I do and it will really help break down this episode for you so you can follow along. So here's a highly actionable and empowering episode of Wear Who You Are. Let's do it.
So let's talk about the style personalities, what I have developed as the BU Style 6. Before we do that, I feel like it's important to take a step back and start with vocabulary lesson. Natalie Word Nerd Alert, no surprise here. First, let's define what a style personality is. A style personality is how the traits of your personality and character are communicated through clothing. No one style personality is better than another. They are all equally amazing.
Each is unique, each is positive in its own way. Your mix of style personalities are combined to create what we call your style brand. So each of the six style personalities can be connected to specific clothing characteristics and messaging as they relate to you and your intent. Next word, nerd alert, let's talk style brand. Style brand is a really important piece of your personal brand.
We've heard about personal brands through the years over and over and over, which is really the makeup of your overall core values, your beliefs, your purpose, your goals. So how you choose to incorporate and combine your spread of the six style personalities through these wardrobe choices creates your unique style brand. Now creating a style brand that aligns with your personal brand, really makes sure that your visual message is successfully communicating who you are. And that's the purpose of it, right? Who are you? So now,
Let's get into the nitty gritty of it. I'm going to introduce you to the BU Style 6 Style personalities. They are relaxed, classic, polished, soft, magnetic, and creative. I'm going go through each one really quickly just to describe it so you can get a feel for its character. First, I'm going to talk relaxed. The relaxed style personality is active and cheerful.
If you score highly and relaxed, you prioritize comfort over quote unquote fashion. So if it's casual or a dressy function, whatever it is, the most important thing to you is to feel at ease and that you're able to move about in your clothing. You don't want to have to fuss or feel constrained. You just want to focus on enjoying the occasion so that you can happily engage with the crowd. The relaxed style personality is friendly. It's casual. You're fast moving, cheerful. You're fun to be around. You're usually that like
happy, positive cheerleader in the room. In terms of your clothing, you like function, you like freedom of movement, you like clothing that is easy to care for and really unfussy. You just like to dress and go. As such, your wardrobe aesthetic gives off an approachable and unpretentious air. You might have loose structure, relaxed tailoring, functional details, maybe it's stretchier tech fabrics, cotton, canvas, things that are really easy.
just to throw on, throw in the washer. Maybe you like horizontal stripes, camouflage if you like patterns. Your colors will probably be like navy, white, khaki, just like pretty classic, but really, really easy to wear. Which takes me to the classic style personality. The classic style personality, if you are highly classic, you are organized and reliable. Just like the rest of your life, you keep your wardrobe very streamlined. It's versatile, it's sharp. Your style is
Generally traditional, authoritative and tailored. As such, your wardrobe choices are really thoughtful. So when you are sourcing, you think about what goes with what and you want everything to mix and match. You prefer neutral traditional clothing. You make really wise investments. You are probably the top consideration of cost per wear of the style personalities. Like naturally, you know you wanna invest well and get a lot of use out of it.
The classic style personality is that organized and reliable person. You're professional, you're conscientious, you're loyal, you're the one that's on time, you're probably the one that's taking the notes and following up. You really prioritize all of that in your style too. It's functional, it's neat, it's practical, you're consistent, which communicates that you are trustworthy. Your clothing, you probably have the white button down. This is the one that when you think of that traditional capsule wardrobe that's been pretty popular in the last decade.
It's usually a lot of those pieces like a wool gabardine, merino wool, cotton, like very classic silhouettes, navy gray, beige, camel, white would be your colors. If you do patterns, it's a cable knit, an argyle, a houndstooth, classic plaids. That's the classic. Next up is polished. The polished style personality is composed and meticulous. You are the person that has impeccable taste in all things and you prefer subtlety over extreme styles or logos.
You love quality, the best quality you can get, luxurious fabrics and generally monochromatic looks. So in the day and age we're in right now, that quiet luxury, that's actually really a highly polished trend that's happening. You pay attention to every last detail of your outfit and execute it with restraint. And really it's that thing where you're that person where it's like, you always look so put together. And so you make sure every piece compliments the look and, it doesn't look over styled. So it actually is that.
