YouLookFab Forum » Topic: What makes an outfit look cool to you?

YouLookFab Forum » Topic: What makes an outfit look cool to you? https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Sat, 25 Apr 2026 08:50:32 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 <![CDATA[Search]]> q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php Anonymous on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you/page/2#post-1373963 Sat, 11 Oct 2014 19:32:57 +0000 Anonymous 1373963@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I think cool has elements of uniqueness--usually in both personality and style. I find it very difficult to describe. It's one of those "I know it when I see it" thing. Desmo April on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you/page/2#post-1373929 Sat, 11 Oct 2014 17:42:46 +0000 Desmo April 1373929@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Cool is one of those tricksy concepts. For me cool is entwined with music so my version of cool has a rock element.  I find most musicians cool but not many actors/actresses. I also have a heaping dose of masculine in my concept of cool. Vix on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you/page/2#post-1373868 Sat, 11 Oct 2014 15:37:59 +0000 Vix 1373868@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Interesting discussion!  To me, "cool" and "great sense of humor " are mutually exclusive -- cool is too intense, too obsessed with something(s) to truly let go and laugh, especially at themselves. Laughing is warm, cool is...sangfroid.  I appreciate cool from a distance, but  I'm drawn to the Cool Minus types -- the ones who've done interesting things and have confidence in many areas, but aren't afraid to look/be goofy or admit their vulnerability. ETA How the above translates into clothing for me is like obscenity -- I know it when I see it. :0 Nena on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you/page/2#post-1373797 Sat, 11 Oct 2014 10:31:12 +0000 Nena 1373797@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ That it has one of my signature looks, that it looks effortless... rachylou on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you/page/2#post-1373731 Sat, 11 Oct 2014 04:24:23 +0000 rachylou 1373731@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ *Fight Club* was a cool movie... But the people in it weren't cool... Now I think people would argue me on the movie's coolness because of the vulgarity and grotesqueness, but I'd argue it had its finger on the pulse of something important or meaningful. Which may say something about what cool is. Echo on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you/page/2#post-1373714 Sat, 11 Oct 2014 04:01:50 +0000 Echo 1373714@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Gaylene makes a good point. Poor Luke wasn't hot OR cool. He was kind of whiny. I may not be perfectly clear on what cool is, but whiny it is NOT. Despite the fantastic success of the movies, I think it was poor casting.  Leaping Lizards on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you/page/2#post-1373708 Sat, 11 Oct 2014 03:55:15 +0000 Leaping Lizards 1373708@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I'm new and am loving reading everyone's thoughts in this thread! The Brooklyn neighborhood I live in has for a number of years been practically synonymous with "cool" - but a self-conscious type of cool, to the extent that I think it's come full circle and the coolest of the cool have moved on. The common thread of coolness here is less what is the outfit? and more how well is the wearer pulling it off?  Every season I see people wearing basically the same components, but some, of course, look miles better than others.  I hate to admit it, and I wish it were otherwise, but all too often body type plays into how cool a look reads.  It's easier to pull off contemporary looks with a tall, lean body type, and many locals with that body type take full advantage of it by wearing maximally trendy outfits.  Sometimes it works and often it doesn't, but they have a better chance of pulling it off than many others. A certain marginally-unwashed nonchalance also contributes to looking cool.  Think of the members of any guitar band that plays in trendy bars that claim to be dives but serve $17 cocktails - that slightly dirty hair/not-so-fresh t-shirt look.  Everyone here wants to look stylishly undone without tipping into full-on grubby.  Overly "done" hair or a "trying too hard" full face of makeup doesn't look cool.  This can be frustrating because, again, it's up to genetics - if someone suffers from bad acne, it's not cool to walk around barefaced, but possibly less cool to use enough makeup to cover it up!   Rock and a hard place - that's coolness to me.  Even the coolest never really feel like they're quite there.  