5 Questions to Ask Yourself to Find Your Aesthetic

Aesthetic is more than just how you look. It embodies you as a whole, in who you are, what you do, and how you look as well. So how do you define something so all-encompassing for your specific character? Answer these 5 important questions to begin the journey of defining your aesthetic.

1. Are you light or dark? 

This is where you should start. The shade of your aesthetic determines how the rest of it will fall into place. You don’t have to be 100% of either (though you can). This particular duality in fashion runs on a spectrum. In terms of fashion, You could wear mostly dark shades but subtly use light in your accessories or you could have mostly light shades but use dark neutrals from time to time.

Light and dark can also describe a personality. No, “Light and dark” do not mean Jedi’s and Sith lords. It’s much more complex than that. Think about it as a feeling more than a visual aesthetic.

2. What colors are you drawn to? 

Now that you have an idea of what shade you are drawn to, let’s add color. The simplest and most effective breakdown in color is warm or cool tones. This is what a lot of our aesthetic is defined by. 

Warm: Warm reds, yellows, oranges, browns, beige

Cool: Blues, Greens, Purples, Cool Reds, Neural grey, white and black

Many people pick a combination of both but it’s not necessary. 

Colors can also be defined as bright or muted. A bright colors can give off a completely different vibe than a muted one of the same hue.

3. What do you like and what do you NOT like? 

Now that you have a color scheme, let’s brighten it up even more with some key items. A great deal of your aesthetic can be drawn simply from the items you choose to indulge in and the ones you choose to hate. 

For example, do you LOVE crystals, hanging plants, and candles but HATE sunflowers — You’ve got more of an eclectic witch theme going on.

OR do you LOVE cowboy boot, flannel, and hiking trails but HATE city life — then you’ve got more of a small-town vibe. 

Try making two lists: one of things you like and the other of things you hate. See if you can derive some sense of your style from analyzing those lists. 

4. What are your 3 core words?

Diction offers context. It’s plain and simple. By defining your self with a few words, you can bring yourself into a focused head-space and understand what is truly going on in your head. Odds are you already think about these words all the time, but actually seeing them written down will really help bring your inner self into the light. OR perhaps there is something you strive to be, but have not yet achieved. Keep words like that in your mind as well. Now, write all of those words down somewhere you can see them every day, like your refrigerator or office white board. Check out the list below for more ideas.

5. What are your goals?

Last but not least, define your goals. Even after all of that brain picking, thinking about what you like and what resonates with you, don’t forget to align your aesthetic with you goals in life. For example, if you strive to be a top of the company manger, it’s probably not a good idea to follow a “death metal vampire” aesthetic 24/7. 

Don’t be too strict with it though, you can always incorporate the thing you like in subtle ways if your true aesthetic seems to extreme to carry out your goals. 

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Remember, aesthetic is more than just a fashion sense, it’s a way of life. It’s not only how you look but how you feel as well. Now go out and live your best life!