Step 3 in my initial rip through the myers briggs personality code brings us to how we make decisions, the T or the F. This one is the hardest for me to grasp. But I wanted to get some thoughts out of my head and into words on the internet (since that’s how I do these things, as opposed to paper) before I go to the library and get more input.
Essentially, the definition of a Thinker is one who makes decisions based on logic. But the Feeler is not what you probably think, a person who makes decisions based on their feelings. No, the Feeler is one who makes decisions based on their own values, or one who bases their decisions on ethical considerations.
One could also describe a Thinker as a person who knows their own mind. On the other hand, a Feeler is easily able to identify with the feelings of others.
How does this relate to how people dress? Let me tell you.
I don’t know.
The only specific I’ve noticed is a slight preference for black leather jackets among Thinking types. Myself, I would never wear one, because they have always felt unfriendly to me. I prefer colored suede. 🙂
In the big picture, I suspect Feelers are more inclined to follow fashion trends, and to care what others think about what they wear. Thoughts?
I’ll be perfectly honest, this is all over my head. Like miles. As have been all the other personality related stuff like this.
One of the speaker/writer books I have suggests dressing for your personality – and they bust out some basic categories with suggestions. I wasn’t particularly thrilled with their suggestions for me. But then again, I suppose dressing with a retro flavor is a bit of a “punch” for my personality, like they suggest. e’hem
But! I wanted to make you smile. I’m making Ana new dresses. I measured them so the skirt is twice the length of the bodice. Ta dah! Balance. The finished one is perfect. : ) I would never have thought to do that before the TIS. Thanks.
Before you leave for the library, check Wikipedia on Meyers Briggs because they have some amazingly confusing info. I was thoroughly befuddled. 🙂 I’m completely at ease in a black leather jacket but I tried out some colored suede ones and had to give them away. I could not wear them. Too “soft” for me. But taken as a whole I’m known for being very friendly and, in any case,
people relate to me that way and I to them. I have a traditional cut and color – beige – sheepskin jacket. I always wanted one and found one for five dollars in a thrift store. And then never wore it. I wore it once the other day and it was very comfortable and warm but I’m not sure whether it’s my “idiom.” Read a quote recently that I don’t have exactly but it was about nerve and verve.
I think that sums up my style pretty well and the sheepskin….. mmmm I dunno what to do with it.
I was rereading a post of Sal’s the other day at Already Pretty. About honing your style.
She had several exercises. I’d done them before with not any result. This time I could make the style icon one work for me. I picked Andre3000. Suddenly I could see what I could maybe do with disparate elements in my wardrobe where some things have punch and others are more tweedy.
I saw this series of photos in a magazine some time back and could never get them out of my mind:
http://fashionbombdaily.com/2009/07/22/snapshot-liya-kebede-and-andre-3000-by-arthur-elgort/
It’s the movement in the clothes. But in his personal life very much of a combination of tweed and more primary colors.
http://globalgrind.com/source/www.hypebeast.com/134771/pics-andre-3000s-menswear-line-benjamin-bixby/
Wonder what his type is. Says he is reserved in private.
Just bought a pair of black and white patent wingtip oxfords.
The idea that Fs think more about others’ reactions to their stylistic choices rings true, though I can only defend it anecdotally. I tend to describe Ts as more naturally motivated by cognitive principles (of which logic is only one part) and Fs as more naturally motivated by social values (of which ethics is only one part), and that idea seems to fit.
I don’t care for black leather, because I infinitely prefer the look of leather in brown, but if I wanted to wear same it would be with the goal of looking unfriendly. (I promise I’m not a sociopath, just an introvert.) This probably wouldn’t work, as I’d just look costumed in a black leather jacket.
Janel – you did make me smile. 🙂 And this might make you smile: I am going to learn how to sew a skirt that actually works for me! I bought a couple of patterns and I will probably start with just a cotton print that I have already. My concept is a straight skirt that I can peg, and then have the ruffled or pleated panel in the back instead of slit opening. Then I could finally have a skirt that was just below the knee in length. Now I just have to make time to do it. 😉
Vildy – I wonder if the sheepskin could end up being one of those items (happens to me alot) that take some warming up to and then become a favorite. Either way, at least you didn’t spend alot.
I loved the pictures of Andre3000! Curious how often a man’s look is at least as inspirational as any woman’s.
Mella – one thing that I found interesting in the Carol Tuttle style type system was that she purposefully dressed the type 4s (which I believe roughly corresponds to INs) boldly with the intent that it gives them physical space and time to be the one to intiate. And the “subjects” said it made them feel friendlier! (Believe me, I don’t think there’s anything at all wrong with being an introvert.)
Well. I have been trying toi work this out in my mind but I’ve run into my own failed MB issues. I am an extrovert. I am an intuitive. There it all gets a bit fuzzy, which may explain why my wardrobe is fuzzy. When I did the MB test at work, I was an ENXX, which means an even split betweeen being a Thinker and a Feeler. I am also a completely even split between being a Sensor or Perceiver. Come to think of it, you would think there would have been an odd number of questions to avoid this possibility but the Myers Briggs people re-tested me three months later and came up with the same result.
So..my wardrobe is a mess, I want colour and pattern and yet somedays I want to drown in a sea of chocolate brown (my main neutral).
So I know my own mind, yet can relate to the feelings of others, which is maybe why I can’t decide on a uniform (which I so badly want to do) and yet I do enjoy choosing clothes that are a bit more related to mood.
No wonder I find clothes so difficult! Or maybe I just am indecisive.lol
Christine
Re: Tuttle type 4s – that makes enormous sense to me. I can definitely see space-making in my wardrobe (or, at least, in the way I wear the components of my wardrobe).
Christine – I agree with you they should have designed the test differently. But knowing the E and the N sure beats getting XXXX – lol. Did I already tell you about when I got 6-6-6-6 on a disc profile? I was a little taken aback – I thought it meant I had no personality! – but the pastor administering the test assured me it meant I was “well balanced”. 😉
Anyway, I can kinda relate to your struggles. Alot of times my uniform templates end up being just sort of a snapshot and then I have some exceptions. Or I decide on a template and have alot of stuff that works with that and then I find a new one I like better!
I was thinking there’s another alternative to the uniform that might work just as well, especially because you are not trying to keep yourself open to every possible color. Would it work for you to buy an outfit each season? If you used a limited color palette, things would still mix and match, but you’d have the flexibility to choose the look to suit how you felt about the current season’s offerings.
Mell – once I understood that, it actually made me feel friendlier towards intimidating people. Not the kind of friendly that makes me want to run up and hug them, but understanding that needing space doesn’t mean not liking me. Does that make sense?
Thanks for your thoughts Rebecca. I think one thing I do is buy a lot of dresses because they are quite easy to throw on and not worry about…however, they’re not always appropriate for my day to day life. And though when I buy them, I think I have the right shoes or boots, but if I need more warmth my cardigans or jackets don’t always work. If I want to keep that uniform I think I’d better start to buy a second layer over them.
I really like the idea of buy an outfit each season, and to build on that each season. My natural impulse is to buy items because I like them and I get “swept away” without being practical.
I like this thought process you’re working on; it’s definitely food for thought, and contemplation.
Hi–I’ve been reading your blog off and on for a while now (it’s nice to see a Spokane fashion blogger!), and want to delurk because your MBTI series is fascinating.
If Ts stick to logic and Fs stick to a personal code, I would imagine that Ts would be more likely to choose clothes out of practicality, versus Fs, who might wear clothes because they like them, regardless of occasion or weather. I’m a T (INTP, to be precise), and even though I’m in love with avant-garde fashion, all my looks are built on some level of practicality.