Coco Chanel once said “Fashion Fades, Style Endures”. This is a great maxim to follow when you know how a fashion is born, evolves and then dies. Why do some styles endure the test of time and others do not? And which ones suit you best anyway? If you knew the answers to these two questions, shopping would be a breeze.
Our clients tell us that their wardrobes are a confused mixture of styles. Women can be emotional shoppers and the wardrobe is the best place to find out. They don’t want to wear jeans for everything and shopping takes weeks when they haven’t identified their personal style. They want to know how to shop wisely for looks that are stunning, last more than a season, and suit their “fashion personality”.
Know Your Personal Style
Most people across the world fall into a few out of seven universal styles and luckily modern fashion seems to accommodate all seven:
Romantic, Classic Elegant, Classic Traditional, Natural, Dramatic/High Fashion, Creative, Alluring.
To find what categories you naturally fall into, look online and in catalogues and magazines and make two piles of images. Tear out or collage the looks you honestly wear now. If possible, label the images from the styles above and assess if you actually do have a dominant style right now.
Some people identify with several or even all of them. This indicates that you haven’t developed a “signature style” and that’s fine if you like variety and enjoy the way you dress. However, if you are a professional person, there is a danger that the messages you send to others may be confused, and your “personal brand” may not be clear. This is easy to fix if you want a signature style. Tear out or collage online the two looks you aspire to wearing and the well-known personalities and people in your life whose style you admire. Think Style Icons. This exercise is a bit like taking a personality test, but of your visual expression. Try these questions on to start an inquiry.
- Look at your images and style icons.
- How much of your clothing now matches their style?
- What are the messages you want to say about yourself?
- Which outfits in your collages match those messages?
In the list below, can you identify the messages that most accurately represent your personality? Do those match your clothing now or the clothing you would like to wear?
The Messages of the Universal Styles
Classic Elegant: Polish, status, refinement, quality fabrics and details, lasting fashion, appropriate.
Classic Traditional: Long lasting styles and fabrics, quality, neat, conventional, understated, correct, timeless.
Romantic: Feminine, pretty, graceful, girlish, youthful, soft, light and airy, dainty.
Natural: Comfort, convenience, sporty, action, ease and easy, free, non-restricting, wash and wear.
Dramatic/High Fashion: Being noticed, bold, experimental, carefree, current, stand out from the crowd.
Creative: Individual, unique, flout convention, different, not mainstream, unexpected, costume or vintage, off-beat.
Alluring: Showing skin, proud of curves and best assets, sexy, fearless, attractive, exercise or sports are important.
Shopping Simplified
Now you have some idea of what you like and the messages you want to send, it’s almost time to shop. Narrow down your choices to one or two dominant styles. If you are not sure, find a boutique owner or really good store associate who can help you. Alternatively, you can hire an image consultant who will help you hone and clarify the ones that suit you. www.londonimageinstitute.com may be able to help you find a consultant.
Knowing your ideal style is one question to answer. The other is, at what point in the evolution of fashion should you invest? Fashion likes to change constantly but some stick around because they are flattering and easy to wear. Other styles which don’t look good on normal size people or are difficult to wear tend to fade away.
The Evolution of Fashion
Fads
Because of an oversight in the garment industry, no copyright exists in fashion. Taking advantage of this loophole is a group of people who copy the designers’ creations during or immediately after the designer collections, and rush to manufacture them quickly and much less expensively. Zara is the perfect example of this practice. As a result, fairly inexpensive, fashionable and disposable options reach the high street in record time. The shop buyers and owners keeps a close watch for what sells out immediately, what is popular and in demand, what is not. They can adjust future orders accordingly after that. Some new fashions barely last six to 12 months; these are Fads or flashes in the pan! They might come around again when the public is ready for a change but the majority of high street shoppers tend to play it safe.
For example, after many years of tight, skinny clothing, people felt the wide leg trouser and loose top engulfed them or added weight and those had to wait a while before catching on. Long trumpet sleeves barely lasted a season. However, if change is in the air, people are bored with their clothes, the fashions feel ancient or outmoded and they have seen, for example, looser tops for a couple of seasons, they may try them out…over skinny jeans!
Color trends fall into the fad category although orange became a trend for a while. Oversized, long and wide will stay in for a bit but be watching for pleated trousers and aggressive square shoulders to come around again!
Trends
These are styles which don’t fall by the wayside. For a fad to become a trend it must have certain characteristics. These are less exaggerated, comfortable, flattering and yet have a new look. For example, ruffled sleeves, cutouts and the cold shoulder, off-the-shoulder flounced necklines, front gathered and wide overtops, jumpsuits, feminine blouses, floral patterns, romantic and full-skirted dresses all flew out of the shops and stayed around.
Long straight hair with a center part was a fad which is still around many years later. Then hairstyles became sliced and layered lending movement, but hair still remained very long and romantic as a trend.
Daytime footwear was sporty with the white soled trainer leading the field, as did thicker heels. Many of these originated in fashion-forward Asia as well as the Western collections, and it was the moment they were embraced by stylish people, ready for a change everywhere.
Trends can last about three to seven years. After that, fashions such as platform shoes, lost their grip on the population, or became modern classics.
Traditional Classics
For a style to last it must have a wide appeal and suit many figure types or at least be able to expand and contract and still look good. Traditional classics are tailored suits and trouser suits, sweaters, blazers, little black dresses, twin sets, pearls, animal prints, wrap and sheath dresses, shirts, trench coats, cropped Capri slacks, dusters, fine jewelry, the Gucci watch, designer handbags and the thin heel pump. Updated versions may come in but on the whole these classics have stood the test of time.
When to Invest in New Clothes
The skinny, cropped trouser and skirted suit fashion lasted more than 20 years so you have time to watch the evolution of fashion. You can buy fads but don’t invest heavily. Be aware that they might look dated after a few seasons and be ready to donate or alter them. However, keep your eye on fads which have stuck around a couple of years and have become a more wearable trend, then buy them for a fashion forward look. If you are good at forecasting what is likely to last, Trends are an excellent buy.
People who are less concerned about looking very fashionable are well-advised to wait longer before buying and Trends fit the bill. These trusty fashions can become even longer lasting when they merge into Trend/Modern Classics. Floral, tropical and patterned dresses were good examples of this style.
Traditional Classics are good investments for evening wear, as they change more gradually and last the longest. Other classics are leather jackets, cashmere and wool sweaters, winter coats, raincoats and other garments that haven’t changed their style drastically since the dawn of time.
If you have shopped for your ideal styles and feel happy with your look, the job is done for a while. Update your hairstyle and color, makeup, accessories, glasses, hemlines and don’t be afraid of an alteration now and again. Enjoy your new styles knowing that your new visual brand will have quite an impact on those around you. It has a current flair and projects the messages you intend to send.
