Sydney is a city of many people who are in fashion, but few in style. The difference between the two words has been debated without an established answer. A few ideas I've picked up on this debate:
Style, to me, is associated with simplicity, authenticity, consitency, established norms of lifestyle (attire included). Most of all, it's sensible and appropriate. As I grow older, I realize some of my fashion mistakes (overalls, punk hair, tank tops, capris) were a reflection of rebellion. An expected phase of a teenager's wardrobe. Over time, you start to understand your body type and the clothes/fabrics that present you in the best light. Again, presenting an image that either conveys who you are or hides the real you.
I am willing to try new trends and incorporate changes in my wardrobe. But, I keep returning to the clothes that fit well and make me feel comfortable. When we place more importance on clothes than is due, these debates on style and fashion get out of hand. The best way for me to sum it up is - style is a fine balance of personal preference, established norms, comfort, slightly edgy/quirky, uniqueness, and what's appropriate.
Stylish people establish fashions. The rest follow.
- Style is an extension of you. It includes personality, attitude, lifestyle. It's not material. The word is attached to clothing, but style is much more than a wardrobe. It's the choices you make in the trends you choose and how you wear them. Style, like everything important in life, boils down to choice. The expressions you choose to convey something about you. Your style is either saying something about you or hiding something that you're not willing to reveal about your personality. People hide behind a 'style,' or flaunt it. Style follows an organic growth pattern and matures over time, it stays true to the core of you but learns different forms as it grows into a fuller expression of you.
- Fashion: A famous designer said, "Fashion is a social agreement. The result of a consensus of a large group of people." Perhaps that's how it started initially. I wonder about skinny jeans, or leggings. Someone was blessed with the audacity to flaunt these new trends, which were met with ridicule and then embraced as the scions of contemporary style. Before long, advertisers and fashion merchants caught on to consumer demand and propogated the skinny look. The start of a new trend - a consensus of a large group of people that skinny is cool. The birth of another fashion trend.
Style, to me, is associated with simplicity, authenticity, consitency, established norms of lifestyle (attire included). Most of all, it's sensible and appropriate. As I grow older, I realize some of my fashion mistakes (overalls, punk hair, tank tops, capris) were a reflection of rebellion. An expected phase of a teenager's wardrobe. Over time, you start to understand your body type and the clothes/fabrics that present you in the best light. Again, presenting an image that either conveys who you are or hides the real you.
I am willing to try new trends and incorporate changes in my wardrobe. But, I keep returning to the clothes that fit well and make me feel comfortable. When we place more importance on clothes than is due, these debates on style and fashion get out of hand. The best way for me to sum it up is - style is a fine balance of personal preference, established norms, comfort, slightly edgy/quirky, uniqueness, and what's appropriate.
Stylish people establish fashions. The rest follow.