How to Practice Your Scales in Fashion

One question that Tyler Cowen likes to ask his guests is “What is it you do to train that is comparable to a pianist practicing scales?”

When it comes to writing, practicing your scales means writing a lot. Specifically, you have to edit a lot. Everyone writes text messages and emails, but what separates a writer from everyone else is the number of hours spent editing. Editing is where you actually improve as a writer.

In fashion and menswear, the answer seems less obvious. There’s plenty of content out there that talks about how to improve your fashion taste. But there’s less content on how to improve on the skill of fashion.

But what exactly is the skill of fashion? I think it’s wardrobe building and styling.

I was first debating whether or not to remove the wardrobe from the equation. A photographer can take great photos with mediocre equipment but after a certain point, camera matters a lot. Similarly, someone who has strong fashion taste and styling ability can generally craft a good outfit with a mediocre wardrobe. But they quickly become limited by the wardrobe. As I’ve written about previously, creating a great wardrobe takes lots of experience. For example, a great stylist understands the client, knows what questions to ask, knows what’s possible, and can create an effective wardrobe in a short period of time.

Next, ability to style is what separates a fashion expert from the rest. They understand color theory, fit and proportions, fabric story, layering, creating tension, etc.

So how does one practice their scales in fashion? It’s rate of experimentation. Experiment with different pieces and styling techniques. Do this every day. Learn about a new styling technique and for the next week, create an outfit that uses that technique as an example.