Texture, This Detail Might Be Your Missing Style Link 

I’m Gabriella Arruda, the host of the Style POV podcast, here to explore the often-overlooked role of texture in personal style. While many of us focus on color use in style, I emphasize that texture is equally crucial. I discuss the duality of texture and color, explaining how our early tactile experiences shape our perception of fabrics

. I categorize fabrics into woven, non-woven, and non-fabric textures, providing clear examples of each. Additionally, I guide listeners in identifying their natural textures in their skin and hair, categorizing them into smooth, textured, or a combination. I then connect these textures to suitable fabric choices, using celebrity examples like Elle Fanning, Zendaya, and Cher to illustrate my points. Ultimately, I advise listeners to consider texture when selecting fabrics to achieve a cohesive and balanced look.

Listen to it:

 I don’t get it. I’m wearing my wow colors, but it still feels off. Is it my essence? Was my analysis wrong? Is it a body shape thing? I just need to figure this out. Hi, I’m Gabriella Arruda, your host for the Style POV podcast, and I’m here to help you learn to trust your fashion instincts, hone your authentic style POV, and find strength through style.

Okay, Texture. I feel like it’s Color Analysis’s little sister who doesn’t quite get the credit she deserves, and understands that she might have to play the role of the supporting actress in your style. But I want to change that. Let’s allow Texture to be the leading lady, at least for this episode, and maybe even in your style toolbox.

Because boy can she be impactful.

Understanding Texture and Its Impact

Today, we are going to be discussing the importance of texture, which is part of your details style pillar. You can get the right style lines in your best colors, but if the fabric texture is wildly off, you will still be left staring at the mirror trying to figure out what went wrong, or why does this have a contrasting effect?

Now, I think texture, just like with a lot of the yin-yang style systems, is more than just the clothes. We want to look at the innate texture of our appearance and see the connections between ourselves and the fabrics we wear. Some style systems have some general recommended fabrics or textures, but they don’t necessarily dig into the whys behind them.

And you know I love a good exploration into the why. So if you’ve ever wondered why certain fabrics bring you to life and look like a second skin, and others just seem to fall flat, This should help explain that. Let’s first start with the duality of texture and color, because they do go hand in hand.

Exploring the Duality of Texture and Color

Texture is often considered the other side of color. From the moment we’re born, we begin to understand the world through touch. Our newborn vision is quite limited, legally blind even, which means we rely heavily on our sense of touch.

This earlier reliance on texture creates a foundation for our tactile memory. A powerful sense that allows us to crawl how something feels just by looking at it. Imagine a favorite childhood blanket or a beloved teddy bear. The mere sight of these objects can bring back memories of their warmth and softness.

As we grow, our tactile memory helps us differentiate between textures just by sight. We can tell if a surface is shiny or matte, smooth or rough. Soft or hard, simply by looking at it. Similarly, you may have determined your seasonal color palette and found certain textures bring you to life more than others.

As a bright spring, trying a watermelon pink satin dress versus a watermelon linen dress is night and day. The shine works for me, but is the linen bad? No, it’s just not as good as the satin. Certainly, certain fabrics and textures are going to soften or increase the pigment of a color. A knit texture with lots of chunky patterns is going to create a softer appearance of the color than the same color in a high-shine satin.

You are adding more visual planes for your eye to take in, and we see more shapes, shadows, and highlights in the realm of fashion, texture plays a crucial role. They determine the feel of a color on the surface. For instance, a glass vase or a polished wood table reflects light, creating a shiny texture, while a book cover or wicker basket absorbs light, giving it a matte appearance. Some textures can even do both, like the transparent skin of an orange wedge, which both reflects and lets light through. Let’s talk about how textures can be translated into fabrics. Consider the shiny red of an apple transformed into a red taffeta, or the grainy feel of sand into beige raw silk.

Even the velvety smoothness of a peach can inspire the creation of a peach velveteen fabric. These translations are possible because of the intricate relationship between color and texture.

