When my husband asked me what I wanted for my birthday this past year, I struggled to give him an answer. I didn’t have a strong desire for another “thing” and I was already looking forward to some quality friends and family time through some upcoming summer trips. Then, as I was scrolling on instagram one evening, I saw that celebrity stylist Allison Bornstein was available for in-person sessions after moving to Los Angeles.
I’ve followed Allison Bornstein on social media for quite some time and have consistently appreciated her short-form videos full of insightful fashion advice. Contrary to the heavy consumption-driven approach of so many style influencers, Allison encourages her followers to look at their own closets with a fresh pair of eyes and adopt some of her developed “methods” for defining your personal style and editing and building a closet that feels most authentic to you. I’ll get into her “methods” later in this post because I find myself consistently revisiting them anytime I make a wardrobe-related decision.
When Allison came over to my house in mid-July, my primary objective was to create a more diverse set of outfit combinations with existing pieces in my closet that still felt true to me, but also stretched me out of my all-too-tight, cocoon-like comfort zone. I wanted to make sure I made the most of our time together, so in advance of her visit, I listened to her interviewed on the Who What Wear podcast with Hillary Kerr and the Diet Starts Tomorrow podcast and also checked out some of the celebrity styling videos on her YouTube channel. And then, like a total nerd, I wrote out a Google Doc with my initial thoughts on my personal style, my shopping Achilles heel (spoiler alert: it’s being blinded by a great sale), and some item-specific questions. I found this exercise quite helpful for my own reflection as, prior to this effort, I had spent exactly 0 minutes attempting to articulate my style to myself or anyone else. It was like journaling, but make it fashion!
I used some of Allison’s fool-proof methods to prep. Here are the highlights:
The “3 Word Method”
Allison believes that one’s style can be defined in 3 words and has gone viral by applying her 3 word method to celebrities and well-known figures - from Zoe Kravitz to Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy - with a myriad of styles.
Allison characterizes the first word as the “realistic or practical word” which is born directly from the items within our closets that we wear consistently. To make sure you have the right word, Allison recommends physically removing the wardrobe “regulars” out of your closet and bringing them to another spot in the room where they can be observed together.
The second word is the “aspirational word” and this comes from evaluating images we have flagged in saved social media posts, Pinterest, a mood board folder, etc. Allison calls this word your “north star” - asking yourself where you want to take your style.
The final word is the “emotional word” where Allison asks, “how do you want to feel?” This is something personal to you.
Allison notes that it’s ok to have some of the words feel that they’re in contrast, as that tension can create more visual interest in your style and make you more memorable to someone walking down the street.
Leveraging the “3 word method”, I would say my 3 words are tailored, modern, and refined…and perhaps sometimes a bit edgy.
The Closet Editing System
Her approach has 5 steps, outlined on YouTube and across a series of TikTok posts. This is one that requires some good personal reflection, so I’m going to link the steps here, and let you dive in.
Step 1: Defining the closet regulars
Step 2: Pull out the pieces you never wear
Step 3: Make 3 piles of the never wears
Step 4: The revival step - styling your regulars and your “hows” - the things you love but don’t know how to incorporate into a look
Step 5: The final step - organize
This gift from Allison to the universe is my absolute favorite to date. It has saved me from so many poor purchase decisions that I had rationalized in my head as thoughtful, but were actually impulsive. I have referenced this list time and again. For a second I considered highlighting which questions are my favorite, but in re-reading all 7, they’re equally impactful in their own ways.
Allison’s “methods” have increased my confidence around my approach to style and set informed guidelines to ensure I maximize the wears out of my future purchases.
How to get some Allison Bornstein in your life
Outside of following her on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, if you’re looking to book a style session, she offers in-person and video options on her website. Additionally, she just published a book that I HIGHLY recommend purchasing. It’s officially available September 26th and you can pre-order here. I bought it the second she left my house in July. Oh and one more thing, you can subscribe to her monthly newsletter - one of my favorite inbox reads - here.
Finally, I would be remiss not to take a moment to highlight the fact that Allison is a truly lovely person. She is incredibly easy to talk to, completely non-judgmental, and very encouraging when it comes to embracing your style in a way that makes you feel happy and confident when you look in the mirror. She took the time to understand the context of my day-to-day and my style evolution, which has had a number of twists and turns based on my professional career and city of residence. We also bonded over our time spent in Boston and New York, and her west coast life change. Allison is a talented, creative, and warm human absolutely worth supporting. And after watching The Devil Wears Prada under the West Hollywood stars at Cinespia last weekend, I can also say that she brings a refreshing, “girl next door” presence to an industry that has not always been recognized as welcoming.
I can’t wait to share everything I learned from my 1:1 with Allison in my next post. So many helpful and fun lessons!
x jz
Images | 1 | Harpers Bazaar | 2 | TikTok | 3 - 4 | allisonbornstein.com | 5 | daisyjewelry.com |