When trying to define your personal style, it’s sometimes difficult to envisage how you’d like to look, particularly if you don’t feel that you are particularly stylish at this moment in time. That’s why it’s great to look to celebrities and people in the public eye (and also people you know and admire), so you can unpick why you like their style. What is it about them that appeals to you? What makes them stylish to you?

It is in this unpicking of what you like about them, that we can start to understand whether you could translate this into your own style. Of course, it has to match with your personality and lifestyle too. You may start off choosing someone you admire, but then realising that you like to wear more pattern than them, so it’s just the general silhouette you like. Or you might choose someone for the creative combinations they wear, but realise that sequin jackets have no place in your daily life! Or maybe they definitely do have a place in your daily life, as you’ve just realised you can wear them casually…

When I work with my clients, we talk a lot about their personality and we come up with a completely personalised Style Recipe. However, sometimes it’s a great additional question to ask, to look to the style icon and simply ask, “Would Kate Middleton (insert your style icon here, K-Mid isn’t one of mine) wear this?” Or, “How would Iris Apfel (again, insert own icon) style this necklace?”

You don’t need to have one style icon either. You might have a combination of a few. These could be for different areas of your life or that you just like certain aspects of their style - colour combinations, how they accessorise, pattern mixing, silhouette etc. Or it might just be that you are more of a chameleon and don’t like to look the same every day mood dresser and you need a few to choose from.

So, if you’re a visual sort, head over to my Pinterest page, where I have a board dedicated to style icons. And if you are more of a list person, here’s my starter for ten list (in no particular order and by no means extensive) of style icons: