What are your favorite shopping strategies? Have you ever stood in front of your closet, completely overwhelmed by options, yet somehow still feeling like you have nothing to wear? What if I told you that your personality type holds the key to not just what you should wear, but where you should shop? In this article, I’m sharing how understanding your cognitive functions can transform your shopping strategies and help you create a signature style that feels authentically you in every context of your life.
Let’s dive into how your personality type—specifically your cognitive functions—can guide not just what you wear, but where you shop for different elements of your wardrobe. I’ll share my personal formula for balancing investment pieces with budget finds based on my own cognitive stack, and how you can develop a similar approach tailored to your unique personality. Understanding your personality type creates the clearest path to a signature style and personalized shopping strategies.
Cognitive Functions to Signature Style to Shopping Strategies
When we talk about signature style, we’re really talking about creating visual harmony between your inner self and your outer expression. Your personality type—particularly your cognitive functions—offers incredible insights into creating this harmony.
Let me explain how this works using the concept of a cognitive function stack. If you’re familiar with Myers-Briggs personality typing, you know that each type has four cognitive functions that operate in a specific order. These functions influence not just how you think and make decisions, but also your style preferences and where you might best shop for different elements of your wardrobe.
- Your dominant function (your driver) represents your default mode of operating and what feels most natural to you
- Your auxiliary function (your co-pilot) balances your dominant function and is key to your personal growth
- Your tertiary function (your 10-year-old) comes into play during more relaxed, playful moments
- Your inferior function (your 3-year-old) is often aspirational and becomes more integrated as you mature
Understanding this stack, as developed by Personality Hacker, gives you a framework for creating a signature style that feels authentic across all contexts of your life and allows you to personalize your shopping strategies. If you already know your type, pick up your Personality Style Blueprint for style advice specific to you!
Professional Looks: Showcasing Your Front Seat Functions
Your professional look isn’t just for the office—it’s for any situation where you want to be taken seriously and respected. Whether you’re a corporate executive, a stay-at-home parent attending a school meeting, or a community volunteer organizing an event, there are times when you need to display your personal genius and command attention.
The key is to build this look around your dominant and auxiliary functions (the front seat of your cognitive car).
- For Feeling dominants, like me, this might mean ensuring your look feels approachable yet authoritative
- For Thinking dominants, this often translates to clean lines and logical outfit formulas
- For Intuitive types, incorporating subtle uniqueness or forward-thinking elements
- For Sensing types, focusing on impeccable fit and sensory-pleasing details
Your professional look should also incorporate subtle elements of your inferior function, as this tends to be aspirational for most people.
Here’s a personal example: As an ENFJ with Extraverted Feeling as my driver and Introverted Intuition as my co-pilot, I’ve discovered that I feel most confident when my professional look balances approachability with being slightly ahead of the curve. I realized some years ago that I really feel most myself when my pant silhouette is a bit more forward-thinking than the average person’s.
This insight has transformed my shopping strategy. I now intentionally invest more money in my pants, even though conventional wisdom might say this isn’t always the best investment. The cutting-edge pant shape satisfies my Introverted Intuition’s desire to be visionary and slightly ahead of trends.
But there’s more to this formula, which also shows the influence of my inferior Introverted Thinking. I’ve developed a system: updated pant silhouette (that I invest real money in) + classic top (that I find at a discounter) + third piece (usually thrifted). This creates a logical framework that satisfies that aspirational part of my personality while still honoring my dominant functions.
Playful Looks: Embracing Your Tertiary Function
While your professional look showcases your front-seat functions, your playful or casual look often draws from your tertiary function—what the personality experts call your “10-year-old” or “eternal child.”
- This function brings joy, playfulness, and relaxation to your life
- In style terms, it might represent the look you gravitate toward on weekends or during downtime
- It often feels freeing because it’s less about how others perceive you and more about what brings you joy
I recently worked with a profiling client who’s an ISFJ and rides motorcycles. Her job requires a very conservative professional look that honors her dominant Introverted Sensing function’s appreciation for tradition and detail. But in her off-duty hours, she rocks an edgier look that expresses her tertiary Extraverted Feeling—warm, sociable, and with a hint of rebellion.
This dual approach doesn’t mean she lacks authentic style. Rather, it shows how our personalities contain multitudes, and our style can reflect different aspects of ourselves in different contexts.
- Your tertiary function is often associated with vulnerability and approval-seeking
- Consider expressing this aspect of yourself in more intimate settings with loved ones
- This childlike energy can reveal a more playful, authentic side that deepens connections
Creating Your Personalized Shopping Strategies
The real magic happens when you understand not just what to wear, but where to shop for different elements of your wardrobe based on your cognitive functions.
Consider creating your own signature style formula by asking:
- Which wardrobe elements best express my dominant function? These might deserve more of your budget and attention.
- What pieces reflect my auxiliary function and help me grow? These might be worth investing in as statement pieces.
- How can I incorporate playful elements that honor my tertiary function? These might be areas where you experiment more.
- What subtle details might satisfy my inferior function? These could be finishing touches that add balance.
Understanding your personality type creates the clearest path to a signature style that empowers you to develop shopping strategies aligned with your authentic self. When your wardrobe reflects all aspects of your cognitive function stack, you’ll feel more comfortable and confident in every context.
Your project for this week is to create your own signature style formula based on your cognitive functions. Note how your dominant and auxiliary functions might influence your professional look, and consider how a touch of your inferior function adds that final element of balance. In our next episode, we’ll continue exploring how personality type influences your style choices beyond just the elements in your closet.