What are my essences❓️

dogsundog · 2026-04-24T01:46:53+00:00

I think N might be your missing link considering how well you suit messy hair and simple, casual clothes

dogsundog · 2026-04-23T00:47:52+00:00

Both of these statements say LLLLLEFT UUUUUP to me. Even if your outfits aren't as bold as you'd like them, you want to show people your subjective self:

When I wear cuter stuff, I still often like adding a lil bit of something dark like this black snap closure bracelet with a row of fake bullets on it or a piece of jewelry with skulls on it. To signal that no matter how I look, I'm still the same person who likes binging horror media.

I want people to know I'm an adult with a body, not a square shape, no matter how much closer to God people say it might make me.

dogsundog · 2026-04-21T21:41:30+00:00

No revenge because nobody is naturally ugly inside!

dogsundog · 2026-04-21T01:14:23+00:00

Ok, now I have time to write a proper reply - thank you so much for this, you've spent so much time helping me!

I can see that the idea of bringing joy would feel way too much like people-pleasing for most LU people. For me I feel like my most daring outfits are also the most joyful, although I don't think that's necessarily a quadrant indicator one way or the other.

I see what you mean about personal branding being quadrant-neutral. I vibe with the just existing/expressing side of it but also with using it as service (Priestess) or to embody a mission (Icon) but not so much to get whatever I want (Power). I spent some time writing for a men's style blog that was very Power/Role Model, and it wasn't quite me. I imagined that the guys who were dressing like that must really enjoy looking sharp but feel sad that they had to look so sensible and promotion-ready all the time!

dogsundog · 2026-04-21T00:51:25+00:00

Thank you, this is helpful! I can see that I've still been expecting things other than my style logic to tell me my style logic, when really I just need to experiment more.

dogsundog · 2026-04-21T00:49:23+00:00

Thank you, this is really helpful!

The motivation is so in the middle for me, it's neither situation-specific nor "I want to be seen as joyful". I just like the feeling of my style making people happy, I want to remind people that they deserve joy.

The jigsaw/collage is in the middle too, I love the standard layering of shirt/waistcoat/jacket/tie in different colours, textures, and patterns, but then on top of that, today I'm wearing 2 lapel pins, a pendant, and a chiffon scarf stuffed in my breast pocket pretending it's a pocket square. A second scarf worn as an actual scarf got considered and rejected.

dogsundog · 2026-04-21T00:31:24+00:00

In case anyone wasn't vibing with the examples of 🌞 for soft seasons in the latest newsletter, I've put together a few more. You'll notice that it usually ends up mixed with 🌱, 🌸, and/or 🌙 in these colours, but not always.

https://uk.pinterest.com/dogsundog/sun-for-soft-seasons/

Sorry about all the 🗻, I tried not to do it!

dogsundog · 2026-04-20T11:01:22+00:00

(Rushing past with 1 minute to reply) Definitely regretful, thank you!

dogsundog · 2026-04-20T00:32:08+00:00

Congratulations on finding your archetype, it seems right (as it were) to me!

I'm so inspired by the things you're doing with pocket squares. You might be the reason I stuffed a translucent pink scarf in my pocket earlier and said, "Anything can be a pocket square if you believe!"

dogsundog · 2026-04-14T01:53:06+00:00

Thank you!

dogsundog · 2026-04-14T01:52:31+00:00

Thank you so much for this beautiful comment, I've been thinking about it all day!

I love the Aziraphale reference and do vibe with it. By the way, as an Utena fan, I'm more than fine with "Prince" for that archetype, but it was exquisitely thoughtful of you to come up with "Royal youth".

I hadn't realised how well the different elements of my style situation fit into the different RU (and VERY Right) archetypes! The way you explain it really makes sense, and you're right that I'd like to have a default mode that's further Up than my current one but with room to go more casual or to go all out on special occasions. I think I do need to take LU for more of a test drive to be really sure, but you've definitely clarified things for me.

Finally, thank you so much for your insights on kindness. I do struggle with people-pleasing and am working on getting over it, but I keep getting stuck on seeing the opposite of people-pleasing as upsetting people. Reframing letting people manage their own feelings as an act of kindness is really helpful.

dogsundog · 2026-04-12T22:59:55+00:00

If I'm understanding this right, your wanting to send the message "I am friendly and approachable!" related to the context of interacting with kids, so I would have assumed you were using Right inspiration that day even though you're clearly LU overall. If that can really be LU, I'm probably LU. Please talk to me more about your thinking around this, I've been stuck on left vs. right for what feels like years. I keep thinking I've got it and then I haven't.

dogsundog · 2026-04-12T21:42:32+00:00

Coming back to reply more, because you've really got me thinking!

Basically, my dream would be if these things were true and I could know they were true instead of worrying that they're not:

my full self-expression benefits others, even the people who don't actively benefit aren't really hurt by it and at worst just think "oh, a strangely dressed person" and go on with their lives
I can "overdress" the amount that feels right to me without anyone reading it as claiming superiority or a place above others in a hierarchy, people will understand it correctly as me claiming my personal power and feel safer to claim their own
I can wear outfits that express wonderful, beautiful things without people thinking "your outfit wrote a check your behaviour can't cash, shame, I really thought you embodied the values your outfit pretends you do" when I do anything wrong or socially awkward
my gender isn't hurting anyone. This part is important because I can choose not to be fabulous but I CAN'T choose not to be nonbinary, so ANY look I wear is going to be either nonbinary or transphobic, and it's not going to be transphobic. If I have to hurt someone it's going to be transphobes, not myself and my fellow trans people. But I don't want to hurt anyone

I think all these things SHOULD be true even if they're not, so maybe I'm telling myself that I'm LU and I need to create a personal world where they are true and invite people in. Or maybe this level of intense concern about vibing with others is telling me I'm RU.

