Style is Absolute, Not Relative
The fashion world is complex and deep. It grows from season to season and changes with society whilst society changes with it. Style, a medium of fashion, is everywhere. We envy those who have it and parade it when we have it. We hate it, love it and want to be it.
The cyclical nature of the fashion industry is such that we become excited by the return of a trend from history. Recently we saw the long-awaited comeback of the duffle coat and anticipate to dust it off from our winter wardrobes. Whilst it did make an appearance of being more lean and comforting, the duffle coat “look” was received with open arms. In addition the death of the two buttoned suits saw a turn around for the double breasted jacket bringing back the broader and more wide shouldered males leaving the skinny jeaned boys looking malnourished and it is these small yet significant changes that alter the style the fashion world portrays.
This “look” that people yearn to achieve has been split into many categories such as the gentleman, the student, the I don’t care and can easily be attained by buying what we see on mannequins or magazines. However, it is not the look that catches the eye of the onlooker but rather the way in people portray their look does. The onlooker, or the admirer in most cases seeks something different that stands out from the crowd but does so effortlessly, someone who didn’t spend an hour this morning grooming but still looks like they just walked out of a salon and this is, for me, what style is. It is a natural trait that one has or is without, not something that anyone can adopt overnight but is more a mannerism, a code of behavior. The great thing about it is that no-one can teach you to have style nor is there a benchmark or a set of rules one has to follow. It is more a continuous wave that one choses to surf or stands aside in transition waiting for the next wave to come and the typical fashion world cliche comes to mind of it is now what you wear but rather how you wear it.
The trends of SS10 are nothing out of the ordinary. The expected summer colours have arrived with tartan slowly petering away and we eagerly examine what designers have up their sleeves for the fashion weeks to come. Whatever the clothes may be, I hope that people do not buy them for their label or popularity but instead the way the clothes look on them and when you reach the high-streets this spring, remember – it’s just fashion.
