Spins the grin

Personality Types

Anyone else taking notice of how the concept of “personality types” as it relates to style choices has been making the rounds online? It’s been popping up in my feeds and my curiosity was piqued enough to do a bit of my own research on the topic.

After all, I’m now at a point in my life when I can truly dress as I please but I’m finding myself challenged to move beyond the old guideposts that used to direct me. When I’m asked to “describe my style”, I often find myself at a loss for words. Or too many come to mind like smart, classic, creative, quirky, unique, romantic, chic. I’d hope that my style is an expression of me but maybe I need to do some research to figure out just what that is exactly.

Some time ago, I recall being puzzled by references to five-letter acronyms which were meant to convey information about a person’s personality. Of course, the internet came through with the whats and whys of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as well as the meanings behind those codes and I came to a basic understanding of what was the conversations were about. It seemed like an interesting endeavor to figure out what my personality type might be but my pursuit of the subject went no further. Until now.

Recently, I came across a website, 16 Personalities, which offers visitors a free personality profile. (This is not a sponsored post nor do I have an affiliate relationship with that website; it’s all just for fun). In a nutshell, through a series of questions, a person’s personality type is determined based on where their answers fall on each scale of five independent spectrums. Click here if you’re at all curious about the process and theory behind the assessment.

It boils down to there being five personality aspects that, in combination, make up one of 16 personality types. The five aspects are Mind, Energy, Nature, Tactics, and Identity. Each of these is seen as a two-sided continuum, with a “neutral” option placed in the middle. The results after completing the test show on which side of each continuum you fall, and how strong your preferences are.

So, what did I learn? I am a INFP-A, otherwise known as an Assertive Mediator. According to the website, mediators “have vibrant, passionate inner lives. Creative and imaginative, they happily lose themselves in daydreams, inventing all sorts of stories and conversations in their minds. These personalities are known for their sensitivity … can have profound emotional responses to music, art, nature, and the people around them.” Fun fact – mediators are the most likely personality type to read fantasy or science fiction books.

As for the specifics of the five personality aspects, my results were as follows;

Mind (interactions with environment): 71% introverted on a continuum of extraverted to introverted
Energy (focus of mental of energy): 62% intuitive on a continuum of intuitive to observant
Nature (decision making and coping with emotions): 57% feeling on a continuum of thinking to feeling
Tactics (approach to planning and decision-making): 53% prospecting on a continuum of judging to prospecting
Identity (confidence in ability and decisions): 56% assertive on a continuum of assertive to turbulent

Being more introverted than extroverted, I generally prefer solitary activities, find social interaction a bit exhausting, tend to be a little sensitive to external stimulation (like sounds and smells). My intuitive nature is fairly strong which makes me imaginative and open-minded. In making decisions, I tend to be more empathic and less competitive and I’m good at improvising and spotting opportunities. And rounding out my personality, I’m mostly assertive which makes me self-assured, even-tempered, and resistant to stress.

In addition, I was identified as a “Confident Individualist”. With the combination of being introverted and assertive, confident individualists tend to trust in themselves, enjoy their own company, and don’t mind spending time alone to pursue their interests. These types are further described as being able to take pride in their skills for their own sake, not to impress others, and tend not to see the point in social displays and bragging. While they’re proud of who they are, these personality types don’t always feel the need to prove themselves to anyone else. With all this added insight into my personality, have I come to any greater understanding about my fashion style? Perhaps a little, but it’s meant to be an evolving process, right?

Let’s start with this look. I think that it typifies what I imagined an after-retirement Springtime “day out of the house” outfit would look like. A bit of a boho vibe with a mix of patterns and pops of color. Cropped pants for a more current silhouette, a lightweight sweater for coverage, and a chunky heel for comfort. While this look might not be for everyone, it suits my style sensibilities of being modern and yet not too trendy, of being ageless without being minimalist, and most importantly, of being adventurous.

Have you given any thought to how the facets of your personality affect your style? Or from the opposite perspective, how does your style reflect on your personality?

