YouLookFab Forum » Topic: Do you have style?

YouLookFab Forum » Topic: Do you have style? https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Sun, 03 May 2026 09:35:34 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 <![CDATA[Search]]> q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php rachylou on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style/page/2#post-1419777 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 17:47:34 +0000 rachylou 1419777@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Una, that is sooooo fabulous you had Big Eyes in your nursery! p.s. Designers dress *terrible*... hehe p.p.s. But there is such a thing as going too far afield. Howard Stern - all that leather and long hair. Anybody ever see his house, *like,* in Architectural Digest? Full of chintz! Too too disturbing. Angie on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style/page/2#post-1419708 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 15:37:24 +0000 Angie 1419708@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I'm nodding along with Shevia, again. Look at what designers wear to their shows on my pinboard. Contradiction is a style:  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.pinterest.com/youlookfab/what-designers-wear/">http://www.pinterest.com/youlo.....ners-wear/</a> Dimity on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style/page/2#post-1419596 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 10:09:23 +0000 Dimity 1419596@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Accidental Icon says 'style is really about the construction of a self. You are telling a story about yourself through the clothes, the haircut, the accessories that you wear, the objects you surround yourself with, the places you go to, the time you live in and the geography of where you live.' If this is true, then we all have style. It just mightn't be 'good', whatever that means. The devil is in the definitions. qfbrenda on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style/page/2#post-1419552 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 06:11:43 +0000 qfbrenda 1419552@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ "I do think you can cultivate the ability of having style, but it may never be the same as someone who has that skill innately. They have a true gift. They are our icons and inspiration." I definitely agree with that above quote. I know what I like when I see it, but I do not have the gift to come up with designs on my own. I'm glad others have that gift to inspire the rest of us. That said, when I was styling our new bathroom I found many comparisons between the choices I made in design and the clothes I choose to wear. Similar colors, simple lines, zero flowers, graphic patters and stripes, leaning towards masculine with with just enough feminine touches. I didn't expect it to line up with closet as much as it did. fern on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style/page/2#post-1419502 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 03:50:43 +0000 fern 1419502@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I agree with Elisabeth's instructor, but I didn't recognize it until recently. I work in architecture and in visual art and it has been a long cumulative  noticing my decisions over time that my own style has become clear to me. But most projects are collaborative, so there's always other influences, reflecting what Cocolion said above. Clothing is always influenced by the maker - I think "my style" would show through much more if I were making my own clothes (and patterns?), rather than choosing what to purchase. But it would take a lot of mastery of clothing design to get to a clear expression of style. Suz on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style/page/2#post-1419499 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 03:44:49 +0000 Suz 1419499@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ hahahah, Una -- very punny.....BTW, I also found your comment on another thread about being able to execute and judge at the same time a special quality of artists (those were not your exact words, but it was an idea that interested me. I do think it can be cultivated.)  Anyway.....my thought about this is....for artists, could it work the opposite way? I.e. could you deduce from the style of your art what your style (in a fashion sense) ought to be (if you want to stay consistent.)  Now, I am not sure that this is a worthy goal in the first place. But supposing it were, going backwards from my art, there are three qualities that many people remark on: Formal play and particularly a penchant for juxtaposition; clarity; honesty. (a problematic category, I know, but for the sake of argument we will let it stand.)  So, how would those translate into fashion? Juxtaposition I can see (but do I do it? I don't think as consistenly as I do in my art). But what would the others look like?  catgirl on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style/page/2#post-1419490 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 03:33:19 +0000 catgirl 1419490@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Shevia's comment reminded me of my own recent thread about how fashion designers are often dressed quite simply in black, while their creations are made for runway gawking.  I think the question as it relates to art is whether you can separate it from the artist.  Or put another way, is the artist more than the sum of her arts? Jaime on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style/page/2#post-1419486 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 03:26:29 +0000 Jaime 1419486@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Great discussion! How about, in the realm of fashion, designers that wear very simple clothes themselves? The problem I had with you instructor's view as presented is that it seems to be prescriptive - if your outer style does not match your artwork you are somehow inauthentic or don't really have style. Who is to say there is only one way a style must present itself and cannot contain contradiction? Denise's and Rachylou's comments about how current artists are more about branding than in the past is very relevant. Do the way the artists presents in the world have to seem authentic to the audience based on their preconceived ideas about their artistic styles? Shouldn't it be more about the integrated way the artist approaches the world, as Gaylene suggests? And who is to say how that will look? catgirl on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style#post-1419441 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 02:29:48 +0000 catgirl 1419441@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Rachy, we HAD THEM.  