Navigating Trend Fatigue with a Signature Style

I have lost count of the 2026 trend predictions from everyone and their mom: flowers, Sharpie black, baby blue, tweed, chunky bracelets, scarf drama, and now Bambi-core having a whole moment. It is hectic, exhausting, and hard to navigate. Some trends are so gimmicky they live perpetually online. I have yet to see a single person in Dubai actually walking around in those viral Big Red Boots (iykyk).

Truth be told, I love a good trend. They keep outfits fresh, fun, and current. But unless you are confident in your style and super fashion-forward, trends work best when they are incorporated into a strong signature look.

Chasing every trend dilutes your individuality and makes you look inconsistent. Worse, it creates a lot of doubt: Does this suit me? Do I look good? What do I wear it with? Is it too much, or maybe not enough?

Having personal style helps you build a recognisable identity and plays a big part in your personal brand. A solid base gives you a good grasp of what looks good on you and what makes you feel good. Personal style does not mean your outfits have to be elaborate or repetitive. They just need to be coherent and intentional.

Developing a sense of personal style is a skill, a learnable skill.

Factors that influence and inform your personal style include understanding your body, your lifestyle, and the impact you want to create.

Knowing your body helps you choose styles that flatter you and enhance your best features.

Lifestyle is a huge factor that makes style both practical and strategic. I used to have long, flowy hair extensions for years and could not imagine my life without them. Sadly, they did not work for my lifestyle. With daily early morning exercise, there was no time to do my hair, and it was always a mess. Chopping it off reduced the time it takes to style my hair and I feel and look a lot more human and put together now.

Finally, consider the impact you want to create. Remember that clothing is very strategic; different outfits create different impressions, and that desired impact is what guides your choices.

A consistent and maintainable style, your signature style, is your shortcut to being you. It gives you: More confidence Feeling good in your clothes radiates confidence and changes how you carry yourself. That feeling comes from loving your look.

Less wardrobe anxiety Wearing clothes you love elevates your mood and reduces wardrobe anxiety often caused by “I have nothing to wear.”

Authenticity and self-expression Using clothes and overall appearance is a fun way to reflect who you are. Even in highly corporate settings you can add accessories, inner jacket lining, socks, buttons, glasses and the list goes on.

Easier shopping And OMG, it makes shopping so much easier. Imagine walking into a store and not being overwhelmed by all the options. Ignore that overly eager sales assistant, you know exactly what you are after and what is 'so you'.

Style evolves, and trends still matter Personal style does not mean your style has to always stay the same. It evolves as you move through life. New life events encourage you to change: moving to a new country, changing jobs, becoming a parent, or picking up new hobbies might all require a wardrobe overhaul.

It also does not mean that trends are unimportant. If no one ever followed fashion or trends, we would still be rocking our grandparents’ wardrobes. When you have a solid sense of style and a strong base, it becomes much easier to incorporate trends. Adding new colors, textures, and accessories to what you already have will often do the trick.

How do we cultivate a personal style?

Work with a fashion stylists Stylists can be incredibly helpful in refining your style. They can define your body shape and what cuts and proportions look good on you. A stylist will create a wardrobe that is the best fit for your lifestyle and your body. But it still needs to feel like you to you, it needs to be empowering and make you feel good. I fight hard for my feel-good items and for finding ways to integrate them into my wardrobe and my life.

Shop in your closet first Spend some quality time with your wardrobe and identify items that you love and that make you look and feel good.

Create moodboards and find references Who do you want to dress like? Take note of what you like about their style: patterns, colors, silhouettes, brave or safe choices. Draw parallels between the things that you enjoy. They might not all work for you but they will give you some ideas for what to look for.

Build a strong base I love the idea of a capsule wardrobe, you can build that for yourself based on some basics. It is 30-50 base items which focus on versatile, neutral, and high-quality pieces, designed to be fully interchangeable to maximize outfit combinations. You would often have some basic t-shirts, safe color shirts such as white, black, some variation of blue, a suit, a good pair of jeans etc. These are the pieces that will give you a good ROI, remember the Cost Per Wear formula (I explained it on Instagram).

Once you have that, working in trends is easy peasy, and you get to rock that Bambi-core chic without feeling overwhelmed.

Trends aren't your identity, unless you build your identity around following trends. So build a good base, be you and have fun with it. A signature look offers freedom and serves as a shortcut to creating a predictable, always on good look.