You put a lot of thought into it to make it look thoughtless and that it's just effortless for you. You're generally composed and distinguished and elegant. You like things planned and executed really thoughtfully and tastefully. In terms of your clothing, you do really prioritize quality craftsmanship and subtle details. So you'll look for like the stitching in your top matching the color in the shoe. So you will notice those details and that's how you execute that really overall harmonious look.
and your look is really calculated, but it appears just totally effortless. you generally, if there's a dress code, you'll err on the side of dressier. If there's not a dress code, you'll err on the side of dressier. So some of your silhouettes might be like loosely structured or defined. You're gonna look for the best fabrics you can find. Cashmere, silks, wool, crepes, merino, pima cotton. You will look at the label and notice those details. So your colors are navy, grays, that monochromatic look, dusty accent colors.
You like tone on tone, jacquards, tweeds. So that's generally the vibe of the polished. Next up is the soft style personality. The soft style personality, if you're highly soft or gentle and empathetic, you are that person that brings comfort and a calming presence to those around you. And your style really reflects this in soft fabrics, drape styles, inviting patterns like florals or botanicals. You you generally prefer to dress to be appropriate and inviting.
You don't wanna be the one standing out in the room. You wanna make everyone feel at ease around you and you do dress accordingly. You're naturally compassionate. You're naturally empathetic. You are what I call the safe space in the room. And as such, your clothing does communicate that through loose structure, fluid, easy to move in. You like clothing to feel good on you. You really notice the tactile feel of it. So you want it to feel like it's also comforting you. Like a really, that sweater that just like
feels like a blanket on you. You'll generally like soft tones or white screams, just really neutral, calming things. Next up, quite juxtaposed to soft is magnetic. The magnetic is bold and fearless. You are the natural leader of a group. You're dynamic. You project strength and confidence. You're the clutch player and the deal closer. You love to network. You love to make important connections. And as such, you dress to stand out.
and to appear self-assured. You want people to be drawn to you and you want to talk to them. So you prefer strong silhouettes, bold colors, and really a more like metropolitan style. So this magnetic style personality, it's really assertive, it's sophisticated, you're ambitious, you're charismatic, and you are gonna dress accordingly. You prioritize a powerful and modern look, use strong lines, high contrast, like a black and a white together. You like to dress in a manner that communicates strength.
So you will do these defined silhouettes, a big statement detail, maybe leather, maybe reds, emerald green, magenta, geometric shapes, animal prints. That's the magnetic style personality. And finally, the creative style personality. The creative is innovative and imaginative. Now, when you hear the word creative, we often think about someone who is a creative, someone who's creating art and creating, you know, things.
person I'm sure falls really highly in the creative style personality. But there are those of us and many of my team and many of my clients that have creative brains and they want to be more creative in their style personality. So they still want to have that unconventional experimental style. They want to be innovative. They want to think outside the box. They do want eclectic choices and to dress in a manner that reflects their mood and their independent spirit.
So often the best way to do that is they'll anchor it around maybe being creative in just silhouette or maybe being creative in their pattern choices or being creative in the way that they mix accessories. So, you know, there's instead of everything goes, they'll choose something that is just showcasing the fact that they have an innovative viewpoint through their creative style choices. So that's it. That's the introduction to
the style personalities, just a quick overview and all of these characteristics can play out in different ways according to what you like. So let's do a little pop quiz on me. You guys know me pretty well, right? I'm Natalie Tinscher of BU Style. I'm Natalie Tinscher of a lot of different things. Like I am a multifaceted person. Like most of us, I'm a touch of all the style personalities, but there are three that are quite dominant in my style personality profile.
