Having served a fashion editor, stylist, fashion show producer, and someone with a very understated sense of style, I get asked about fashion often. I’ve tried, on several occasions, to write a style guide but it never goes anywhere despite 3 attempts at it. To continue my Best Advice series I thought I would write about fashion and how to create your own unique style that transcends trends and our modern culture of fast fashion.

Here’s how:

Fit, Form and Function

Fit is one of the most obvious and most ignored parts of dressing well. One of the hallmarks of a well-dressed person is that their clothes fit and fit very well. The hem falls at the right location, the pants are just right and nothing is too loose or too tight. This is a secret to dressing well and looking great. Buy for great fit and don’t be afraid to use a quality tailor for your more expensive garments or things for business. One of the hardest things to get right as far as fit goes is denim. My advice on denim is to find a brand that works for you and buy plenty of the denim that works for you from that brand and don’t be afraid to have your hems taken up or a waist taken in for best fit.

Don’t Get Stuck on Numbers

This advice is mostly for women but if you’re male read on anyway because this is beginning to apply to men as well. Don’t get stuck on a dress or jeans size. When I was younger, even as a man I was obsessed with what size everything was in my closet. However, different brands have different sizing and it is far from standard. For women each brand creates its own sizing for who they think their ideal customer may be. Even in men’s clothing, which has been fairly standard for 150 years, a XL or M at Express isn’t the same as at Old Navy or Banana Republic. Go for the right fit and don’t look back. Whatever fits and looks good on your body type is what you buy, no questions asked. Will your closet have a variety of numbers in it? Yes. Will your style be flawless like Beyonce? Very much so.

Don’t follow the Trend

Probably one of the worst things people can do is just follow the trend all the time. Especially as one ages, chasing after the trend leaves you out of style sync with what people expect from your age group and maturity. This is not to say that one needs to dress to look old or completely eschew basic style trends. The key here is discernment. Go try on a trendy style and decides if it looks good on you. Be brave, but don’t over do it. Have your pieces in a consistent style that works for your body and then accentuate with a trendy piece.

Find a celebrity and follow along

Celebrities have stylists who spend hours working on and perfectly a look. This includes color palette, fit, and sizing. Take advantage of those hours of work by others and find a celebrity with your body type and then emulate their style, fit and fabric. This is especially crucial for suits (men) and gowns or formal wear (women). A quick google image search will do the trick. This can be especially helpful for women (and male to female trans-persons) because then you know where to shop, what to shop for, and what kind of fit works for your body type.

The Bottom Line

That all being said I have this interesting rule about fashion. People ask me, if I like a certain piece they have bought, on a regular basis and I always give them my opinion with one caveat: if you love it and you feel like a million dollars in it then wear it and rock the hell out of it.