Sense of Style

 4 factors on which each person's sense of style depends:

Some spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on clothes, dress in Gucci and Prada, but still, look tasteless. And some might buy a plain thong shirt at a thrift store and somehow look as good as New York Fashion Week. Does everything really depend only on innate taste?

We at Bright Side agree that money is not a decisive factor that determines the presence of style, even though it expands the horizons of possibilities. At the same time, we do not agree that a sense of style is a purely innate phenomenon. Based on the opinion of the majority on various Internet forums, we have identified 4 subjective factors that together affect the sense of style of each person.

1. The level of intelligence:

“Sense of style starts with intelligence. You won't be able to be stupid and stylish. You can copy someone else's style, but it will not be organic, it will not be a style. You need intelligence. And intelligence is a thing that gives rise to thoughts, ideas, dreams, and actions. Thus, the style of a person, his personality is formed, and only then the style of clothing is formed. If there is no style in the personality, then any Prada or Louis Vuitton will look absolutely tasteless on him. "

These words belong to the Russian journalist Irina Khakamada. Agree, few people argue in a similar, it is worth noting, in a rather logical way. Among other things, the same factor allows you to think figuratively, always have an idea of ​​your image in your head, without wasting attention on unnecessary things. But the majority fall in love with lonely store items, which they do not combine with anything and go into the category of beautiful, but completely unjustified purchases. So, to form a style, you need intelligence, to maintain - rationality.

2. Clothes in childhood:

“Ask designers about the reasons for their passion for fashion, and, most likely, the story will sooner or later turn into a story about their mothers,” - this is how one New York Times article begins about the influence of parents on the taste and sense of style of several modern designers.

Indeed, parents play an important role in this issue: if from childhood the principle of an amorphous attitude to clothes is laid, then there is a possibility that this basis will remain with a person for life. If a mother or father shows creativity from childhood, instills in the child the basic rules of aesthetics, then it is also likely that these habits will remain with him in the future.

For example, designer Stella McCartney, in response to the question of becoming oneself in the profession, also highlights the significant role of her mother: from an early age she observed a woman who never dyed, cut her hair herself and to her taste, dressed in grunge style even before his invented, and did it all completely fearlessly.

Although, in fairness, it is worth noting that there are people who took up fashion precisely because they lacked clothes in childhood.

3. The level of artistic taste in general:

If we consider the designer as a person who represents the apogee of taste and sense of style, then you will notice that most of the stories of the formation of people in this profession begin from other creative/cultural areas. For example, Christian Dior was an artist before becoming a dress genius. He owned a private art gallery, designed theatrical costumes, drew sketches for French fashion magazines, and worked for the newspaper Le Figaro. Giorgio Armani dreamed of becoming an actor, Gosha Rubchinsky studied at an art school, Rick Owens was a painter - the list goes on.

If we transfer this pattern to the space of ordinary people - non-designers, it turns out that the history of the style of any person should begin with a basic acquaintance with the artistic foundations and concepts. This also implies the idea that a sense of style can be acquired as this knowledge develops. The main desire. Relevant literature, master classes, lectures by experts, the latest editions of fashion magazines, etc. can come to help.

4. Courage:

Paradoxically, the concept of "courage" can refer to completely different styles. Some people lack the courage to walk in a capsule wardrobe. Someone cannot risk wearing bright clothes outside the photo zone. Someone cannot afford certain clothes because of their age, believing that society will not understand/approve.

But style is about personality. And individuality is always about courage.

Brave people create fashion. For example, in the book "The Zara Phenomenon", which tells the story of the brand of the same name, there is a chapter about special units that are on duty on the streets of the most fashionable cities. "Fashionable spies" look out for originally dressed guys and literally copy images from them. Then all this is rethought and turned into mass trends.

Speaking of trends, this is already a matter of fashion - an industry that starts with someone's courage.

“Fashion is a complex system. What is shown on the catwalk is the quintessence of trends, told in the language of people working in the fashion industry. After the catwalks, trends enter the development of companies that target a common audience. They begin to translate runway models into “human language”. Immediately after the start of sales, this new material is consumed by "fast fashion" - people who quickly react to everything fashionable. As soon as fast fashion begins to wear a trend, real fashionistas, people who create style, move away from these outfits. When, in turn, they wear out fast fashion, the most numerous category is connected - "late". At first, they criticize and reject everything new, and after about 2 years they get used to it, evaluate it, and come to it. When the former runway material appears at sales and in the collections of the most common brands, it is a sign that it is already completely unpopular in the fashion world. Therefore, fashion is a cycle, and your place in it depends on how quickly you react to everything. "

Tatiana Timofeeva, stylist

Conclusion: fashion is a temporary concept, and style is eternal. Courage helps with both the first and the second.