When I wrote Fashioning Astrology, it was with the premonition that our fashion choices aren’t just determined by the latest trends or even by what suits our physicality, but by our sense of what looks and feels authentic for us. People who strongly identify with their astrology do cultivate the outward traits of a particular sign – you barely have to squint to see that Cara Delevingne looks leonine.

And, more uncannily, even folks who don’t astro-identify can unconsciously project elements of their birth-chart, so an astro-sceptic friend of mine with Scorpio Rising stands out in maroon and other Plutonic autumnal shades.

I found the comments about my article really fascinating. Lots of people identified Sun Sign/ Rising Sign conflicts, and I particularly liked one Sagg/Cap combo’s idea of wearing luxe yoga pants as a means of appeasing the Sagg need for free movement alongside Cap’s professionalism.

Where a Sun/Rising conflict can’t be so naturally resolved, I’d advise going with whatever feels most authentic. Cap people, including my lovely and stylish boss, often complain that astro-style pages reduce them to a sartorial diet of suits and oatmeal tones. But that’s the least creative interpretation of Cap style – you can try anything that’s sleek and well-made. My boss’s pixie cut, peach silk blouses and immaculate iridescent-varnished nails show how Cap polish doesn’t equate to beige.

Staying with the less flashy zodiac signs, another Mystic subscriber who described herself as a non-Leo-rising ‘ordinary civilian trying to work out what looks and feels right in the morning’ wanted advice for how to project her best self. It’s true that Leonine/ Fire types possess a demeanor that demands attention. But for those with a water or earth-heavy introvert vibe subtlety has its power too. Rather than blinding spectators with bling, quiet poise draws the eye in and lets it linger.

My favorite classic style icons burn with a quieter flame: just think of Audrey Hepburn (Taurus Sun/Aqua Rising) in Sabrina (1954), where dressed in white Givenchy with only her Pan-like eyebrows as a tiara, she manages to make every other woman at the ball look like a butter-cream tart.

Finally, as I wrote in my earlier article, fashion, like the planetary and stellar movements, is mutable. While I’m not an astrologer I’ve wondered if the Sun or other planets going into particular signs accentuates a certain part of your chart and makes you project those qualities, even at the level of your appearance. Being heavily air and water, I feel a Gemini sun or a Cancer moon acutely and on some level it does influence how I dress.

Every year the Gemini Sun makes me feel zippy and hyperactive and I can’t be bothered with anything complicated, dull or heavy. But a Cancer moon complements my watery aspect and calls for silver jewellery, a little lace and an iridescent colour palette. I think that attuning your dress to celestial movements is a wonderful way to stay fresh: after-all, you’re not equally one sign all year round.

 Katerina Pantelides is a dress historian and writer living in London. A Libra with Neptune rising, she is interested in the relationship between fashion, beauty and the occult.

If you have any fashion dilemmas that you would like to be answered on the blog by our Libra Dress Historian (yes she is expert on men too), please send them to mystic@mysticmedusa.com

Image: Raymond Meier

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