StyleA Story by John Alexander McFadyenStyle Style; you either have it or you don’t, it’s as simple as that. We have all looked at someone in a magazine, the supermarket, at the airport or in a club and thought ‘now they have style’. Meaning we like the way they look and/or behave. Some may feel envious and want to mimic the style they so admire. At other times we look in distain at people and think that they lack style. There is something about them which clashes with our own preconceived notions of what is or is not stylish. But for me style is much, much more than such a superficial observance and a reaction. Style has many facets and these facets are affected by the way we think and feel about our world and ourselves. Our personality and our experience shapes our understanding and our need for style. From this we form a psychological construct or map of style. This map will have elements in common with other people in our culture, race and social class but it will also be stamped with our own unique branding of what we see as important. Style is not just about how we see ourselves and other people. We look at objects and immediately like or dislike their style. Cars or houses for example; People’s choice of furniture, wallpaper, leisure choices and even behaviour often provoke feelings leading us to make judgment about the style of what we know about them or see them do. But even this is too simplistic if we consider the number of ways in which style can be represented and perceived. For example if we break down the concept it can embrace people’s manner or the way they act and the techniques they use; whether in a social or work situation. Style may be affected by the people’s customs or the culture in which they operate. In some remote parts of Eastern Europe riding a horse or building a shelter may be seen as stylish. Style can also mean elegance which in fashion magazine speak brings to mind terms such as taste, chic, flair, polish, grace, dash, sophistication, refinement, panache, élan, cosmopolitanism, savoir-faire, smartness, urbanity, stylishness, fashionableness and dressiness. Like the construct or map of style these words provoke a host of different feelings and images for each one of us. Each construct helps to form our conclusion and reaction to the person or object in question. From a design standpoint it may be the form or cut that expresses the style of the subject. Breaking this down takes in a typology which includes the sort, kind, spirit, pattern, variety, appearance, tone, strain, category, characteristic, genre or tenor of a subject. In pure fashion terms the trend, mode, vogue or rage may influence the concept of style. Again in fashion terms design or cut, tailoring, fashioning, shape, the arrangement or adaptation of a subject may be influential. In marketing terms name, term, address, labeling or the way in which the subject is described in the sense of wording, and phraseology may alter our perception of style. And finally there may be a class element where luxury dictates whether there is style or not in the ease, comfort, elegance, grandeur or affluence which may reflect gracious living. Style is therefore a complex concept that stretches way beyond the pages of a magazine. Often we are encouraged to covet style. After all that is what most advertisers use to sell their products and what most magazines and other media use to capture a particular market. But when it comes down to it style is about each of us as individuals. How comfortable we are with ourselves, our looks, our social status and how we perceive that others see us. Some would argue that the seeking of style as in fashion is an expression of discontentment; of not being comfortable with ourselves and having to compare ourselves with others in order to understand ourselves. Others would argue it is simply how we express our individuality, put our mark down for who we are. But style is often an illusion. There are aspects of style that require resources in order that they can be fulfilled. Again this underpins the key part style plays in selling products or services or ideas. If we cannot obtain the style we aspire to we all react in different ways. Some accept it with grace, some feel miserable about their lives and the world in general and some simply put it on the plastic. So you either have it or you don’t is the perfect anachronism. For some of us style is an adrenaline rush, a challenge, a must have, a crusade. To others it is a complete bore. Whichever, every one of us has our own unique style determined by our beliefs, our social mobility and access to resources. So in the end everyone has style. The key to style success (if there is such a thing) is to admire style when you perceive it and be happy with your own unique style. © 2012 John Alexander McFadyenReviews
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10 Reviews Added on September 15, 2012 Last Updated on September 15, 2012 Author
John Alexander McFadyenBrixworth, England, United KingdomAboutWell, have a long and complicated story and started it as an autobiography on Bebo but got writer's block/memory fogging. People liked it though and kept asking for the next chapter! fools.. more.. |
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