What I learned from “The Birth of Taste” and building my personal archive
1. Can you really say you like something?
“What do you like?”
It sounds like a simple question, but for a long time, I struggled to answer it.
Not because I didn’t have interests, but because I wasn’t sure if what I liked was truly mine.
Was it something I genuinely loved, or just something I picked up because everyone else seemed to love it?
That’s when I came across The Birth of Taste by Tom Vanderbilt.
This book didn’t just ask why we like certain things. It helped me realize how deeply our preferences are shaped by exposure, culture, and experience.
And most importantly, how we can take ownership of them.
2. Did I really choose the things I like?
One of the most striking lines in the book is this:
“We cannot like what we have not experienced.”
So many of our choices are influenced quietly and constantly.
What’s trending on Instagram, what the algorithm feeds us, what influencers recommend, or even what our friends admire.
I started to wonder
“Was I genuinely choosing these things?
Or was I being nudged, over and over again, to like what I was told I should?”
That question changed everything.
I decided to take back control and start building my own taste.
3. So I began creating a personal archive
I gave myself a small monthly budget to experiment.
I started testing my taste, on purpose.
- Trying different brands of candles
- Exploring T-shirt fabrics and cuts
- Comparing colors, textures, and even coffee beans
- Buying things not because I needed them, but to see how I felt about them
And then, I started documenting.
- What I liked and why
- What felt off
- Would I buy this again?
- In what context did it feel meaningful?
These notes weren’t just product reviews.
They became a map of my preferences
A reflection of who I was becoming.
4. Taste builds slowly, like identity
Vanderbilt writes
“Taste isn’t something you’re born with. It’s something you build.”
That line stuck with me.
People often talk about taste like it’s natural
“I’ve always liked this kind of thing.”
But most of what we like is a result of what we’ve been exposed to
And when we take the time to experiment, reflect, and archive
We stop being passive consumers
We become curators of ourselves.
5. From hobby to identity to future
My little archive isn’t just a fun side project
It’s also a quiet investment in my future.
I hope one day these records of what I loved
Turn into something more.
- A curated online shop
- A blog or newsletter
- A lifestyle brand built from real experience
It’s not about becoming famous or making money
It’s about imagining a life where what I love and what I do are the same thing
This archive is not just about taste
It’s about autonomy
About choosing how I want to live, now and later
6. Learning to like things more intentionally
I still feel like I am learning how to like things,
but now I ask myself better questions.
Does this feel like me?
Why did it catch my attention?
Would I actually miss it if it disappeared?
When I reflect like this, my taste becomes less about what is trendy or popular,
and more about what truly resonates with me.
It helps me move from simply following others to creating something of my own.
I stop being just a consumer and start becoming a creator.
7. You can start building your archive today
Here is a simple way to begin:
This week, try one new thing.
It could be something you buy, taste, wear, or use.
Then write down one sentence about how it made you feel.
It doesn’t have to be profound or perfect. Just honest.
That small act becomes your first archive entry.
From there, you build — one choice, one reflection at a time.
Because taste is not something we are born with.
It is something we consciously build.
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