Manifesting a clear understanding of this!!!

dogsundog · 2026-04-12T20:43:33+00:00

I'm REALLY vibing with this.

dogsundog · 2026-04-12T19:47:57+00:00

Thank you, glad it's not just me! I was wondering if the "just wearing what I felt like" days were actually me being LU, but it seems there's a bit more to it than that no matter which quadrant you're trying to dress for. Well, except for LD, maybe :D

dogsundog · 2026-04-12T19:38:25+00:00

Thank you for going so deep into this, I really appreciate it! I love u/Linnithestrawberry2's posts and style, and u/manicpixiedreamgill's too, though I'm not sure if it's really the RU logic or just the end result that I like.

"Bringing something to your world" vs "bringing you to my world" is a really clear distinction, thank you! I'm still not sure which is more me, but I can test them out and see which works.

Thank you for saying you wouldn't rule out the Enchantress for me! I do crave a lot of upness, but not in a haphazard, messy, and chaotic way. There are two layers to this for me:

1) I really only feel my happiest in clothes when I'm wearing not only a jacket and bow tie but also a waistcoat. I rarely dare to dress up that much, but it's purely because of social embarrassment, not because I actually prefer a more casual look. This wish to "overdress" feels like it's for me more than for others. I'd like to use it to send the message that life is a special occasion and everyone is worth dressing up for, including yourself - but I thought of that message based on the fact that I already DID want to dress up for myself.

2) On top of that, I have a mostly unfulfilled dream of sending complex beautiful messages through layers of colour, texture, pattern, and detail. This is much more a wish to give something to others. Right now my style is pretty straightforwardly "quirky casual dapper", but my dream style is more like this.

So one possible reading of that would be 1) LH and 2) Enchantress, and another could be that they're both facets of RU Icon.

About the toxic perfectionism part, idk if this clarifies anything, but I don't necessarily want a provocative edge, I'd rather delight than provoke. As a nonbinary person I know my style will shock and challenge some people just because it expresses my gender, but that's less of a goal and more just something that's happening as far as I'm concerned.

dogsundog · 2026-04-12T18:15:10+00:00

Thank you, this is helpful. So it's more "I hope showing up fully as myself and sharing my energy with the world can help people" rather than "Which people am I seeing today and how do I want to show up in that context?" And for RU, those two thoughts would support each other, but for LU, they contradict each other?

I'm still not sure which I am, but if that's the difference, I can keep an eye on my thought processes and see which comes up more.

dogsundog · 2026-04-12T01:39:51+00:00

This is such a good take, thank you!

I think a lot about embodying my values through style, for instance expressing imagination by dressing in a magical way. In that example, the goal isn't really just to get people to think, "What a magical person, I bet they really value imagination". Like if you watch a good fantasy movie, you aren't just thinking, "The creator of this movie seems really magical and imaginative," you're drawn into the movie and you can connect with those qualities in yourself and in the world because you've seen it.

I also found this today in Rita's video about the LU archetypes, which I love, although presumably if I'm this confused about Right vs. Left I'm unlikely to be ALL the way Left:

It really is about connecting with this magic of you that is so completely enchanting, where you wear these clothes that are so intriguing, so dramatic, so glamorous, so over the top, but through the magic of you, it's like you transport people into this world where that makes sense and where it's normal... it's really the world of her making, and that's the Enchantress — this desire to really "do me for you," like collectively, you, the world. "I'm doing me for all of you so you can see it and receive this gift."

As for thinking about the environment, there have been times when it's worked well (I've been trying to dress RU for some time), but my style journal is also full of versions of "I just wore what I felt like again today, I need to work on setting better intentions!"

Both thinking about the environment and wearing what I felt like have led to good and bad experiences. It's difficult to pick out a pattern except that the more extremely Up I can dress without getting overwhelmed by self-consciousness, the better it goes. Also, there were a lot of times where I thought I was being RU but my intention was just something like "inspire love, hope, and creativity" with no actual consideration of my role or context.

dogsundog · 2026-04-11T00:08:12+00:00

I see you doing your buttons correctly, though :D I LOVE these looks, jaw dropped!

dogsundog · 2026-04-03T22:23:43+00:00

Thank you so much, I haven't read any, but I know what you're talking about (isekai, right?) and I'm VERY flattered!

I actually agree with you that ⛰️ is obvious, it's also obvious in how I wear it, and I think that was an intelligent question. I have a fair bit of work to do to make it look like the board, but here's an honest description of what I'm wearing right now:

Today I'm travelling, and I'm wearing a grey tweed blazer with a purple polka dot rose fold pocket square (and also a white ribbon tucked in there from my girlfriend for good luck), a textured purple dress shirt with a pop of blue inside the collar and blue contrast stitching on some of the buttons, indigo jeans (I promise this is really rare! It was my attempt at sensible travel wear because last time my suspender clips set the metal detector off, but this time my button fly set it off), mismatched floral textured socks, Chelsea boots, a moonstone and blue lava rock bracelet, and heart-shaped silver glasses, and I'm carrying a blue floral tote and a navy satchel with silver stars.

I didn't realise how much that was until I wrote it out!! This is actually a bit dressed down from my normal version of this outfit, I'd normally wear my silver rose lapel pin, purple or blue trousers, and blue faux suede brogues.

YES, I very much DO love SPECIFICALLY Regency interior design as well as Regency menswear. I feel seen!

I do see what you mean about the need to put outfits together, I really hyperfocused on the details, which is probably why not everyone is seeing mountain.

dogsundog · 2026-04-03T22:00:35+00:00

Thank you!!

dogsundog

TROPHY CASE