In our playroom.  The scrawny alley kitten and pathetic puppy who had walked miles in the snow.  Style?  Don't know, but certainly memorable! Michelle on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style#post-1419434 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 02:21:21 +0000 Michelle 1419434@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ This thread is a showcase for why I love YLF so much. Such intelligent, nuanced, civil discourse about something that goes far beyond what people associate with a "fashion site!" When I first saw Elisabeth's thread title, I instantly went to what I have always defined as style. Capital S Style, to me, is distinct from "a style". I have always thought of Style as synonymous with a cachet. An X-factor. A flare. A Je Ne C'est Quoi that makes someone distinctive in some way. This need not be fashion related to me, though I suppose it's often interpreted that way. When a literary or television character, for instance, executes some kind of move or plan that's typical of them, I find myself admiring their Style. So does everyone have Style in the sense that I've defined it? I'm really not sure. I don't believe that quality is universal, and I wouldn't say it's a personal trait of mine. But does everyone have "a style" of their own? Something that reflects their thoughts, preferences, perceptions and overall essence? Absolutely. At least I think so. Not much of an answer is it. :p As you were!  Your reply unfrumped on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style#post-1419408 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 01:31:39 +0000 unfrumped 1419408@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ What texstyle said. So, I can agree if what he means is that you should let your art be an expression of who you are. Sort of like advising beginning writers to write about things they know. But then, who would have written The Martian Chronicles..... Or, keeping in tune with what's going on in your life, and honing a style or point of view--that can be useful. Where I would get a bit lost or on guard is when it borders on someone else deciding where my boundaries are, maybe getting uncomfortable because I'm changing or mixing it up a bit, and deciding things for me, deciding what's in sync and what's off limits. Art critics can be insightful and identify discord or disparate things that just aren't working,  or they can be full of themselves. As usual, "it depends". Suz on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style#post-1419386 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 00:34:58 +0000 Suz 1419386@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I have nothing to add to this at the moment, but I find it a fascinating discussion and am particularly wowed by CocoLion and Rachy's comments. I hope to come back to this. At the moment I am trying to create a work of art!  Masterfully imitative or distinctively mine, I can't say yet.  K.M. on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style#post-1419385 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 00:34:38 +0000 K.M. 1419385@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ This is funny because in certain contexts the word "style" is not positive. In architecture, for example, it is--to some--considered something superfluous, purely about form in a superficial way. As opposed to meaning, function, social significance etc. Isn't there a saying about "all style and no substance"? So I like the way Rachylou put it, because the context changes everything. (And I'm laughing at her comment on hair stylists with bad hair!) Staysfit on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style#post-1419382 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 00:11:06 +0000 Staysfit 1419382@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ All so interesting. My DD is someone who I have often described to people as living art. She is in fact an art student, a painter (visual art) and she also does some conceptual art. I believe she has a unique style of relating to the world that is true to her very thoughtful observations of the world. Her style is consistent with the many activities she participates in and coincides with her strong convictions and ethics. The way she dresses clearly reflects her style and always has. Additionally, you can look at her, and then look at a group of paintings by several artists and you will know which belong to her. If there were a list of causes and you looked at a few pictures of her and saw her move, I think you would be able to pick which were the most meaningful causes to her. I always considered the type of style my DD has as very innate and not something cultivated, because it has always been present, even before she started painting. She has always been unique and creative. However, I understand the idea of developing and cultivating a unique artistic perspective and style. A successful artist wants their work to be recognized as theirs. They develop a particular style or theme that we know is uniquely theirs. Some mainstream example might be how we would all recognize a Van Gogh, or Monet. So we should also recognize an art students work, a DD Staysfit painting, as unique to her as well, and not belonging to some other painter. What an artist wears, may or may not be consistent with their artistic style or relevant to our recognition of their work as belonging to them. For example, if an artist's signature was to create collages using repurposed clothing, than purchasing new high end designer duds to wear every day might go against their artistic style. When talking about personality being reflected in ones clothing style, I think it is is really the same as with artists. Some have an innate ability, some cultivate, some are lemmings, and some just don't have it at all. One last thought. While my DD was home for the holidays, she asked me why I would ever bother looking on Pinterest, reading a fashion blog, or considering what anyone else thought regarding my clothing choices. I am a cultivator, or maybe a lemming? I use these resources for inspiration. It would never occur to my DD to use any of them. I do think you can cultivate the ability of having style, but it may never be the same as someone who has that skill innately. They have a true gift. They are our icons and inspiration. rachylou on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style#post-1419372 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 23:23:23 +0000 rachylou 1419372@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Omg. Those paintings are the freakiest. I only ever saw them all covered in dirt in grimy second hand shops, the sort where you have to worry about monsters living in the back room. Can you imagine getting one of those as a card? What does that say? "I'm going to lock you in the attic for all eternity! Happy Birthday!" catgirl on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style#post-1419333 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 21:59:31 +0000 catgirl 1419333@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Rachylou: two words - "Big Eyes".  