By Otieno Humphrey, March 8, 2019, in Lifestyle Over Splendour
Does personality dictate fashion design, or does fashion design dictate personality? As easy as it may seem, this question requires a very deep contemplation. Apparently, it is very hard to guess someone’s dressing codes from their personalities but very easy to define their personalities from the way they dress.
As the saying goes “a man is known by his dress and address”. Fashion design is not all about wearing something just because everyone else is wearing the same or because it’s classy! It is about first finding out how you’ll look on certain clothes, your body type, weight, complexion and family background, nature of work, climate, then dress according to the occasion. It becomes so clear that the cloth you put on entirely reflects to who are, what you feel and what you would achieve in life.
It is very possible, though, to more than one personalities but in different level. Thus we are generally divided into the following dominant personalities; Sanguine (spontaneous and optimistic), Phlegmatic (sympathetic and agreeable), Choleric (analytic and harsh) and Melancholic (careful and orderly). These personalities have the following relations to fashion.
Sanguine Personality
Sanguine personality is a type of personality that loves the life of luxury and expensive life with an aim of impressing others. They are big spenders especially when they get the opportunity to, hence love travelling a lot to have fun and pleasure from their wealth. Sanguine personality is artistic, charming and gives great attention to the senses and how things look. They are characterized by curiosity, fun, drama, talkativeness and a wide range of interest. Unlike the Choleric who spend much time making their wealth, the Sanguine would enjoy them.
Sanguine and Fashion
Since they are certain to turn heads in eye catching outfit, they tend to get noticed using their bright, colorful and fun dressings. Sanguine persons are great lovers of exciting patterns, heavy accessories, hence become fixated on a certain color or type of garment that can cause them to fall into a rut and look the same all the time.
Phlegmatic Personality
Phlegmatic personality is one which is easygoing, peaceful, has a sense of responsibility, tolerant, diplomatic in naturally, requires time to adapt to changes. This kind of persons are reserved but seen by others as warm, trustworthy, valuable and friendly. Unlike any other personality types, they seek interpersonal harmony and close relationships. They also tend to avoid conflicts by mediating between others to restore peace and harmony.
Phlegmatic and Fashion
Phlegmatic persons are naturally trend setters therefore tend to set their own trends in fashion design and are comfortable living by them. As much as they can never go wrong with comfortable outfits like jeans, they love doing simple outfits.
They love choosing softly tailored, unstructured garments with little fussy detail, mixing and matching their outfits to give versatility. Phlegmatic people also favor fabrics with texture in their dressings.
Choleric Personality
These are the examples of people referred to as the “go getters” or the “doers”. They are known to be extremely practical, determined, straightforward, powerful, self-disciplined and stubborn. Choleric persons are known to be strong leaders and love analyzing situations deeply before anything. They are programmed to putting mote emphasis on getting their own way and not attracting people to liking them. Unlike the other three personalities, Choleric persons are not very good companions or social but rather prefer meaningful conversions especially on issues that requite their interest.
Choleric and Fashion
Choleric personalities are always very practical when choosing their clothing hence it becomes very hard to predict their outfits. They appropriately choose their garments and accessories that project their behavior and power. They are therefore not afraid of color hence end up preferring fabrics of a definite shape and defined, classical pieces like a little dark dress, riding boots or an elegant power suit.
Melancholic Personality
This is a perfectionist, accurate, thoughtful, extremely orderly, deep and serious personality. Persons with this personality are social and seek to contribute to the community. They are also said to be logical and realistic but very cynical on realism. This makes them believe on the motto “If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing right!”. In most cases, they may end up being fantastic managers. In their state, they tend to differ with the Sanguine personalities all the time. Unlike the Sanguine, they are not lovers of luxury, big spending and adventure. They tend to avoid this at all cost.
Melancholic and Fashion
Melancholic personalities gravitate to balanced and harmonious looks. For this reason, they always end up purchasing an entire outfit featured in a mannequin. They always desire to look “put together” and would be comfortable in ‘outfits’ that are intentionally purchased and dedicated to be worn together. These persons are fashionable, refined and elegant. They would therefore put on anything that is easy to pair with, like denim or khaki.
So, what personality trait do you think fits you? Add your comment below and the discussion on.
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