Monday, July 18, 2011

What is style?

Happy Monday, fabulous fashionistas! Today I wanted to talk about a subject near and dear to my heart - no, not Pedro Garcia shoes. Well, in a way.  Have you ever wondered...

Audrey Hepburn had style
What on earth IS "style?" Why do some people look just right when others just look wrong? It took me a long time to distinguish between terms, and it's not just because the English language has twenty five different words that are supposed to mean style. We talk about fashion, trends, looks, chic, in style, appearance, verve, panache...they all have to do with clothes and the way people wear them. Style is more than that. Take some celebrities we're all familiar with: Nancy Reagan was always chic, but Jackie Kennedy had style. Cher has panache, but Audrey Hepburn had style. Today Rachel Zoe is always trendy but Kate Hudson has style. So what the heck does the word mean?????

Style is intensely personal. If you put two bored, haughty models in the same outfit in the same room, other than giving everybody within breathing distance a complex, they would look the same. Now put that ensemble on Jennifer Aniston, for example, and it would look totally different. Why? Because La Aniston has style. She knows what looks good on her body, with her face and her coloring. She is comfortable with her body and in her own skin. She may not wear the same outfit twice but she always looks like Jennifer, because she uses clothes to enhance HER, instead of being a mannequin for the clothes. Get the difference?
"trends are "today," style is "forever!"
Jennifer Aniston knows what
looks good on her body 
Style is about knowing yourself and radiating that knowledge through what you wear and how you present yourself. It is all about authenticity. It means picking clothes and accessories that let the inner "you" shine through. Style expresses today's mood and desire to look and feel great without masking the essential "you." It all boils down to being comfortable enough to present "you" to the world, no matter what you're wearing.

Why do you care what the word means? That's an easy one. It's so that you will understand that fashion and trends exist ONLY TO BE ADAPTED TO YOU. It doesn't matter if gladiator sandals are the hottest thing since pockets on underwear! If you don't look or feel good in them, they will never express your personal style. Wear something that does! If you love the look of flirty floral dresses but on you they look like the white frilly paper on the end of a lamb chop bone, don't buy them. No matter how much you adore a trend, if it doesn't express "you" it's wrong. Adapt a trend to suit you, NEVER force yourself to adapt to a trend. Because, never forget - trends are "today," style is "forever!"

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