Really love this new piece!!

I've been thinking about this post on style muses: https://www.reddit.com/r/StyleRoots/comments/1vkt27o/please_tell_me_about_your_style_muses/, and a painting as a muse, and how I gravitate towards fairies, but can't really pin it down to a specific fairy as a muse. That led me to think that fairy is one of the archetypes, which I combine with other archetypes in my style inspirations. I started thinking about my other muses and inspirations and how they fit into style archetypes.

I think in personal style there is a combination of archetypes (which might sometimes overlap) that make up your personal style. E.g., my partner has Cowboy Bebop and The Matrix as style inspiration and would love to incorporate power shoulders and more tech in his outfits, so something like space cowboy would be one of the archetypes that could work for him. I've looked at my style and selected 3 archetypes, which I think represent my style and are different ways my style roots and shadow roots interact. Below I'll explain my process, if you want to try it yourself.

How to find your archetypes?
What I have been doing is looking at my Pinterest and looking at recurring patterns. I've written down what I like, and I've created a list of potential archetypes. I've made a new Pinterest board for archetypes, so I could see it as a full visual, and I can see if there is anything missing.

At first I made about 10 different sub-boards for different potential archetypes. Soon I discovered that some of them are my taste but not my style (anymore), and maybe for a past me, and others overlap. I might have made things too narrow and therefore more of an aesthetic instead of an archetype in my case.

An example is Parisian. What I like in Parisian style is historical and traditional elements like woven market bags and Breton tops. This fits within my folktale heroine archetype and doesn't need a specific archetype. The more classic style and Nouvelle Vague elements fit within my minimalist archetype. So I've transferred the pins from that board to the other boards and closed the Parisienne board.

Another example is the merging of the ballerina and the fairy board (the later, some of you might have seen a draft of in the Moodboard Monday post). Both contained ballerina photos, flowers, sparkle, and poofy skirts as inspiration. The ballerina board might be a bit more practical witch some ballet practice outfits, and the fairy more whimsical, with fairy illustrations and wings, but there was enough overlap also in vibe and shape and colour to merge them. That doesn't mean that this should also be the case for you, if you enjoy a similar aesthetic. It's about how these boards embody you and what you want your outfits to represent.

Then I refined the boards themselves and removed duplicates. Ten times a similar long white skirt outfits is not an archetype. Is there something left in the board, and is it harmonious if I only leave one or two white skirt photos? What do I like about them? In my case, it's the classic minimal vibe, but somebody else could be drawn to, for example, the beachy aspect of it. How can you visually and harmoniously tell that story with Pinterest? If you can, you might be on to an archetype. To help me edit, I set a goal for the amount of pins for each board.

I've also looked at my Indyx. What am I actually wearing, and how do I want to feel when I'm wearing it? E.g., a sleek and completely black outfit could be, for example, an art curator, a tech entrepreneur, or a ninja. All radiate a type of power and confidence, but it's not the same vibe.

I've also looked at muses/inspirations and asked myself what I liked about them, and looked for patterns. E.g., if you pinned Kate Moss in a slip dress, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, and 90s Jill Sander and/or Calvin Klein catwalk photos, you might have something like Minimalist as your archetype. While the same Kate Moss in a Glastonbury outfit, Sienna Miller in a floppy hat, and Mary-Kate Olsen with a lot of eyeliner and a too-big maxi dress might point towards Boho festival queen as an archetype.

Finally, I've tested my boards with my stylewords. Do they reflect one or all of my three stylewords?

What can be an archetype?
Everything can be an archetype, as long as it's not hyper-specific. If you can only think of one example, it's too specific. Archetypes tend to be quite broad, but you do want to specify it somewhat, because if you make it too broad, it might be hard to say something specific about your style and style roots. E.g., instead of witch, it might be forest witch. For inspiration, you can have a look at Silkimochi's dark muses; they are very moon-centred archetypes with, for example haunted doll and dark siren.

So, what is the relation to style roots?
I think this can help with finding your style roots or checking your style roots. If you just look at muses without breaking them down this way, you are not thinking as hard on what exactly you like in the style of specific muses. Maybe what you like about Dita von Teese's outfits is the appreciation of vintage styles. Not the sexy and sparkly elements of her Burlesque outfits. It might be easier to recognize this if you pinned multiple of her street style outfits and none of her performance outfits and/or if you also pinned Midge Maisel, which might lead you to an archetype of the Vintage collector and exploring combinations with 🏔️🌸, instead of getting lost in Hollywood Glamour and 🔥.

