Taste = 95% rejection + 5% selection

Taste = 95% rejection + 5% selection

Let me explain. As I scroll through a brand’s website, my eyes quickly scan every product until I find ‘the one’ (or two, or ten). Reject, reject, reject, reject, ooh cute, reject, reject… The art of rejection is where taste is born.

Curation. Discernment. Editing.

They all require saying no. The art of rejection is no easy skill to develop. It requires defining your values and making constant tradeoffs. No two tastes are created equal. Taste is based on an individual’s value system, identity, and lived experience. Discovery of yourself and what you like, but more importantly, discovery of what you don’t like, is how you come upon taste.

Less is more when it comes to taste, but then again, sometimes more is more, too. It’s less about the look of the final product and more about the process of getting there. Taste requires rejection, and rejection requires tradeoffs. Making tradeoffs requires knowing what you value. With fashion, I choose fit over color because I’m tall and draping matters to me. I choose uniqueness over ubiquity because I believe it makes my outfits more interesting. With furnishing, I tend to prefer something comfortable over sculptural because I want my family and friends to feel comfortable too. Defining my priorities allows me to say no to pieces that don’t fit within my value system, and thus my style.

However, establishing my value system does not mean that I always stay within it. I experiment with items that exist outside of my historical style so as not to limit myself. Taste does not equal rigidity. Don’t think that once you find something that works you mustn’t leave it. Leave for a while, you can always come back. Taking risks earns you confidence and a greater ability to say no more.

Endless optionality does not beget taste, decisions do. You say no to things because in doing so, you show who you are and what you care about. If anyone reading this finds they happily say “yes” to everything, please push back. I’d argue that overtime, overabundance creates fatigue, and fatigue breeds inaction. We cannot be stagnant in our discovery of taste, we must act – first messily, uncertainly and over time, decisively.

So,

Taste = 95% no + 5% yes

Everyone has different value systems, so taste is about determining yours through, all together now: SAYING NO.

As I thought about writing this piece, I bounced my idea off several friends: taste = rejection > selection. I usually got a “huh” or a “mmmm” as I watched their eyes widen with understanding. While this equation conceptually resonates with people, a common follow-up surfaced: how do you know when to say no? How do you arrive at the knowledge of confident rejection? Well, it’s innate – you’re simply born with it.

I jest. Pull up photos of me between the ages 10 to 20, and you will agree that taste and style are rather recent phenomena in my life. People hate to hear this because we’re a society of over-optimizers, but more often than not, taste requires time. A decade of experimentation for myself. Risks, rewards, highs, lows, a dash of embarrassment, and a healthy dose of increasing confidence as time goes on. In the search for taste, most go through a journey of imitation and external validation on their way to the holy grail that is internal clarity. Without pinpointing exactly when or precisely how, one day you will feel certain about what does not work for you.

In this age of AI, I yearn for less. Less options. Less generation. Less. I urge everyone to not fall in the trap of endlessly asking for more. AI tools can give you rug options forever until you tell it to stop. In a world of thousands of products, thousands of prompts, and infinite information, at some point we need the confidence to decide, lest we lose the plot.

What did you say no to this week? What does that reveal about you and your taste?

I’m Cameryn, co-founder of Alterna Studios. Paola and I created Alterna Studios because we believe that people thrive in spaces that feel good – sometimes this means a beautiful space, other times a cozy space, often, it just means a space that feels like you.

We believe that taste lives in everyone – it’s personal. At Alterna, we tease out your unique taste by forcing you to make some damn decisions, with our guidance of course.

Moving apartments? Need a space refresh? Or simply don’t feel at home in your home? Try us out, comment below, or shoot us a message.

Join us in our mission to live a life of taste.

Thank you for reading!