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Fashion versus Style

Anonymous

Angie has said many times that you cannot separate fashion from style. I think I understand her point, but I can't agree with her. The words have two very unique meanings to me.

Fashion: fast, trendy, constantly being updated and revised for the sole purpose of selling product to people that already have to much. Sometimes outrageous ... just to get attention. Not necessarily wearable. Treadmill-ish. Obviously, fashion is fun. I am not denigrating it, I am merely making a distinction.

Style: a way of expressing who you are and what you stand for. A statement. A confidence. A satisfaction. Style uses elements of fashion to make that a statement. Style is not fashion. It functions on a much higher level than fashion could ever hope to reach.

One is a tool or a platform upon which to build. The other is an action of putting things together to express yourself.

Yes. Angie would say that a woman cannot be stylish in the absence of fashion. As I said, "tool" versus "action." "Noun" versus "verb." "Passive" versus "action."

I understand the need to update a wardrobe, but I feel a woman should update her wardrobe in response to her personal style statement. She can pick and choose what she needs from an assortment of products.

I think Angie conflates the two words because she sells fashion so naturally she sees it from an entirely different prospective. It makes sense to conflate the two words from her prospective.

I read this blog every single day because I care very much about keeping my style as up to date (fashionable) as possible, but within the context of my personal style. I am not remaking myself every time a new trend emerges. This could be personality. I am slow to adopt new trends because I want to see how trends gel with the rest of the world. I am very conscious of the "fashion world" versus the "real world." I seem to take every single emerging trend and place it in a "real world" context to test it. Sometimes they just fail.

So I offer these ideas for consideration. I want to emphasize that whatever your definition of the two words, all that matters is what you think and what makes you happy.

Dressing

26 replies

Latest reply was from Rett

Angela K

Veteran

As I read your post this morning I couldn't help but picture Iris Apfel. I think that she really exemplifies the point you are making.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I need to mull this one over and come back. Good food for thought.

Tanya

Veteran

Interesting. I disagree slightly, that is I agree with Angie. I would also equate fashion with current and modern, the opposite from dated. One can have a very simple style, e.g always wear pantsuits in neutrals and white shirts, but those items all have to have current and modern cuts. 80's style double breasted jackets with big shoulder pads would look off and dated no matter how much they fit that lady's style in theory, so she wouldn't look stylish.

Joyce B

Veteran

I agree with you, I think fashion is a general term and style is a person's own interpretation of fashion. One goes with the other but personal style does not include everything that is trendy or fashionable, just what is relevant to the individual.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

We are actually saying a similar thing, Sterling. Read my post on the subject:

http://youlookfab.com/2010/10/.....-us-apart/

You are seeing style and fashion as extremes and not on a continuum. A stylish person has a little or a lot of fashion in his or her look. I didn't say that you had to be a very trendy or fashion forward person to be stylish:

"You don’t need to be a trendy, avant-garde, arty, creative or fashion-forward person to have a great sense of style. Not at all. But a certain amount of “trendy now” is key to a stylish appearance because a current look is always better than a dated one. And you can be stylish and enjoy fashion at any age"

Personally, I have yet to see a stylish person with zero fashion in his or her look. But the fashion component is relative and personal. (I have also never seen Elle Mcpherson look unfashionable so her thoughts are a little skewed in that quote).

Anonymous

I agree Tanya. Dated is dated is dated. I can't even watch old movies because I can't get past the dated fashion.

But imagine if the entire fashion industry were to disappear over night. Style would still exist. One woman in some part of the world would belt her dress and make that her personal style. Another woman might add a necklace. Each woman would find a way to express herself stylistically in her own terms. Others would admire and copy. Thus the fashion industry would be reborn by the following night.

I could be thinking too hard on this subject too. It really is just a nuance.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

And there is your circular augment, Sterling - the fashion industry was reborn the following night. You cannot separate fashion from style. The point is much more:

How much fashionable "now" is enough to create a stylish appearance?
And the type of "fashionable now" is a VERY personal choice.

Joyce B

Veteran

We are all probably thinking along the same terms. A certain amount of fashion is needed but style is personal as Angie so ably explained.

RoseandJoan

Veteran

I agree and disagree to a point Sterling.

High Fashion may be elitist and prohibitive to most people but fashion is visible all around us, it is what we see on the streets, the television we watch and the places we visit. It permeates our thoughts and shapes the filter we use to define our style.

I personally do not view fashion as a driving force for consumerism, rather, business is the driving force of consumerism.