Anyone who's totally confident about themselves is more likely a fabulous eccentric than a "cool kid." Aziraphale on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you/page/2#post-1373589 Sat, 11 Oct 2014 01:14:59 +0000 Aziraphale 1373589@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Great thread! First off, I read Angie's post on coolness (effortlessness, distinctiveness and style) and it is bang-on. Fully agree with all her points. Cocolion's comment about coolness generally having a masculine quality rang true, too. I've always thought that. There are many women I admire, but relatively few who are cool (at least according to what cool feels like to me). I know a lot more men who fit my personal definition of 'cool'. However, I'd add Ellen Degeneres to the Cocolion's list. But then, she's a gay woman with butch (i.e. masculine) style. I know several seriously cool lesbians in real life, too. And of course, these women have a very good understanding of who they are. Maybe because gay people in general have to come to terms with who they are in a world that does not always accept them -- maybe that's part of why they are often pretty cool? Just a thought. jackiec on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you/page/2#post-1373559 Sat, 11 Oct 2014 00:31:10 +0000 jackiec 1373559@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Everyone here is so well versed and expressive. I operate mostly on gut feel. I know Angie doesn't like to use the word cool (or edgy, am I right?). But sometimes I just think it's the perfect word. To me it's a feeling, an aura, something you can feel. Can't put my finger on it, but when something is cool it's cool (and it's usually not me!). Great thread. Gaylene on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you/page/2#post-1373558 Sat, 11 Oct 2014 00:25:53 +0000 Gaylene 1373558@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ "A word can be anything I want it to be" Wow, Rabbit, I'd never have thought to call Jim Morrison "cool"; whenever I heard him croon "try to set the night on fire", in my mind, he was totally HOT. Maybe that is the source of Luke's dilemma--Hans Solo is hot, Leia is cool, and Luke is just lukewarm. And I never could figure out why James Dean got tagged as "cool"; I suffered through Rebel Without a Cause and thought it was an apt title. Obviously JD's brand of "cool" didn't resonate with me. I'm sticking with my opinion that coolness resides in the neural synapses of the observer. You can feel cool in an outfit but you can't make others see you, or the outfit, as cool if they are not so inclined. MsMary on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you/page/2#post-1373537 Sat, 11 Oct 2014 00:01:01 +0000 MsMary 1373537@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ And all the Hitchcock Blondes -- they were staggeringly cool but not a bit masculine.  Grace Kelly, Tippi Hedren, Kim Novack... silk headscarves and big sunglasses, anyone? Vildy on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you/page/2#post-1373536 Fri, 10 Oct 2014 23:58:47 +0000 Vildy 1373536@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ To me it's never about the clothes. I generally agree with Rabbit plus I think it has a lot to do with how a person moves, stands, their glance. I think a cool person is not uninvolved but is very present to their own lives and not checking to see how they're being received. I can think of lots of women who are cool but not dressed in masculine clothes. How about Simone Signoret, Myrna Loy? rachylou on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you/page/2#post-1373511 Fri, 10 Oct 2014 22:56:24 +0000 rachylou 1373511@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Poor Luke. He wasn't cool, but he was supposed to be. Why wasn't Luke cool? Deborah on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you/page/2#post-1373503 Fri, 10 Oct 2014 22:44:28 +0000 Deborah 1373503@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Interesting! Cool for me is more about attitude and confidence. Cool people often have that "je ne sais quois" quality about them. Visually tho I think it's quite subjective and I'm not sure one can separate the visual from the attitude. I tend to think both are required to really attain cool. I have a book called "Chasing Cool". It's about looking at "cool" from a business and marketing aspect...taking risks is one of the elements the authors pin point, and I think that can be a major element of what makes outfits cool. Caro in Oz on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you/page/2#post-1373495 Fri, 10 Oct 2014 22:30:23 +0000 Caro in Oz 1373495@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Agreeing with Angie - love your explanation rabbit I think cool also has a certain unexpectedness - like Anna's pastel outfit. Aida on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you/page/2#post-1373492 Fri, 10 Oct 2014 22:27:38 +0000 Aida 1373492@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Ehh, I've never understood why you can't feel cool to be cool. The first rule of Fight Club.... catgirl on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you/page/2#post-1373479 Fri, 10 Oct 2014 22:11:34 +0000 catgirl 1373479@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Some cool women to me: Idgie from Fried Green Tomatoes Kate Hepburn Amelia Earhart Strong, fearless, and unique, standing up for something. And appropriating male clothes. Hmmm..... rabbit on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you/page/2#post-1373446 Fri, 10 Oct 2014 21:27:44 +0000 rabbit 1373446@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Good points.  Cocolion has got me thinking with the question of does female coolness often have a masculine or androgynous element.    Maybe it's because stereotypical feminine qualities are often associated with a certain vulnerability?  So Marilyn Monroe - beautiful and bombshell, but maybe too vulnerable/fragile to be cool.  Marlene Dietrich - super cool. Adding to the list of cool icons I've gravitated toward at certain points in time growing up: Beth Ditto (pretty much wins hands down) (early) Jim Morrison  Han Solo and Princess Leia (not Luke though) everybody in the movie Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and the Matrix  Susan Sarandon (at all ages) ETA: I like thinking about rachy's typography.  