A Style Trick That Changed How I Get Dressed

You don’t need more clothes, you need this book.

I recently read a book called Wear It Well by Allison Bornstein, and it hit me harder than I expected. It’s a style guide, yes, but it reads more like a pep talk. The kind that helps you look at your closet with fresh eyes and realize: you don’t need more clothes, you just need the right ones. Ones that make you feel like yourself.

Bornstein’s big idea is simple but powerful: styling is a skill, not a talent. In other words, if you’ve ever felt “bad at fashion,” it’s not because you lack taste. It’s just that no one’s ever taught you how to translate who you are into what you wear. That’s where she comes in. She offers frameworks and asks questions that are incredibly practical.

Her most helpful concept is something she calls the Three-Word Method. You choose three adjectives that describe how you want to feel in your clothes (words like “polished,” “playful,” “sporty,” or “tailored”) and use them to guide every style decision you make. What to keep, what to donate, what to shop for, wh…