Monday, October 12, 2009

Style vs. Fashion >> What's the difference?

Let's make one thing clear: Fashion and Style are two different things. They are connected, for sure, but they are not interchangeable terms. Fashion is a preference initiated by a minority then arbitrarily adopted en masse regardless of its suitability to the wearer. Style, on the other hand, is the selective incorporation of sartorial traits to complement a person’s unique characteristics. Consequently, the first approach to dressing benefits a person by chance, the second by design. Fashion is what is out there for you to choose from; Style is what you choose.

FASHION
The idea of clothing as palette, rather than as uniform. Fashion is a set of ever-changing rules. Fashion seeks to do away with tradition, and with it all the special knowledge required to enter the most powerful circles. Fashion influences tradition more rapidly with women. Yet it is having a greater and greater impact on men's attire. Those runway shows you sometimes see feature trends that evenutally will filter down - however diluted - into the Fit-Rite department stores, though it may take 5 years.

STYLE
The set of rules you follow to strike the uneasy balance between timeless and trendy. Style is about being able to pull off a look that is at once classic and daring. It's not about being traditional or conventional. Sure, elements of style don't change (or shouldn't) while others are being challenged every season. Having style is a personal thing - unique to you alone. It's about being able to find the classic elements that attract you, and add to it your own flair with what is fashionable now. It's a tense fusion between the traditions of the past and the forward thinking of the present.

At Beckett & Robb our primary aim is to help you discover your own style. We're making men into gentlemen one suit at a time.

As Alexander Pope once said regarding trendiness, "Be not the first by whom the new are tried / Nor yet the last to lay the old aside."

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