Occasionally I get e-mails and comments from readers with questions, and often the questions are of a similar nature. I’ve decided it’s time to add a FAQs page so you might easily find the answer you seek; but if it remains unaddressed don’t hesitate to get in touch, I’d still love to hear from you.

One question I recently received elicited a rather complex response from me and I decided it may benefit others to share it. I’ve never considered myself any kind of authority on fashion or style, but the idea that my own experience might resonate with someone on a similar journey is pretty special to me.

What advice do you have for someone trying to refine their style?

Bringing together my style in a cohesive manner has taken a long time, but mostly because I struggled for a long time trying to find an affinity with a particular style. I began emulating styles that looked good to me and tried to work out how they made me feel. I think great style should have an emotional correlation with your personality in order to come off successfully and get that “effortless” look about them that’s so coveted.

If you know what style you’re trying to embody then half your work is already done! It takes courage to purge your closet but it’s a necessary step in creating a new order in your wardrobe. Better to have too few clothes that speak of your style than an abundance of chaos which just lead to confusion and panic attacks in the morning.

I fell towards lots of black because it goes with everything. If you wear lots of colours you have to have confidence in matching or clashing them, and it usually means needing a lot more clothes! I find colours restrictive in that sense. This colourful floral shirt may only go with three other things, but plain black goes with every other plain black thing you own. For someone like me who’s seriously fastidious about colour matching, going all black took an enormous pressure off getting dressed every day. Additionally, I also feel that black imparts an element of darkness in my own style that’s also present in other facets of my life including design influences and musical tastes.

It comes back to that correlation of personality and style which is imperative for personal style to have integrity, authenticity and sincerity. I also hear a lot “dress for the person you want to be” and I think that’s important too. Style is not just about where you are now but where you’re going in the future. It’s why I’ve started to shop quality over quantity; for true love of an item over the lust of a quick retail fix.