Style is commonly related to depicting a certain way of living, acting or thinking. However, when accepting and following a particular mode of being or doing, we tend to lose the most important part of style: our take on it. American poet, Richard Eberhart said: "Style is the perfection of a point of view." In the case of fashion, this formulated style may be that of the designer, a social current or a trend, but does it ever become our point of view?
We are inevitably influenced by our surroundings, the experiences and relationships created in our environment, but how do we adapt and modify this style to fit our own reality? The development of a personal style requires us to first know what we believe in, identify ourselves with a certain social view and then reinterpret it in order for it to adapt to our own lives. A style should adapt to us, not us to it. This is where our point of view will be expressed through something readily available to society, in this case, clothing. Otherwise, we will only be using something that was meant for someone else.
For style to be true style, it should be consciously accepted, deconstructed and adapted to our reality and personal way of being. Moreover, it has to be developed over time and it will constantly be evolving just as we do in life.
"Style is what unites memory or recollection, ideology, sentiment, nostalgia, presentiment, to the way we express all that. It's not what we say but how we say it that matters." - Federico Fellini
Piece from Jil Sander's Spring 2008 Ready-to-Wear Collection,
designer known for her minimalist perfection and lack of unnecessary details.
Photo by Marcio Madeira courtesy of Style.com.
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