Stay well and let’s keep in touch! Subscribe, tweet, follow, friend, pin … all options are available. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

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Note: This is an unsponsored post; however, some or all of the links to clothing items are associated with an affiliate program where I earned a few cents for each click.

Photo credit: MMPerez

This post was featured on Links à la Mode fashion roundup by Independent Fashion Bloggers.

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20 Comments

  3. Sheila (of Ephemera)

    That was fun, thanks, Rena! I’m a Protagonist (ENFJ-T), Diplomat, Social Engagement. Much of it rang true to me!

    I also struggle to identify my style, and usually land on words like “eccentric”, “wacky”, “artsy” – I always want a dash of elegance in there if I can too!

    • Rena Post Author

      Sheila, I’m glad that you enjoyed the post. As for your style, I think that it’s simply spectacular.

  4. shelbeeontheedge1

    First, I have to say again how much I love this outfit! Those pants are so fun! I have always been interested in personality types and have often wondered how our personalities effect our style choices as well as our color and print preferences. It was really interesting to read the details of your personality results so I took the test myself. I am an ENFJ-A Protagonist and it is pretty spot on! It says that the Protagonist type is only 2% of the population which made me laugh because I always feel like I am in the tiniest minority when it comes to things like this! Fun post, my friend.

    Shelbee
    http://www.shelbeeontheedge.com

    • Rena Post Author

      Thank you for the outfit love, Shelbee. I’m glad you liked the post and took the test yourself. It certainly is interesting to get an objective read on ourselves, isn’t it?

  6. Jess

    Hi Rena
    This was very interesting. I know of the Meyers-Briggs, but have never taken it. I enjoyed finding out more about you. My hubby is more the intovert, and doesn’t mind solitary activities, where I am more the opposite. I will have to look at it to see how it assesses me. I love creativity, and being able to express myself through music, art. and see that it is a part of your personality as well.
    I like the mix of the tunic blouse with the wide leg pants. Great color too!
    jess xx
    thanks for linking!
    http://www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com

    • Rena Post Author

      Jess, I’d been interested in hearing what your results were. I do hope that you’ll share them.

  7. Claire Justine

    This sounds really interesting, it is always good to find out more about yourself. I love your shoes/boots 🙂

    Thanks so much for linking up to The Wednesday Link Up. I hope you can join us again on Friday or next week for our next parties 🙂 #TheWednesdayLinkUp

  8. Mica

    I struggle describing my style too – a style consultant I had a session with after I had my first boy said it was “feminine” and I guess that fits, even if it’s not very specific, haha! 🙂 I’ve done myers briggs before and my kid got to do a similar one for school so the teacher could learn about him (although it was obviously a lot shorter and easier for a first grader to fill out!) and it turns out we are the same personality type – so funny as he’s the son that looks most like me, our younger one looks like his dad. He really is a mini-me! 🙂

    Thanks for joining the Weekday Wear Link Up!

    Hope you have a great weekend ahead of you! It’s a fun one here with kids birthday parties 🙂

    • Rena Post Author

      Mica, now you’ve got me wondering what the results of the personality test would be for my kids. I wonder if they’d do it for me?

  9. Anne M Bray

    I’m always game for those personality tests. This one was interesting!
    My type is Adventurer ISFP and “Don’t box me in” is a good description of my style too!

    • Rena Post Author

      Anne, I wouldn’t dare try to box you in. Thanks for letting me know that you enjoyed the post and the topic.

  10. Cool Esse

    So glad to find another INFP 🙂 I’ve enjoyed reading the couple posts I’ve checked out of yours so far! Reading your about you post made me laugh, because I could put it in my about cool esse page and it would describe it *almost* perfectly 😄
    I added a few more photos to my personality test post that I had found and saved after I had already posted it, if you want to check them out!

    • Rena Post Author

      As I mentioned, this test was one I’d been interested in taking for a while and the results were a little eye-opening.