rachylou on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style#post-1419332 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 21:58:07 +0000 rachylou 1419332@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Ok, so now I have a comment to make about artistic style. So Wyeth... there's always been some argument as to whether he's a fine artist or an illustrator. I think some of this has to do with his unmistakeable hand. It's not clear, for example, if he could disguise that. If he had the mastery to choose that imprint. Whereas, for example, many seem to agree that Picasso could actually paint a face and just chose instead a "brutal misogynistic form of expression" (ahahahaha! *intellectuals*). I agree that having this kind of imprint seems to be very important in today's art schools - and perhaps also in the art buying world (but honestly not as much as in art school). My fear, tho, is that the push for the imprint runs rough-shod over the development of mastery. People think they can paint when they can't, because they really can't make the brush do all the things it can do. Instead of having a style, they have a schtick. I also fear the notion of being an artist and having aesthetic opinions all over the place is also a potential disservice and distraction from developing mastery. Mediums make a difference. Pushing a brush is not at all the same as pushing a sofa. Now if you have mastery and want to make decisions using a philosophy... that can be done. Should it be done? Maybe, maybe not. I personally think you have need an aesthetic philosophy to do this... and that socio-politico-economic philosophies produce... mmm... can I say it?... *crap*. Anonymous on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style#post-1419316 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 21:36:39 +0000 Anonymous 1419316@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Let me put this in musical (artistic) terms. There are various musical styles, but no one ever says a musician or singer or songwriter has great style. Instead, they are said to have talent. Now in decorator terms: If someone decorates a home in a manner that pleases others, that person is said to have great taste, not great style. When it comes to clothing and accessories, the only term I've ever heard used is style. Yeah, I guess you could say someone has great taste in clothing, but usually it is said that the person is stylish or that the person dresses stylishly. In my humble opinion, in the same way that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so is talent in the opinion of the listener, while decorating and personal clothing choices are in the eye of the beholder. One person may think I dress rather stylishly, while another may think I need a lot of help in that area. :) :) Aziraphale on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style#post-1419303 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 21:21:52 +0000 Aziraphale 1419303@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Cocolion, that was an astute comment. I think you might be right. CocoLion on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style#post-1419301 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 21:18:11 +0000 CocoLion 1419301@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I think the concept of artists (whether fine artists, musicians, actors or dancers etc.) having a cohesive style is a modern concept.  Andy Warhol comes to mind.  As well as the advent of film stars who become celebrities thanks to mass media/press being part of the formula crafted to sell motion pictures.  My unconfirmed guess is that in earlier centuries, artists were celebrated more for their craft, talent and which power group funded/heralded them (church, nobility, merchant class).  Now artists need unique artistic statements and a matching Style to make it big.  It's as if, this professor is saying you need to Brand yourself.  We live in the era of mass media so a unique artistic style that is embodied inside and out, becomes key to having a recognizable Brand that is you. (My take on this is informed by my past life as an entertainment marketer working in the studio system in Southern California.) Aziraphale on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style#post-1419298 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 21:09:59 +0000 Aziraphale 1419298@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Thanks for the thoughtful replies, everyone. I intentionally did not give my opinion about this because I'm still on the fence. I'm not sure what I think.  For the record, I don't think the instructor was trying to say that 'having style' is out of reach for some people, or that style cannot be developed, or that there is any 'right' or 'wrong' way to have style. He was saying that your artistic style (i.e. what you produce artistically) should be in sync with the rest of your style.  Gaylene, I like what you said here: 'An "artistic style" is probably more about how a person taps into his or her particular way of interacting and viewing to establish a consistency in their creative work--a kind of authenticity that becomes a recognizable marker in whatever that person does'. Shedev, regarding drawing style: it's interesting that you see common ground, and also interesting that you'd never noticed it before. I don't know that mine is reflective of my general style. Maybe? I'm pretty sure I do have style in both the artistic sense and the fashion sense of the word -- I'm just not sure if they are the same. One thing I have noticed, though: artists who shy away from colour on the page also do so on the body. They tend to wear blacks and greys, or perhaps subdued neutrals, and little else.  