Categories of Fabrics and Textures

Let’s talk about the importance of choosing textures. Now, you might be understanding the broad theory of what I’m discussing, texture impacts, color, style, and overall vibe. Got it. But how do I figure out what textures are right? Let’s first start by understanding the general texture options in fabrics.

A broad strokes overview. And then we will get into determining your own textural qualities I like to think of it as three main categories. Now, anyone who sews or is a fabric nerd might get a little perkily at that generalization, but we want to simplify it so that we understand the basic categories.

There are woven fabrics, nonwoven fabrics, and nonfabric textures. Woven fabrics, include plain weaves, twill, satin, jacquard, loop pile, cut pile, and double weaves. Sorry, a little technical. Woven fabrics are generally stable and used for most clothing, except for items like sweaters, which are knitted.

Woven fabrics do not have any stretch to them. They require seaming and tailoring to create their structure. Now, I don’t want this to be a lesson on spotting different weaves because that sounds like it might be a little too advanced. But woven fabrics include things like cotton, denim, gabardines, satins, charmeuse, sateens, brocades, damasks, terrycloth, velvet, corduroy, and double faced fabrics.

So it’s a potentially huge category. Next, we have our nonwoven fabrics, and here we will break them into two general categories. We have our knits and we have our delicate fabrics. Knits are flexible and wrinkle-resistant. They’re used for sweaters, socks, accessories, and dresses.

They are very common in today’s fashion industry because of their stretch options and lack of tailoring. Stretch jersey fabrics and jerseys that you find in bodycon dresses or t-shirts would fit into this category. Similarly, you will find stretch jerseys sweater knits, like your favorite pullovers, cardigans, or sweater dresses, and you may even find rib knits or lace knits as well.

If the piece does not have a lot of seams in it, and it can contour to your body, it is most likely a knit. Now we have our delicate fabrics. These include lace, nettings, crochet, or tulle. Why do I call them delicate fabrics? Because as a trim or detail, they are able to be applied for many aesthetics, but on their own, they don’t hold a lot of structure and they have A delicate or fragile appearance.

A lace dress with no underlying structure will appear much softer than the same dress in a medium weight satin. And the final category is our non fabric textures. These have a tactile quality above all else, and they include things like leather, fur, or suede. They are not created on a loom or knitted together.

This category can also include textural embellishments that are not fabric based as well, including things like metal details, clasp, buttons, shells, stones, pearls, and any other ornamentation that basically exists in the world already. Understanding these categories helps us make informed decisions about the fabrics and textures we wear.

Identifying Your Natural Textures

Now, let’s dive into the crucial aspect of personal style, understanding your natural textures and how they relate to the fabrics you choose to wear. music ends Let’s start by identifying natural textures. To start, it’s essential to identify the textural qualities of your skin and hair. These are the two things we’re going to focus on.

These qualities can generally be classified into three main categories. Smooth, textured, or patterned, or a combination of both. And I want to be very, very clear. This has nothing to do with race or ethnicity. We are looking at the overall impact of your features, their natural lines, If you think of your face like a drawing, what are the features being drawn with? How are the colors being applied?

Is it a fine pencil drawing with luminous blended skin tones from pastels? Or is it a heavy charcoal pencil with large brush strokes? So we have smooth, textured, or a combination of smooth and textured. You may have different answers for your hair and skin. We will get into that. But first, generally, we have plain smoothness.

This skin will appear fairly flawless and uniform in tone. There’s not a lot of visible pores. It appears very luminous. For hair, it will be one flat color.

There will be a smooth or polished texture to it. It can be straight or curly, but there is a very defined line on the outside of it. Next, we have visually textured. For skin, it looks smooth, but may have some pattern texture, either in the form of freckles or natural pigmentations or contouring. For hair, we have some variation here, like natural highlights or salt and pepper coloring, but generally the hair is fairly straight and somewhat smooth.

In terms of outline, not necessarily pattern. Next, we have combination of smooth and textured. For skin, this often includes some smooth portions and other areas where wrinkles, freckles, or pores are more evident. There’s a variation between the elements of the skin. For hair, this would be a combination of wavy hair and smooth.