Very different clothing/fashions, but all have a certain emotional invulnerability and independence, except maybe James Dean? Not so much with emotional invulnerability... rachylou on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you/page/2#post-1373432 Fri, 10 Oct 2014 21:11:51 +0000 rachylou 1373432@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I think there are different kinds of cool. A cool cat is a vastly different creature from a she's a cool girl from a high school Cool Girl from James Dean cool. And their attitudes and clothing are vastly different in keeping. I find cool cat cool the most interesting. Its unreactive quality. It doesn't attract me, but I find it the most interesting. I think I'm she's cool cool. As in, I don't demonize individuals, and your life will not be reorganised around my make-up touch-up routine. I can get further away than 25 feet from the ladies lounge. Sartorial hall-marks of the aforementioned creatures of cool: <ul> <li>cool cat: mirrored sunglasses</li> <li>cool girl: breezy clothing, long locks </li> <li>Cool Girl: card-boarded locks, clothing that makes you walk stiff, big purse o' make-up</li> <li>James Dean: bien sur, the leather moto</li> </ul> Interestingly enough, Cool Girl is a teenager with lots of friends and James Dean is a teenager with, like, one... Echo on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you/page/2#post-1373430 Fri, 10 Oct 2014 21:08:52 +0000 Echo 1373430@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ IMO, if a person feels "cool", they aren't. In other words, when I was younger, I would put an outfit on with the intent to look cool, or the intent to look a certain way, but I almost invariably ended up with a teeny-tiny part of me feeling like I was putting on a costume. It hasn't been until recently that I choose items that just feel right to me, and when I put them on I seem to forget all about the clothes. THAT is the authenticity and the grounded feeling that was previously mentioned. So maybe I look cool to other people, and maybe I don't. Like it has also been mentioned, cool is in the eye of the beholder, and I doubt, for example, that kids my son's age would EVER think their mum was cool (or at least they probably wouldn't admit it if they did). But that's okay, because the last demographic I am looking to appeal to is the high school set! Sal on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you/page/2#post-1373417 Fri, 10 Oct 2014 20:29:57 +0000 Sal 1373417@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I think there is a difference between a cool person and a cool outfit. The two often overlap but not always. I can think of a couple of really cool people that really have no interest in fashion or clothes, and a couple of people who dress in a great unique way who are not interesting or engaging. However this is about how an outfit looks cool so I am digressing. I like what Rabbit wrote, and Angie very much. For me there has to be comfort in your own skin,; fierce heels only look cool if you can stride out in them, short skirts only if you are not hitching them down. A touch of the unexpected adds to the coolness. Famous people who I think dress in a cool way are - Sarah Jessica Parker - Diane Kruger - Emma Stone. Thanks for making me think about it! catgirl on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you#post-1373414 Fri, 10 Oct 2014 20:24:15 +0000 catgirl 1373414@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Oooh, now we're taking off!  Let's throw a little word fuel onto the fires of discussion: authenticity.  Does being cool require an element of authenticity (or at least the illusion of authenticity so well done it's indistinguishable - and try to get your head around that!), or can it be overtly artful? And how about the beholder.  Some people think guns are cool, others not so much.  Who's the arbiter of coolness? CocoLion on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you#post-1373413 Fri, 10 Oct 2014 20:16:39 +0000 CocoLion 1373413@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Cool: Keith Richards David Bowie Bob Dylan Bob Evans Emanuelle Alt They all have a fearless honesty that is at the core of "cool" that comes through.  These are all style inspirations for me, even if I don't have a particular outfit to copy.  It is a mood and attitude that inspires me.  Bob Evans is new to my list.  I watched his movie and it was the brutally honest way he described his past failures that I am wowed by.  No rationalizing or back pedaling.   So to me "cool" is an inside job.  I think my definition is grounded in the 60s and 70s, today cool seems to mean something different.   Reading up on the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://popwatch.ew.com/2014/10/03/cool-girl-gone-girl-trope/">Gone Girl "cool girl" tirade</a> -- that a cool girl is basically a beer-swilling man in a size 2 supermodel's body -- it made me realize that cool has masculine properties.  