Anonymous

I think the key for me is incorporating "a certain amount of trendy now to achieve a stylish appearance because a current look is always better than a dated one."

I want very much to be fashionable (within the constraints of my personal style). I devoured Tanya's posts on styling certain garments for 2016. I made a mental note to do that exact exercise every year for the rest of my life.

But I will admit to taking a step back from fashion. I think it is the summer heat that is affecting my attitude. So many ensembles just look ridiculous to me right now. I wish I had thought to pin some of the more ridiculous ones as examples.

Joyce B

Veteran

The good thing is that these days you can wear garments that remind of different eras, but the way to keep it stylish is to not stick to just one era otherwise that would be dated, the mixing of eras seems to be key.
I can see how a very warm Summer can discourage fashion a little, but I am sure our Cali fabbers are still rocking it, I would not be for sure.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I think most people do update their wardrobes in ways that are consistent with their personal style.

Perhaps what's really at issue is that some people have a more carefully honed style or a more tightly reined and highly consistent style, and their choices emphasize that consistency.

Meanwhile, others have a more trendy style than you as a person happen to like. You and others may see them as fashion victims, but to them, this is their style. Being cutting edge and up to the minute is what makes them feel great. Cohesion is not a huge need of theirs. They like constant change and variety; instead of being consistent and extremely focused, their style is eclectic.

To someone who loves cohesion, this may seem like an utter lack of style. And vice versa -- eclectic dressers who need variety and change often accuse those who like more consistency of "uniform" dressing.

But people in both groups can have great style.

A long while ago, Mochi started a thread about her attraction to Giovanna Battaglia's luxe and eclectic looks. You might contrast that style to Emmanuelle Alt's almost uniform style of dressing. Both women are incredibly stylish but they approach it in a very different way.

Diana

Veteran

My initial thought is that fashion is external and style is internal. However, since we don't each live in our own little bubble, the two of course are intertwined.

Anonymous

Without diving into the historical references etc - I agree with you, Sterling. I believe you can have inherent style without being "fashionable" as we know it to be. Doesn't depend on new clothes, trends, etc. It is all in how you present yourself.

Vicki

(website)

Veteran

Thoughtful post here, Sterling, and I see it similarly in the way Tanya shared her thoughts and Angie describes the continuum.

I pull from one (fashion) to bolster the other (style).

always trying

Veteran

Fashion is all the items we buy, have in our closets, etc. The range of these, what we pick from current trends, what are classics to us as individuals, what fits our lifestyle, what fits our body type, self image, tastes, etc. Then style is how we wear all of this. We create our own unique style from this. We all have different degrees of stylishness. this is where skill comes in. I think this is the reason we are on this board, look at blogs, pinterest, etc. It is ongoing as we are constantly trying to put together outfits to fit our style, create it or adapt to changes.

f

Anonymous

I don't think it's possible to have style without elements of fashion. Even if the fashion is dated, it's still fashion. Just not current fashion.

It's interesting that when we think of updating something, we often ask if it's still in style. We don't ask if it's still in fashion.

Anonymous

BC's comment hit me like a ton of bricks. How could I have missed that simple thing?

Vix

Veteran

Dita von Teese comes to mind when thinking about whether one needs to be current (participating in fashion) to have style. She wears almost exclusively vintage, and buys new when a piece references vintage. She does the retro makeup, nails, hair etc.

She certainly consumes (buys) examples of formerly fashionable items to get her look. Some might see the results as a costume, but to me she always looks stylish.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Is there a difference between "looking stylish" and "having great style"? More food for thought.

I also wonder about the difference between looking interesting (or, on a different end of the spectrum, looking bandbox neat) and looking stylish. I think there's a distinction.

Rett

Member

I feel style and fashion go hand in hand. I myself do not have any one categorized style of dress as I like to mix it up, but I keep the items in my closet fashionable. I do not concern myself with what's "in style" , or trendy. I buy what wears well on my body and works for my personal style. However, I do have trendy items in my closet that are fashionable. It is all about presentation in my opinion.

Lyn D.

Veteran

I would prefer to be called 'Stylish' than "Fashionable'.
The latter can just happen by wearing the latest trend, the former requires thought, time, effort and the skill that Angie has to put outfits together.

Anonymous

Oh, I love what you said, LynD. I wonder if that is what I have been trying to express all this time!!!

Anonymous

Yes, LynD, you have expressed it beautifully.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Lyn, I'm going to quote you in a new thread - may I do that?

Rett

Member

Well said LynD.