You can also have purely textured hair with defined curls or kinky curls in this section. Okay, so you probably have some idea where you fall along this spectrum. And if you need a visual, check the show notes. I have a little chart and some visual examples there. Now here’s where we are going to dig further and really nerd out.

Textural Weight

Textural weight. We know some textures feel much more visually heavy than others. You compare a light organza to a heavy leather and it’s clear one is floaty and the other is stable and heavy. Most of us will find medium weight fabrics doable. They are like the middle of the scale, and can work for people with any of the previous texture combinations.

But let’s get a general breakdown of textural weight. There are lightweight, medium weight, and heavy weight, both for fabric and features

Lightweight features will often have fine hair, shorter hair length sometimes, less volume to their hair, and have a thin or airy feel to their hair texture. Their skin will have a translucent feel to them. A good example of this would be L fanning. Medium-weight textures will tend to have medium thickness in hair.

Shoulder to chin-length hair, sometimes, and a moderate amount of natural volume. There will be some natural space between their hairs that gives them some medium density. Like if they pulled their hair back in a ponytail, it wouldn’t look like it’s being pulled down and would have a nice full shape to it.

Their skin quality would be more opaque, which is where most of us will fall. Emma Stone would be an example of this category.

And finally, we have heavyweight textures.

The hair will have a thicker quality and sometimes a coarser texture. It is often longer, below the shoulder, and has a thick density.

These are the ponytails that look heavy no matter what they do and tend to droop from the weight. They can have more voluminous hair because of the amount of hair. The skin often has more contrast between the features and a resilient quality to it. Someone like Viola Davis or Sofia Vergara has heavyweight visual texture.

Now, you can also have combinations, so you will want to look at your hair and skin and evaluate it as all lightweight. all medium weight, all heavyweight, combo light and medium, combo medium and heavy.

For me, I have lightweight skin and medium-weight hair. Scarlett Johansson would also have this combination.

Lightweight skin and medium hair. Whereas someone like Priyanka Chopra has medium weight skin and heavy-weight hair.

Quick disclaimer, again, this has absolutely nothing to do with race or ethnicity. This has to do with visual prominence. and textural qualities. Rihanna is someone with lightweight texture combinations, so please don’t overcomplicate it or generalize.

Look at what textures naturally fit with your face. If you need more guidance, see the show notes for some visuals. And a quick note would be to don’t overly focus on the length of your hair, because these would just be some baseline ideas, and their hair length fairly easily.

Okay, a lot of information. Let’s move on to the important stuff. So how does all this information actually help you with your style goals? Let’s talk about practical application.

Practical Application of Textures in Fashion

Lightweight fabrics, obviously suitable for those with lightweight textures in their hair and skin. These fabrics can be sheer or opaque or have a airy quality to them.

But, they are sometimes less practical for everyday use. Medium weight fabrics. These are the most versatile and practical, suitable for a wide range of clothing purposes, and they can be dressed up or down. A lot of us will find medium weight fabrics to be our home. Heavy weight fabrics. Generally, even if you have heavy weight features, you will not use all heavy weight fabrics.

You will use these in combination with lighter fabrics to avoid overwhelming your look. And they’re often used in outerwear or for structured pieces. And Once you’ve identified your natural textures, you can better choose fabrics that complement or contrast with them, creating the visual effects you desire.

If you have smooth skin and hair, choose smooth fabrics like silk, satin, or finely woven cotton. These fabrics mirror the sleekness of your skin and hair, creating a harmonious look. If you have textured skin and hair, opt for textured fabrics like knits, tweeds, or embroidered materials. These will echo the natural texture of your skin and hair, providing a cohesive look.

If you want to contrast your textures, you Let’s say you have smooth skin and hair. Introduce contrast by wearing textured fabrics. This could be a woolen sweater, a lace dress, or a jacquard jacket. The interplay between smooth and textured surfaces can add depth and interest to your outfit.

If you have textured skin and hair, smooth fabrics can offer striking contrast, highlighting your natural textures. For example, a silk blouse or satin skirt can emphasize the curliness of your hair or the freckles on your skin, Creating an interest relationship between the two.

