I’m a little bit nervous to write about this topic.

Mostly because I think that fashion is a personal choice. However, I am also terrified at the prospect of being overwhelmed with the paper cuts of the world, AKA all of the little trappings that go with life, and so I’m constantly thinking about ways to limit the amount of stupid minutia I spend my personal time on. Attire definitely factors into this. While you may think fashion’s your friend, my friends, fashion is danger.

I’d rather be posing a threat. If you know what I mean.

Now let’s get into the thick of the hair gel. I think that setting up your personal style is important. You’ll never struggle with an outfit to wear or have a personal crisis before attending a beach themed cocktail party again if you consider the following key points.

How To Dress Like An Artist

Now you could go for the classic artist look, and dress comfortably, you probably would. Because the truth is, if you are an artist, you are very likely already doing something like that and it’s worked for you when it comes to your work. After all, your career is a messy one, full of emotions and material. There are definitely important considerations of practicality, creativity, common stereotypes, and professionalism at stake here.

Let’s start by addressing practical elements of wardrobe. No matter your personal tastes when you are out and about, when you are in the studio, rehearsal or on set, you need to dress comfortably so that you can get the work done. That means having the right clothes for the job. Clothes should fit your body, but not get in the way. And they definitely should not be clothes you want to keep in pristine shape – think thrift shops, especially if you are just starting out and operating on a limited budget.

Now if you are done for the day, you get to take your creativity with you.

That means you should do whatever you can come up with a wardrobe that highlights your personal interests without becoming a dumping ground. I highly recommend starting with the basics and building outwards from there. Get some plain white t-shirts/blouses, and a couple of pairs of black jeans. Jeans can be worn with almost any combination of tops, jackets, and shoes, and if you stick with black, they can almost double as dress pants without anyone knowing.

You can also invest in blue, grey, and black t-shirts, but you don’t need more than a pair of each of these. Then get some henley shirts, v-neck sweaters, cardigans, and some button down shirts. All of these should stay inside that tight-knit wheelhouse of colour. Remember, you are trying to build a base to work from, and because of the choices made you can turn these outfits into casual, semi-formal or dress outfits fairly easily. You should also get a dinner jacket, a quality leather jacket and a nice winter jacket, that way you are covered for all of the seasons. Shoes should be black, brown, white or grey – stick to common styles like heels, flats, sneakers, and desert boots. Noticing a pattern here? Keep it simple and you’ll see where creativity can start to come in.

If you learn to sew your own clothes, you create some character pieces to inject into the mix, and accessorize your existing wardrobe. That means buttons, pins, and screen-printed graphics.

After you get used to the idea of pairing clothes you can begin the process of introducing some more unusual colours back into the mix, and leverage them for when you attending networking events. Before you know it you’ll be adding in cool jewellery and styling your hair in a way that actually makes sense with your unique tastes. The reason why creative people wear black is usually because they want to keep attention off of themselves and on their art, but if your aesthetic brand is on point, you won’t run into that issue any more.

I promise. Well, I have a theory at the very least.

Tim!