Tom Ford’s Tom Style Commandments

Tom Ford shares his top 10 style commandments

Dress with mystery and don’t rule out black for a wedding: the designer known as the King of Sex, TOM FORD, shares 10 of his ultimate style rules via Net-a-Porter

Tom Ford Eyewear Spring/Summer 2011

1 DON’T LET FASHION DICTATE TO YOU

I always feel a little sad when I see a woman head-to-toe in a runway look. Women also change their hair a lot, but if it’s done in an insecure way, that makes me feel sad, too. You need to make what you are wearing your own.

Tom Ford Spring/Summer 2013

2 NEVER TRY TO BE OVERTLY SEXY

I’m more interested in a little bit of mystery. Maybe it’s my age… Or maybe it’s because the women in my life are starting to wear stockings now because they think the skin on their legs isn’t as good as it used to be!

Tom Ford Fall 2013

3 FIND YOUR UNIFORM

If you have five outfits that you love wearing and always make you feel your best, which are comfortable and confident and just work, why do you need all the others? Yes, you need some variations on the theme – you don’t want to wear the exact same clothes every day – but I think it’s very important for everyone to figure out what their look is.

Tom Ford Spring 2010

4 REMEMBER: SEXINESS IS ABOUT CONFIDENCE

Sexiness comes from the way you move and the way you handle yourself. It doesn’t come from short skirts and low-cut tops.

Tom Ford Autumn/Winter 2014

5 REASSESS YOUR STYLE EVERY FIVE YEARS

Bodies change, looks change, everything changes, so every five years you need to take off all your clothes and reassess yourself. Try your clothes on and see what still works and what should be rethought – not in an emotional way but in a detached way. Also, do it on your own, because it’s not about what your friends or partner think, it’s about how you feel.

Tom Ford Spring/Summer 2014

6 MAKE AN EFFORT

No matter what your personal style, people have to look at you in the same way they have to look at a building, or a piece of art, or a table, or a new car. You become a part of the photograph, the landscape, someone’s vision.

Tom Ford Spring/Summer 2015

7 DON’T BELIEVE YOU NEED WARDROBE ESSENTIALS…

It isn’t about owning a classic white shirt or a black blazer – I know women who wear that and look like they’re doing a chic androgynous thing, and other women who look immediately like they work on Wall Street. It’s about your own taste; camouflaging the things you don’t like and accentuating the things you do.

Tom Ford Spring/Summer 2015

8 …BUT EVERYONE NEEDS AT LEAST ONE LBD

Because you never know when you’re going to have to go to a funeral, or a job interview, or a last-minute wedding (maybe you’re not supposed to wear black to weddings, but I would). It’s perfect for everything: you can wear it with sandals and it’s a summer look; with a heel, it’s an evening look. Long, short, fitted, loose, it’s such a key piece. It is always chic.

Tom Ford Spring/Summer 2012

9 DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF MAKEUP

By changing your makeup you can channel the 1920s, ’30s, ’40s, ’50s, ’60s… You can do everything with beauty because it’s the character; it’s who you are. I find that fascinating. There was a trend a couple of years ago that saw women dressed casually in jeans, T-shirts and sneakers with mega makeup – I loved it. It’s a great way to express yourself that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to have a lot of money.

Tom Ford Advertisement, Spring 2012

10 FOCUS ON ONE FEATURE

I don’t like to see a major lip and a major eye statement [at the same time]. I think if you’re going to accentuate your eyes, great, but then you need a neutral lip. If you’re going to do a bold red lip, it looks the best with almost nothing on your eyes, except maybe a little bit of mascara. I really like to see one makeup statement and just beautiful, glowing skin.