One of the big pleasures of dressing is that if you want, you can tell stories, convey moods, create characters. When I talk about dressing like a character, I don’t mean trying to look like a specific person, a protagonist in a movie or a book. I mean a concept in your mind – although certainly influenced by real people, films, music and literature – that you execute through your sartorial and beauty choices. My Sicilian Mafia Widow at a Funeral look is not a direct copy of anyone and surely has only the most tenuous link to how the widows in question actually dress.

I obviously disagree with people who think it’s somehow sad or pathetic to channel a character via your look. It’s not like I actually think I’m a decadent fin de siècle aristocrat, a bored movie star or a seventies spy. I also don’t want to be, I just find it fun to play with these visual codes. I’m not taking on someone else’s identity, because I’m a sad person who doesn’t know who she is. It just so happens that part of MY identity is to be creative with clothes.

This kind of dressing isn’t always easy, though. It can come off too costume-y (nothing wrong with wearing a costume, but it’s not what we are after in this case) or too pretentious (again, pretentious can be fine, but you don’t want to give off the wrong vibe). How to make it easier, then? There is no advice that will guarantee success, but I’ve got some thoughts.

1. Be yourself. This seems like nonsensical advice in this context, as the idea quite literally is to be someone else, but hear me out. I think the stronger your affinity with a visual style or concept, the easier it is to wear with conviction. I am known for my rather strong looks, so by now I wouldn’t be surprised if I wore a golden cape of feathers to work and no-one would bat an eyelid. If you usually adhere to Scandi Architect Minimalism, turning into a Rococo Lolita can be rather disruptive*. But if you wear black jeans and smoky eyes often anyway, dialling it up for a proper I’m With the Band look shouldn’t be difficult.

2.F*** authenticity. Dressing as a character is not about being 100% true to a time period or style, it’s about creating a mood and conveying a sense of something. Which means that being too accurate, down to the small details can actually be counter-productive. Leave that for theme parties (which I love, but they are a different genre) and aim for the overall effect instead. If you want to feel like you are going to a Gatsby party, you don’t need to do fringing, long chains of pearls, finger waves, a dropped waist AND a feather boa all at the same time. Maybe a silver slip dress and a tiny dark lip instead? Whatever the visual idea, it should be filtered through you, to be your unique take on it. In fact, I find that the more successful looks in this category tend to have less obvious inspirations and more complex backstories.

3. Own it. As is always the case, you should be comfortable in what you’re wearing. But I think it’s especially true when you are wearing things that make a statement or are unusual for you. If you feel slightly unhappy with the cut of your black relaxed-fit trousers that you have combined with a very classic black knit, well, no-one is probably going to notice. If you feel uneasy in your Sex Goddess in Riviera or Sparkle-Loving Science Nerd get-up, however, there is little chance that people are not going to pay attention to you. If it’s something that needs to be ‘pulled off’, you need to feel like you are succeeding. I do not mean to discourage you from wearing something special, but I do want you to feel amazing and confident. If you are not sure, maybe take some more time to style the outfit until it feels just right. Or wear it at home to try it out and get used to it.

What I like about dressing as a character is that it doesn’t need to be high voltage: to a certain extent, we are doing it all the time. Dressing for work like a badass boss lady who has a morning routine so disciplined it makes grown men weep. Having a coffee on Saturday looking like a VERY CREATIVE PERSON who does not care how she looks (and is possibly a bit French). Putting on a tweed jacket and leather boots for a walk, even though one doesn’t necessarily own any land in the English countryside. Visiting the mall in high-wasted jeans and ugly trainers, like, you know, a young person.

Ballerina off duty. Modern witch. Librarian on safari. Arrogant art student. Videogame dandy. A person with a perfect capsule wardrobe full of beige. Punk mermaid. Eighties dad. Queen of the Universe. It’s all good.

Do you have a character you like to channel? Or one you would like to, but don’t quite dare?

*I’m very much in favour of minimalists turning to rococo (and the other way around), at least occasionally. It’s just not necessarily easy. But we all have different facets that we can amplify and have fun with.