The Proust Questionnaire, but for Personal Style
An awful lot of questions to inspire your outfits this week.
Contrary to popular belief, the Proust Questionnaire was not invented by Marcel Proust. It began as a parlour game, and now lives on in our current memory as the last page of Vanity Fair. The Questionnaire has 35 questions, and Proust believed the answers revealed a person’s true nature. Could they reveal our true style, too?
This week, I’ve adapted the Proust Questionnaire to focus on personal style. Will these questions reveal something about your style, or is it all just a game?
Take the quiz below, then I’ll meet you at the end for a few additional outfit prompts.
What do you consider your greatest achievement, in terms of personal style?
What is your idea of the perfect outfit?
How do you feel about getting dressed everyday?
What is your favorite type of event to dress for?
What is your most treasured possession?
Have you kept any clothing for purely sentimental reasons?
What is your style’s most marked characteristic?
Do you remember an outfit that made you happier?
What item or style are you curious about, but scared to leave the house wearing?
Within your wardrobe, what piece was your greatest extravagance? How do you feel about that item now?
Which living person’s style do you most despise?
What is your greatest style regret?
Which aesthetic would you like to master?
Where would you like to live? Is your style reflective of this preference?
When it comes to clothing, what do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
What is a style, shape, or item you most like from traditional menswear?
What is a style, shape, or item you most like from traditional womenswear?
What is something that you wear, but deplore?
What is something that others wear, that you deplore?
Do you dress like your friends?
Who is your favorite hero of fashion?
Who is your favorite hero of fashion within your own life? (Someone that you know personally)
Which living person’s style do you most admire?
What do you consider the most overrated fashion virtue or rule?
Do you lie about what you’re wearing? On what occasions?
Which pieces do you most overuse?
If you could change only one thing about your style, what would it be?
What are your favorite brands?
If you could swap closets with anyone, from any time period, who would you choose?
What is your motto for getting dressed? Do you adhere to the three-word method, or any other methods?
Can we turn some of these answers into outfits? Perhaps, you can wear an outfit that:
is inspired by your favorite hero fashion
breaks your most overrated fashion virtue or rule
does not include your most overused pieces
reflects the style of where you would like to live
makes you happier!
How did you feel about answering the questionnaire? What question was your favorite? What question did you hate? Were there any questions you left unanswered? Did any of your answers surprise you? Has your true style been revealed?
I will be sharing some of my answers throughout the week, both on Substack Notes and Instagram and Tiktok. I hope you will share yours, too!
(If you’re curious about the original questionnaire, read it here, or you can or watch Dan Levy answer the questions below.)
Wishing you a stylish week!
Your friend,
Rebecca
Thank you for this!