8 Places to find style inspiration outside of Pinterest
Don’t get me wrong, I love abit of Pinterest, but I’ve noticed recently everything it shows me is kind of the same, and it’s times like this when I find I turn to other sources to feel inspired. Plus sometimes, it’s just good to stop the scroll and mix things up.
In today’s piece I want to share a multitude of excellent places you can find inspiration for your forever wardrobe no matter what your style is, many of which I always fall back on.
Books on tropical fish & birds of paradise
As a makeup artist in search of interesting color combinations, especially when it came to working with a brief that requested bold, bright hues, my first port of call was always to visit the Oxfam bookshop on Marylebone High Street in London. Forever in search of old books on tropical fish and birds of paradise, I built quite the collection. When it comes to color, nature has got you covered. These books would always show me a color combination I had never thought of, whether I wanted complimentary colours or something that created a stark contrast. Flowers also work great for this, which is one of the reasons I have endless close up photos of flowers from my travels on my camera.
If I want earthy, neutral color inspirations I look at books that feature landscapes, I go on a hike, or to the beach. I particularly like photographs of bark, I find bark in particular can offer some really interesting neutral color combinations as well as interesting examples of texture.
People watching
Aka my favorite past time. There’s nothing better than taking yourself out for a good cup of coffee (or a nice glass of wine) and watching the world go by. Some of my favorite styling ideas have come from something I saw a stranger wear. (I think the cool kids call this street style) It’s usually one element that I resonate with vs a desire to replicate an entire outfit head to toe. When I visit a new city this is always a priority, because I also love to compare and contrast with what I see every day living in LA. The way I see it, when it comes to inspiration on what to wear, every stranger has something to offer.
Architecture
For interesting shapes you can’t beat architecture, whether that means getting outside and seeing something IRL or studing the shapes of buildings in a book. While i’m still not sure my style can be solidified into just three words, if I were to try, I think one of them would be sculptural. I love a good shoulder, I love tailoring, and there are so many times I feel inspired by architecture. I remember the first time I saw Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House in person (its open to the public in LA), I was blown away by the geometrical interpretation of the hollyhock flower used throughout the buildings design. Some details were large and statuesque, others were minute, but I came away feeling very inspired especially with how I could incorporate that level of detail into how I get dressed. I also felt inspired by the play on scale and proportion used within the hollyhock flower.
Old family photo albums
Get the photo albums out and look at the clothes other people have worn…your family, friends, the younger version of yourself, even family members from previous generations. Teenage me has offered a lot of inspiration recently. Inspiration is everywhere. I spoke at length about how much fun nostalgia dressing is inside this substack piece. While past styles always come full circle, it’s fun to ask yourself would I wear it now? If so, how?
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