Here are some practical tips to help you make the best choices. Combination textures. If you have a mix of smooth and textured qualities, experiment with fabrics that also combine these characteristics. Look for garments with smooth sections and textured details, like a satin dress body with lace sleeves. Weight and opacity. Consider the weight and opacity of fabrics.

Lightweight translucent fabrics like chiffon can suit those with translucent skin, while medium weight fabrics are versatile and practical for most people. If you have heavy weight features, then you may find adding heavy and light textures to be the most effective because it creates a nice balance.

Layering and volume. Use layering to create balanced textures. Layering smooth fabrics over textured ones or vice versa can create a visually appealing look that feels balanced. Understanding your natural textures and how they interact with different fabric allows you to craft a wardrobe that not only looks great but feels comfortable and true to your personal style.

A Few Celebrity Examples

Let’s look at a few celebrity examples. We have someone like Elle Fanning. Elle has fine hair, soft texture, and an airy quality to both her hair and her skin. Her fair, translucent complexion enhances the lightweight textures and is overwhelmed by overly natural textures.

She often wears delicate fabrics like chiffon and silks and pastel shades Which complement her lightweight textures. She opts for textures that are not completely high shine, but not completely matte either. Often being in the moderate to lightweight visual texture world. Like soft silks, chiffons, and airy woven fabrics.

When she opts for details that go against her lightweight lines, it creates a visual focus point and sometimes tips into being very visually distracting. She looks stunning in light, soft, shiny, sheer textures on the red carpet. But if we see her in heavy knit, It’s heavy wovens and non woven textures like fur trim.

It feels heavy and she fades into the background.

Now let’s look at someone like Zendaya. She has medium-thickness, shoulder-length hairstyles with some natural volume. For her skin, she has an opaque complexion, which is medium weight. She has combination textures. Her skin is smooth. Her hair has natural waves and volume.

Clothing choices, she often wears a wide variety of weights, her clothing that are represented in her diverse textures. Lots of combinations of fabric weights and textures, which really harmonize with her, like a smooth texture silk blouse with a highly textured skirt, but both being in a similar value scale and neither texture is extreme.

Now compare her to someone like Cher, who has heavyweight textural qualities and weights. Cher is known for her long, thick, straight hair, which is a key characteristic of heavyweight textures. Her hair often has a dense, full appearance that holds shape well and styles well, which we can see when she curls it or does a dramatic performance hair.

Cher’s skin has a resilient and opaque quality to it. It feels heavier than someone like Zendaya or Elle. She uses both harmony and contrast in her styling textures. Sometimes she wears heavy brocades or satins that compliment and stand up to her visual appearance.

Other times she creates visual contrast by opting for barely there slinky fabrics that feel smooth and lighter. It allows her face to have dominance and the clothing creates a different counterpoint. And sometimes she combines both of them, opting for a slinky smooth fabric with textural rhinestones.

This application is highly customizable and I don’t want you to start obsessing over each potential iteration, but rather just to start to take note of your natural textural qualities what fabrics you typically use.

How does this correlate to other style systems?

Now, would there be any Kibbe or Kitchener or even seasonal color analysis?

I can’t speak for the creators of those systems. I would assume that this is something they innately take into consideration when giving recommendations. But I would not recommend this as a determining factor for you exploring an image identity or essence blend, as I don’t think they address it as one and I would not want you to narrowly define this as a sole determinant for an outcome.

Now seasonal color does often add in some textural recommendations, and you may find that to explain part of your style puzzle. But again, this is not a firm determination. For instance, as a bright spring, I do do well with light to medium woven fabrics and higher shine. I can handle moderate non wovens and knits, which would roughly translate with my lightweight skin texture and medium to heavyweight hair, and my combination smooth textured skin and hair.

So, where do you go from here? Loosely categorize yourself for both texture and weight. Examine your favorite outfits. and determine if those fabrics had the same textures or combinations of textures. And don’t forget that texture is only one part of the puzzle. Revisit the last episode all about your color style pillar to keep narrowing down your style toolbox.

I hope this has been illuminating, be sure to follow the Style Podcast because we will have a very special guest coming next week.

Until next time.