Today we’re diving into an aspect of personality and style that I’ve never heard anyone talk about before: consistency, that invisible factor that determines whether you’re drawn to having one cohesive signature look or multiple style personas depending on context. And here’s what’s interesting: This preference sorta shows up in my Style Personality Quiz, but I didn’t realize how connected to personality it is until I was building my Personality Style Blueprints. By the end of this episode, I hope you’ll recognize your natural consistency preferences and how to work with them to enhance your personal expression.
Personality and Style Consistency
In theory, there are two distinct consistency approaches, although as with most things there is really a spectrum:
- External consistency: appearing visually similar across different contexts
- Internal consistency: maintaining alignment with your inner mood, values, and identity
Personality types tend to have consistency preferences based on the cognitive functions in their stack.
Personality Type and Consistency Preference
Here’s some examples of what that might look like for different types:
- Strong external consistency types (like ISTJs, INTJs, and ESTJs) typically prefer a unified, cohesive signature style with minimal variation. These types often value efficiency, reliability, and clarity in self-presentation.
- Strong internal consistency types (like ISFPs, ENFPs, and INTPs) are often drawn to having multiple distinct style personas that authentically express different facets of their identity or adapt to varying contexts. These types prioritize authenticity and alignment with their current values over maintaining a consistent external image.
- Moderate external consistency types (like ENFJs and ESFJs) tend to balance having a recognizable personal style with appropriate adaptations for different social contexts and roles.
Think about how you approach your wardrobe. Do you feel most comfortable with a consistent, unified look across all areas of your life? Or do you feel stifled unless you can express different aspects of yourself through varied style expressions?
Internal vs. External Motivation
Your consistency preference is further shaped by whether you’re primarily internally or externally motivated in your style choices.
Here’s a simple way to understand the difference:
- Internally motivated people make style choices based primarily on personal values, feelings, and preferences. They’re less concerned with external validation or trends unless those align with their internal criteria.
- Externally motivated people are more attuned to social context, cultural norms, and the impact their appearance has on others. They’re more likely to consider trends and what’s considered appropriate in different settings. That’s not to say they always conform to what is expected; if someone dressed inappropriately on purpose to be disruptive, would that not be an external motivation?
But we often have blind spots about our own motivations. When I was developing my Style Personality Quiz, I had several friends test it out for me. Out of all my testers, only two—both ISTJs—actually admitted to being extrinsically motivated. Everyone else insisted they made their style choices purely based on internal preferences, even when their behaviors suggested otherwise.
This connects perfectly to what Maria Killam has observed: people often claim they’ve “always loved” a trend that just came into style.
Putting Personality and Style Together
Understanding your consistency preference transforms how you approach your personal style. The connection between personality and style is the foundation for creating a wardrobe that feels authentically you.
This is exactly why I created the Personality Style Blueprint – a comprehensive guide tailored to your specific Myers-Briggs type. For just $37, this blueprint reveals how your unique personality influences your style preferences and consistency needs, with practical guidance for building a wardrobe that honors your natural tendencies.
If you’re an ISTJ with strong external consistency preference, your Personality Style Blueprint will show you how to create a comprehensive framework that brings clarity and efficiency to your style choices.
If you’re an ENFP with strong internal consistency, your blueprint will guide you in developing multiple distinct style personas that express different facets of who you are, while maintaining connections that feel cohesive to you.
And if you’re somewhere in between, like an ENFJ with moderate external consistency, your blueprint will help you create a flexible signature style with core elements that adapt gracefully to different contexts while maintaining your essential visual identity.
The relationship between personality and style goes beyond just liking certain colors or silhouettes—it’s about how you engage with your wardrobe across different contexts in your life.
Here’s something simple you can do this week to integrate these principles into your wardrobe:
Take a few minutes to journal about how consistent your style is across different areas of your life. Do you dress similarly for work, socializing, and relaxing at home? Or do you have distinct style personas for different contexts? Notice which approach feels most natural and comfortable to you. Then consider how understanding the connection between personality and style could enhance your wardrobe satisfaction.