Rachylou: so speaketh thou. You are delightful. :-) <div> </div> shedev on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style#post-1419290 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 20:56:16 +0000 shedev 1419290@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Fun thread. Is anyone really going to say no? My drawing style does have a lot of common ground with my fashion style. I never thought about that until now. rachylou on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style#post-1419185 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 18:21:26 +0000 rachylou 1419185@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ No, man, "having style" is about wearing clothes. All other types of style require a modifier - as in artistic style, decorating style, dance style. Also, you ever notice how many hair stylists don't have good hair themselves? The hand you apply to yourself is quite different from the hand you apply to something else. You can have personal style, but be unable to style others... And thus sayeth, rachylou Gaylene on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style#post-1419184 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 18:20:04 +0000 Gaylene 1419184@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ My take is similar to Una's. Yes, in one sense we all have "style" if the term refers to our way of interacting with others and our environment. But your instructor probably wasn't using the term in that sense. An "artistic style" is probably more about how a person taps into his or her particular way of interacting and viewing to establish a consistency in their creative work--a kind of authenticity that becomes a recognizable marker in whatever that person does. Used in a fashion sense, though, my personal feeling is that "style" refers to something much more limited and judgemental. To be called "stylish" in the fashion sense seems to me to have an element of approval attached--a kind of recognition we extend to someone who seems to understand how to use fashion in an interesting, creative way that we admire and may want to emulate. In this context, not all expressions of style are equal--a woman who chooses to wear baggy sweats and flipflops in public would probably not be considered "stylish" by most of the members of this forum. The standards we use to evaluate "style" in this context are much more subjective and defined. ETA: Just realized I didn't answer the question "Do you have style?" Yes, in the first sense; maybe tentative attempts in the second, "artistic" sense. As for having "style" in a fashion sense, yes and no--yes, to understanding how I like to use fashion to express my personality, but, as to how people on this forum would evaluate my "stylishness", or lack thereof, who knows! catgirl on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style#post-1419145 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:14:08 +0000 catgirl 1419145@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I think it's a bit of a trick question semantically.  Everyone has *a* style, just as everyone has "taste", good or bad.  Does everyone have Style with a capital S?  Well, who's the judge of that?  And does that lead back to my favorite topic, authenticity?  :) I do think style is more than how you dress.  People say "that's not my style" about all kinds of things, from material items to how an etiquette situation is handled.  In THAT sense, I'd agree with your instructor, that a person's overall personality is their style.   Anonymous on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style#post-1419138 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:05:57 +0000 Anonymous 1419138@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ with the instructor  and, I am hearing the use of the word "style" in a different way perhaps - not as a descriptor, or necessarily to do with clothing - but as an intangible Laura (rhubarbgirl) on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style#post-1419129 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:00:14 +0000 Laura (rhubarbgirl) 1419129@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I think everyone's got aesthetic preferences that manifest themselves in how they dress, how they decorate their home, etc. And some people feel very strongly about theirs and others don't as much. Texstyle, interesting question: I was thinking about something similar as the Kibbe descriptions were posted recently. There was a combination of color preferences and textile / graphic preferences presented, and I thought that was odd. Yes, in our culture pastels tend to be associated with soft and feminine, etc., but there's no reason why one couldn't have a very graphic style with lots of geometric prints and also do it all in pastels, or a very flowy feminine ruffled vibe with bright jewel tones and black. texstyle on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style#post-1419077 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 15:49:50 +0000 texstyle 1419077@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I do think we all have a style - a way of doing things, a way of living our lives, a way of relating to others, etc. But style in the fashion sense can sometimes be different from our personal style, in my experience at least. Have you never met someone who was tattooed, dressed in a dark rock and roll vibe style but was the softest spoken, most gentle, generous person you've known?  What would their style be then? Angie on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style#post-1419067 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 15:36:01 +0000 Angie 1419067@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Interesting.  I agree with both Shevia & Janet. You can absolutely be stylish on the inside, which is why I always say that style is from the inside out.  Your outer style is deeply intertwined with your inner style = which is what Janet said. But we all have a style = which is what Shevia said. Having a distinctive style doesn't mean that you're a conventionally stylish person, which I think is key.  Anonymous on "Do you have style?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/do-you-have-style#post-1419063 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 15:29:06 +0000 Anonymous 1419063@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I guess whether I have style or not depends on who you ask, lol.