So here are three hints to help you figure it out now that you've heard the descriptions. All right, hint one. My favorite pair of shoes are a bad ass pair of pointed leather boots that have a steel toe because they make a strong statement and they're comfortable. I'm always curious to explore new styles and designers. I like to mix things up and match with them as well as I like to run my business innovatively. And I'm all about like.
thinking about new ways to do something differently in the business and how to evolve. And I'm all about putting other people at ease. That is why I love doing what I do. I love being my clients cheerleaders, my friends cheerleaders. Actually, I was most school spirit in my high school. I love helping other people shine, making signs for them and just making people feel like awesome and like they are, they can conquer the world. All right. So those are my three hints. What do you think my top three style personalities are?
Did you get it? The answer is I'm a spread of magnetic, creative, and relaxed. Those are my top three style personalities by far. After that, if you looked at my spread now and it changes, I've got some soft necks, some classic, and a little polished. But the magnetic, creative, and relaxed are definitely my top. So I hope you're starting to see how this can play together.
What serves us with the Style 6 is that they're free of archetypes, they're ungendered, it's really just who you are. They're for everyone, and they're evergreen. And you know that with every opportunity I get, I'm gonna try to sneak in a pun. So with that, I'm gonna say, now that we're familiar with the BU Style 6, we can jump in and play in the and box. Did you get it? All right, what do you mean by this and box? I'm playing within the ands of your spread of the Style 6. I mean,
that you get to use the Style 6 to choose how to communicate who you are with every outfit that you wear. And there are no wrong answers. I'm going to give you some examples because I think that's the best way to really demonstrate how this works. Let's say you're a highly relaxed person who wants to be more magnetic in their professional life and you're deciding what to wear for a corporate business event. Here's the scenario.
You're going into the event. You're like, you know what, sometimes I skew really relaxed. Sometimes I'm a little too casual, but I want to walk in here feeling really strong and I want to attract other people and make good connections. So in this scenario, I'd recommend deciding what you will feel the most comfortable in and natural in that fits the dress code. Because even though we want to be magnetic, you also want to feel comfortable in your body and not be distracted by the clothes. So let's say it's one of those hybrid loafer sneaker things because you just can't.
with high heels like absolutely can't or any uncomfortable shoe. If your feet are killing you, you will not be able to engage pleasantly with others. So from there you have your go-to trousers that fit the business casual dress code, but you know you feel great all day in them that they'll be comfortable, relaxed and appropriate. Check, Now let's start to bring in the ands of the magnetic. One way magnetic may show up is in your bold color or statement piece. So with this look you've put together, you could find that loafer in a bold color.
Or you could wear a knit sweater that's unfussy, relaxed, and a bright red magnetic color that will attract people and that will signal that boldness. Now let's talk about some other scenarios. So there's one example. Here are some more tools to do this. So then you can maybe put yourself in them. Scenario two. You score really high in the classic polished and soft. And you're going to volunteer in an event with children. You want to feel really at ease with them.
and you want them to feel the same way. You want it to be natural and warm and just a really friendly environment. In that, you'll wanna lean on your soft wardrobe pieces. So we're gonna bring that soft up in a few notches and maybe integrate a little relaxed. So the soft pieces may look something like your favorite drapey sweater that you just can't get rid of because it feels like a big security blanket. You wanna be approachable to the kids, but you also wanna feel put together and not too sloppy. So you don't wanna lean
too much on a soft and relaxed, because your inner polished and classic would just feel too comfortable if you're not put together. So as such, you might integrate some of your polished sides by making sure that your sneakers that are still soft, still relaxed, coordinate with the tones of your sweater. And then you'll pull out your go-to neutral olive green twill joggers, the classic casual staple that you wear over and over and over again because you would never wear leggings in public. And
These go with everything. Another soft consideration that might come in is that it'll be easily washable and you don't care if it gets stained because the last thing you want to worry about in this event is the kids getting your clothes dirty. You don't want to keep them from giving you a hug or you getting on the ground and interacting with them because you're worried about your clothes getting dirty or stained or anything like that. So that's a highly soft side in this situation. Final example.