I mean, look at my list of cool -- it's men, aside from E Alt, she's like a cleaned up version of Patti Smith who was super androgynous. This begs the question, if cool is masculine or at least androgynous, is womanly / feminine uncool? Just rambling thoughts here. Classically Casual on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you#post-1373411 Fri, 10 Oct 2014 20:00:19 +0000 Classically Casual 1373411@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ For me personally, to be cool includes some elements that are unique to the cool person...i.e. not just a thin body and current clothing. But it's just my personal take on it. FWIW, my Pinterest feed includes EA every day. All I can say is, does the woman ever go indoors and get some work done?? It seems impossible that anyone can have that many photos of themselves taken walking the cobblestones. So my definition skews more towards Alaska Girl's...accomplishments/ skills are part of the total package. In school, the boys I thought were cool were the ones who could make me laugh. Smart and funny is way cool to me. citygirldc on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you#post-1373407 Fri, 10 Oct 2014 19:36:56 +0000 citygirldc 1373407@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I also agree with Janet regarding the definition of "cool."  To me cool = confidence. That's why when yo use someone like James Dean or Elvis Presley or Gwen Stefani, they just exude that confident attitude. texstyle on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you#post-1373389 Fri, 10 Oct 2014 19:01:35 +0000 texstyle 1373389@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I feel kind of silly even saying the word "cool." But I do know people who are kind of "cool" people - but not really so much fashionable. More admirable.  I wonder, isn't there a newer word to describe people who have a great sense of themselves and their outward persona? Seems about time for a new word to me. I'm not ____ enough to come up with one though. Gaylene on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you#post-1373382 Fri, 10 Oct 2014 18:52:27 +0000 Gaylene 1373382@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Life is beyond hectic right now, but couldn't resist popping in on this topic. I love Angie's thoughts and Rabbit's eloquent definition, but I suspect that my definition of "cool" might be a bit of an outlier. I've only ever though of using the word as a descriptor for someone (or something) that draws me in and makes me want to linger in its presence. Cool does not overwhelm me the way that beauty does, nor does it ask for my admiration--or even my interest. I don't have to even like someone,or something, to label it "cool". And "cool" can't be dictated to me by others because it relies solely on my internal reaction. Wearing something might make ME feel cool, but whether or not my feelings are shared by others is entirely out of my control. Final thought--this discussion has reminded me of a op-ed piece that I read years ago about the Charles, Diana, and Camilla triangle. The writer opined that Diana was beautiful, but Camilla was "cool"--at least within their circle of friends and acquaintances. Interesting... Janet on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you#post-1373368 Fri, 10 Oct 2014 18:26:22 +0000 Janet 1373368@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Some really astute comments here by Rabbit and others. "Cool" is in the eye of the beholder, it is made by an individual. I agree that what one person makes cool falls completely flat on another person. I know because I've tried it. ;-)  A friend and I had a conversation about "cool" many, many years ago. As someone who has spent a lot of time around the music scene, I have seen a lot of the "too cool for school" people: the ones who are carefully cultivating their cool. (I suppose today's hipsters would qualify?) People who won't dance at a live music show, people who won't drink a certain drink because they'll be teased for it, etc.  But then there are the people who truly are cool in my eyes because they are NOT trying -- they're just carrying on with their lives and their tastes. They're doing interesting things and living their lives in a way that inspires other people (and that includes fashion choices). People who take a style and make it their own -- THAT is what is cool to me. It's a sense that someone is not only comfortable in their skin but that they're celebrating who they are, regardless of what everyone else is doing.  Laura (rhubarbgirl) on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you#post-1373357 Fri, 10 Oct 2014 17:57:56 +0000 Laura (rhubarbgirl) 1373357@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ So, James Dean: cool because he was essentially flouting established social norms. I mean, he was basically wearing an undershirt as his regular shirt, right? Plus the sex appeal (I guess... not really my thing). I think that's the essential tension of 'cool' - it's so situationally dependent. James Dean had edge, in 196-whatever. Some kid wearing a white t-shirt and a leather jacket today looks derivative, or at least not edgy. But then I don't quite get the swooning over Emmanuelle Alt. I mean, she's gorgeous, and she always looks nice, and refreshingly undone. But edgy? Maybe it's edgy in her particular crowd not to be done to the nines. MsMary on "What makes an outfit look cool to you?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-makes-an-outfit-look-cool-to-you#post-1373350 Fri, 10 Oct 2014 17:26:27 +0000 MsMary 1373350@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Great comments here!  I love Angie's blog post on the topic and totally cosign it! I also think a "cool" outfit has an element of the unexpected.  I am wearing my new booties today with the cut-out to show my toe cleavage, and they are making me feel kind of cool. But on the topic of the word itself, I'm kind of over it, too, and more so after all the kerfluffle about "cool girls" in the book and movie "Gone Girl:"  <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/13306276-gone-girl" rel="nofollow">https://www.goodreads.com/work.....-gone-girl</a>