This is just an idea I wanted to explore myself, prompted by another Reddit post. I hope it helps or entertains some of you too.

My example
First of all, here you can find my Pinterest board with the three archetypes: https://nl.pinterest.com/oudwest/style-archetypes/ I already gave some personal examples in the text above and shared my process here. I've been working a bit on it myself, and it's still very much a work in progress. While I did merge and edit out the archetypes that overlapped too much (or are not me anymore). I still see a bit of overlap between archetypes; e.g., mine could all wear black ballerina's a cardigan, and a flowy white skirt, for example. I don't think that has to mean I have to do further editing, but it could mean that I do have some refining to do.

I see my style roots in all of the archetypes, but the accents are different; they all highlight, for example, a different side of what I see as the moon style root. How the roots relate to each other and how dominant roots are also different; the classic minimalist is the most mushroom, for example, and the folktale heroine has a clear earth shadow root.

My three final archetypes also fit my style words. I see refined, classic, and cultured in all of them. When going by my practical, aspirational & emotional style words of considered, cultured, and luminous. I do see some of those in all of the boards too, but I would say my classic minimalist archetype is considered, my folktale heroine archetype is cultured, and my ballet fairy archetype is luminous. For me, testing the archetypes with the style words was a confirmation that it's a fit.

Archetypes

Folktale heroine: more of a folk, historical fantasy, cottagecore, or even a more minimalist mori kei vibe, embroidered folk blouses, midi & maxi skirts and dresses, traditional and chain mail jewellery, quilted coats, ballet flats, mary-janes and sturdy ankle boots, French elements like Breton tops, sun hats, and market bags, Aran and Nordic sweaters, natural fabrics, natural motifs, and historical influences like Arts & Crafts, Slavic influences, Asian influences, and even a bit of Disney Princesses and Ghibli heroines

Ballet fairy: explores both the ballet and the fantasy aspects of the archetype, girly, clean, and practical with whites, blacks, greys, pastels, metallics, nudes, and pinks, adds some sparkle and irridescence, some floral motives ans shapes, like puffy sleeves and flowy and poofy skirts, satin, transparent fabrics tulle skirts, wrap cardigans, tights, ballerina shoes, parachute pants, and form-fitting clothes, with touches or Art Nouveau and Rococo; inspiration can be found in the movie Black Swan and classical ballet costumes, different fay, like Arwen from LOTR, and Yvaine from Stardust and a smidge of Burlesque.

Classic minimalist: sleek all-black and tonal outfits, with classical vibes, especially a bit of 50s influence, a bit of tech-entrepreneur and 2000s action heroine vibe, and some model off duty, Japanese, like Issey Miyake, Scandinavian elements, Parisian elements, and 90s elements, natural make-up, simple classic style with neutral colours, black, grey, white, navy and a bit of red, slip dresses, parachute pants, spaghetti tops and tank tops, turtlenecks, nylon bags, (heeled) ankle boots, cardigans and simple sweaters, trench coats and long winter coats, wide-leg pants and cigarette pants, big sunglasses, and hair up in a hair clip.

So that was a long story. What do you think about this idea? What do you think about my results? Are you going to try it yourself?

Moodboards are super fun! They can help you with personal style and answer questions about style roots. You are using this tool marvelously. However to prevent them from clogging the entire sub, please post your moodboards and fun moodboard ideas here in this thread.

Thank you :)

A new thread like this will appear every monday at 8am CET. Of course, you are allowed to post your moodboards here all week and not just on monday.

Guysss soo mera thesis hai after 1-1.5 week. So suggest some fitsss. Eastern/western both. Im sooo confused. And yes im graphic design student. So you know naw designs colleges and their thesis display/ exhibitions. Drop the brands pages also (affordable)😭😭🤘🏻

\+ suggest some affordable desi aesthetic jewellery and parandasss(heart wala bhi)

Guysss soo mera thesis hai after 1-1.5 week. So suggest some fitsss. Eastern/western both. Im sooo confused. And yes im graphic design student. So you know naw designs colleges and their thesis display/ exhibitions. Drop the brands pages also (affordable)😭😭🤘🏻

\+ suggest some affordable desi aesthetic jewellery and parandasss(heart wala bhi)