You're a natural creative in a highly corporate environment in which you travel a lot. You want to be taken seriously and show that you are reliable as well. And you also want to be able to pack with ease, AKA flex your classic. How can you create a creative and classic work style brand? They may seem at odds. They're not because you can be right and left brain. This could look something like this. You would build your own cord robe of primarily neutrals.
That's the classic side. But you may explore them in unique silhouettes and textures like a barrel-leg trouser and a tweed or your white button-down shirt and an A-line with an interesting collar. That's the creative. You also have built a collection of interesting vintage jewelry or accessories that you pick up on your travels that you can make each outfit your own work of art. You can put those little shadows and those little highlights in it to really give it your stamp.
So in this case, your neutrals are easy to mix and match with your busy work and travel-filled life. And you can showcase your creative by combining it in ways that your colleagues would never have thought of. And with all of that, you can throw in that easy to pack pieces of jewelry to complete the style. You've successfully showcased the ands of your inherent corporate style brand, the classic and the creative. Okay, that's a nice little intro to this BU style principle of playing with the
ands of your style brand. The beauty of it is that there is not one formula for anyone. Each style personality is connected to you in different ways and you get to decide how to showcase the ands based on your goals, your environments, and your clothing preferences. I know it's a lot. I know it can feel daunting. So if you have any questions as to how to implement this methodology in your own life, feel free to DM me on Instagram. I would really love to hear from you.
One tip that I'm going to give you is to not get bogged down by all the sick style personalities. If you need to go back, listen to the descriptions. And I would say, or if there any that you were nodding your head and saying, yep, yep, yep, that's me, that's me, that's me, maybe pick two. Let's just do one and today. Let's look at the two that most resonate with you. And then what I would suggest that you do is maybe go back to episode 22 if you need some help sorting through your closet or just go to your closet.
and look at the clothes in your closet. Do they connect with these style personalities that really feel like you? A lot of times if you look in your closet and something feels like it's in left field, it's usually because it just doesn't connect to the characteristics of who you are, which is part of your style brand. I'd also recommend taking the BU Style 6 Assessment, of course, and it will give you the lay of the land. And I do want to point out that we've lowered the price to make it even more accessible to everyone in our wonderful community. So that is our gift to you.
My hope is that with all of these resources, you have the tools to implement it in your day-to-day life. I want you to truly learn how to shut out the TikToks, shut out the influencers, shut out all of that and really look at self-attunement through style. And this is really the foundation to do it. Self work is always a lot of work. That's what it is. Trust me, I've gone through years of therapy, but it does get easier. It does get more fun and it really feels wonderful to walk into a room
dress knowing that you are dressing in a way that communicates who you are. And then you become less worried about, you know, what someone else is wearing around you. So we'll also be expanding on all these ideas to make them even more digestible in the coming weeks in future style schools and nat chats and guest episodes. So keep tuning in and thank you for being here. Lastly, as this podcast and the Be You Style community continues to grow,
Please also consider leaving us a review or forwarding this podcast onto a friend or family member who might enjoy it. If you're in New York City, a really fun thing happening is that we have an upcoming event in collaboration with No Masse shoes, which is happening on October 16th. One of the founders, Maureen, was actually on Wear Who You Are, talking about shoe manufacturing and the significance of designs by women for women. This is going to be a really fabulous event and you can learn more by heading to either Instagram or reading the show notes for this episode.
I'll post the details there. And that's it. Thank you so much for listening today. Remember to wear who you are and I'll see you soon. Thanks for joining another Wear Who You Are Wednesday. If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support the podcast, please share it with others, post about it on social media, or leave a rating and review. Be sure to follow along for episode news, updates, and other bonus style insights on Instagram through my business account at Be Your Style.
That's letters B, U, and style, or my personal account at Natalie underscore Tinscher. And don't forget to subscribe to Wear Who You Are wherever you listen to your podcasts. Thanks again and see you next time.