I'd style it after tasting the finished product.
Good idea. I guess it won't turn out to be what I was thinking but at least it will be beer...
It's a conundrum. Seems like you have to start somewhere. But I think at the end, this is the way to go. One might start out thinking one style and discover it's perfect in another.
By the way, styling isn't just for competition in my opinion. Its kind of a common language so folks know what to expect. If a pub was selling a spectacular Helles under the name of Belgian blond, the customer might be disappointed. Beer is great, but everyone hates it.
The nice thing about homebrew is you don't have to order $15k worth of labels before you know what it is LOL