The Style Stories Podcast · Personal Stylist Lisa Gillbe

How To Find Your Personal Style in 2026 (Without Generic Dated 'Rules')

·27 min·1 clip

Lisa says the real test is not “flattering” but asking, “does it make your eyes Google out?”

Lisa starts with frustration. After 16 years as a personal stylist, she says the useful lessons came from standing in real wardrobes and watching the same blocks show up again and again. The rules can make people timid. She pushes back on the advice that tells women to cinch their waists, chase an hourglass shape, get their colors done, or dress for their age before they have even asked what feels like them. She is not anti-tool. Getting your colors done can help, but only if it supports your style instead of turning into one more box to obey. A wardrobe edit makes the point. A modest dresser keeps trying things on, and Lisa sees the dramatic pieces bring her to life while the plainer ones make her disappear. That is the clue worth following. She wants listeners to stop hunting for one formula that works for everyone and pay attention to the themes already sitting in their own closets. Her own repeats are clear: slip skirts, slip dresses, a long suede trench, vintage jackets. Buying similar pieces is not a failure if they still feel alive on you. Then she gets into fear, plainly. Old comments, awkward events, and the worry that an outfit might look dull, frumpy, inappropriate, or wrong can start choosing before you do. Once that happens, people dress for approval instead of for the spark that makes getting dressed feel good. Age rules get tossed out too. Her test is simple: if it fits your vibe, gives you confidence, and you can carry it, age does not get the final vote. Getting older may even make that easier. The episode lands on a warm idea: personal style grows when other people's expectations loosen their grip.

As heard by us

Personal style matters more when the body, not the rulebook, gets the final say.

Lisa Gilby argues that personal style matters more than obedience to fashion rules. Drawing on 16 years as a personal stylist and hundreds of wardrobes, she pushes back on advice that can leave people feeling judged, especially around waist-cinching and dressing for age.

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Why you'd press play

Swap style rules for a wardrobe that actually feels like you.

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