When it comes to getting advice, American socialite Paris Hilton is probably the last person one would turn to for sound guidance.

But sometimes the smallest pieces of wisdom can come from the most unexpected places. Ms Hilton once said when it comes to fashion her only rules are “don’t be boring and dress cute wherever you go”. “Life is too short to blend in,” she added.

The Royal Gazette’s Lifestyle section took to the streets in the City of Hamilton this week, with the goal of finding out what local fashionstas and fashionisters considered their #1 style rule to be.

Some said their style mantra was to wear something simple and comfortable — others maintained it was best to find unique pieces that you love. For Ricca Butterfield, age 22, her top rule when it comes to style is to never mix and match.

“It’s not cute if you think a pink and yellow sock go together,” she said. “I try and stick with dark colours because they go with everything.”

Ms Butterfield likes wearing punk or ‘rock’n’roll’ inspired pieces and said she finds most of her inspiration from magazines.

“I usually start from the bottom and work my way up,” she explained. “I find my shoes, then the pants and the top. I usually dress based on how I feel that day.

“I might go with a particular colour, but mostly I like to wear dark colours because they have a gothic look to them sometimes.”

Barista Alex Nanud couldn’t easily describe his style when asked.

“It’s a hard question,” he said, “but I guess it’s contemporary, and just different and unique.”

The 23-year-old sometimes finds fashion inspiration in magazines like GQ, but also said he might indulge in checking out what’s going on at Fashion Week from time to time.

His golden rule when it comes to style is to always rock skinny jeans and pants.

“That’s my number one rule, because I think they are more flattering on me and anyone who has long legs can, and should be able to, pull them off,” Mr Nanud said.

A fashionable passer-by named Heather said her best rule when it comes to style is only get pieces you adore.

“Love what you buy and don’t go for volume,” she said. “Because I think if you are really comfortable with the pieces you are buying you will get a lot of wear out of them and won’t make as many mistakes and buy things you don’t end up using.”

For the most part she considers her style to be classic, but she also tries to incorporate basic pieces in a bold colour to add a little twist.

“Mostly I try to keep it pretty simple. I sometimes go online and look at Pinterest for inspiration and have certain people who I like to follow,” she said.