Have You Heard of Personal Styling?
About 6 or 7 years ago, I had a personal colour consultation with a personal stylist friend, who told me I belonged to the Warm Spring colour season.
Now it is late 2026, and I start to wonder whether that assessment still applies because I'm now older and heavier. Haha.
And while we're at it, could ChatGPT help me figure out my personal style without having to engage another stylist?
So, I decided to run an experiment using AI.
Now I'm a Sage and a Mystic.
Wait, what is this? ChatGPT started the analysis by pointing me to the feminine archetypes questionnaire on Traitprint, which categorises personality characteristics into 12 archetypes.
My results were pretty interesting.
- The Sage: Wisdom, clarity and quiet authority.
- The Mystic: Intuition, depth and the inner world.
- The Lover, Rebel, Queen and Huntress: A four-way tie for the next position.
I wasn't particularly surprised by Sage. I do enjoy questioning things, understanding how they work and looking for evidence before drawing conclusions.
The Mystic archetype, on the other hand, is used to describe introspection, trusting one's intuition and seeking deeper meaning. And I do trust my gut feelings quite a lot.
Of course, these archetype questionnaires aren't scientifically validated personality assessments. I treated the results as an engaging exercise in self-reflection rather than a definitive description of who I am.
From Feminine Archetypes to Personal Style
ChatGPT suggested that my Sage-Mystic combination could translate into a style that was understated, sophisticated and slightly unconventional.
It even gave my style an identity: The Intuitive Elegant. Quite atas-sounding, isn't it? Haha.
According to this interpretation, the Sage influence favours clean lines, structure and timeless pieces, while the Mystic adds depth through colours, textures and subtle accessories.
I rather liked the idea.
After all, I've always been drawn to looking effortlessly polished without appearing overdressed.
But there's a difference between admiring a particular aesthetic and being able to wear it comfortably, which brings me to the next obvious challenge.
The Plus-Size Petite Problem
If you're familiar with the combination of plus size and petite, you'll probably understand why finding flattering clothing isn't always straightforward.
Many petite styling recommendations seem designed for slim women with a flat tummy and a small waist, while plus-size fashion often assumes a taller and voluptuous frame.
So where does that leave someone who is both petite and plus-size? Add a fuller midsection in midlife, and things become even more complicated.
So over the years, I've developed some fairly specific clothing preferences.
I love pencil skirts, particularly knee-length and ankle-length ones. I also wear fitted pants, usually paired with long, loose tops that provide coverage around my stomach and bottom.
Dresses? Not really my thing. I almost always feel frumpy in them.
Heels? No, thank you. I only wear sneakers or ballet flats any day.
I even told ChatGPT about all my preferences and current stylings. Surely all this information would help it understand my style better, right?
Well, not immediately.
AI Keeps Dressing Me Up Like a Slim Woman
Here's where the experiment became irritating.
Despite knowing my height, body proportions and clothing preferences, ChatGPT repeatedly showed me styling examples featuring slim petite women.
But were they representative of my body type? NO.
Eventually, I pointed it out myself to ChatGPT, as I was getting impatient.
To its credit, ChatGPT acknowledged the oversight and revised its recommendations to consider the actual challenges of dressing a plus-size petite frame.
That was probably the most useful moment of the entire exercise.
It basically shows that personalised recommendations aren't necessarily personal just because an algorithm has been fed information about you.
Sometimes, you still need to challenge the recommendations before they become relevant.
So, What Did ChatGPT Recommend Eventually?
After quite a lengthy conversation, we arrived at a style profile that actually made sense to me.
The colour direction remained Warm Spring, based mainly on my previous professional consultation.
As for my wardrobe, the recommendations became much more practical.
Instead of suggesting dresses or oversized clothing, ChatGPT focused on what I already enjoy wearing: pencil skirts, fitted trousers, relaxed but structured blouses, comfortable footwear and simple accessories.
It suggested experimenting with warm ivory, deep teal, chocolate brown, caramel and coral rather than relying entirely on black.
Black, by the way, has long been one of my preferred colours, mainly because I find it useful for drawing less attention to my midsection.
The most useful advice wasn't about changing my personal style completely. It was about paying closer attention to garment proportions, shoulder fit, fabric drape, blouse length and waistband comfort.
In other words, work with what I like instead of trying to turn me into someone else.
So, Can ChatGPT Really Replace a Personal Stylist?
After this experiment, my answer would be this: Not entirely.
ChatGPT was useful for brainstorming outfit combinations, exploring colour palettes and helping me articulate my preferences, but it also made assumptions.
It initially overlooked my body proportions when providing visual examples, and some suggestions were more generic.
A qualified personal stylist can assess fabric, fit, proportions and how different garments actually look on a person. ChatGPT cannot fully replicate that experience through a conversation and a couple of photographs.
Still, it offered something useful: an opportunity to examine my wardrobe choices more consciously.
I realised that I already have a fairly consistent personal style. I favour streamlined bottoms, relaxed tops, comfortable shoes and understated elegance.
Perhaps I don't need to reinvent my wardrobe after all.
I just need to be more deliberate about how I put everything together.
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Another blog post that I wrote a few months ago, which I find quite interesting when I read it again: What AI Thinks My Personality Is (After Two Years of Conversations)
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