Personal Style vs. Fashion / Harmony vs. Contrast

In this episode of the Style POV podcast, host Gabrielle Arruda explores the differences between fashion and style, harmony and contrast, emphasizing the importance of developing a personal style perspective (POV). She underscores the lasting quality of style versus the ever-changing nature of fashion. She explains how personal style is an expression of one’s identity and artistic creativity, discussing how elements like line, color, and texture play a role. In this episode, she also addresses the balance between inspiration and individuality, and the extrinsic and intrinsic goals of dressing. The episode encourages listeners to build a ‘style toolbox’ to help them achieve different goals of style harmony or style contrast.

Listen to it:

Transcript:

Charles Bukowski said

“Style is the answer to everything. A fresh way to approach a dull or dangerous thing. To do a dull thing with style is preferable to doing a dangerous thing without it. To do a dangerous thing with style is what I call art.”

Charles Bukowski

So what are we even building here? 

Hi, I’m Gabrielle Arruda your host for the Style POV podcast and I’m here to help you learn to trust your fashion instincts, hone your authentic style POV, and find strength through style.

Let’s be honest.  Fashion is different than style. And Personal Style is different than Style. 

Word salad, yes. But doesn’t make it any less true of a statement.  

And it’s this constant house of cards of balancing what the editors say is in vogue, what the style systems say you need to be incorporating, and balancing these forms with your actual aesthetic interests, lifestyle needs, and potential FOMO or style adhd tendencies. 

Whew. I mean. Let’s not kid ourselves, that is a lot to consider and find “harmony” in.

So, it’s no wonder why so many people rely on classic style silhouettes because they do a lot of the baseline work for you. I mean, most people look totally acceptable in classic silhouettes. 

It’s the safe bet. 
(I’m not referring to classic in the yin/yang systems but as a conventional mode of time-honored dress styles).

But, around here… we don’t necessarily want to take the safe bet.  We want to find our own style values, develop our unique style POVs, and learn to trust and enhance our own fashion instincts.

The aesthetic woman is known for the things she loves. Do you find beauty in music, sculpture, painting, architecture, drama, and literature? If you do, this truth will be revealed in your clothes. 

It’s a connection between self-identity and extension of self through your garments and a collection of these things as a whole.

Understanding Fashion vs. Style

Let’s first begin by talking about fashion vs. style.  Because they are in fact different entities and it’s worth making this delineation because it may change how you approach style content and personal style building. 

The word fashion is derived from different Latin interpretations one of which is “facere” which means “to make”-  translates to a certain element of craftsmanship—a collection of techniques to be applied in different modes. And a mode of fashion then becomes a trend.  It’s constantly changing, and evolving.  The modes of fashion from a decade ago, are different than they are today. 

So Fashion- to make, to appear, to form. 

To quote Oscar Wilde “Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.”

Style, on the other hand, has no such time volatility.  It has been defined as “that lasting quality which is representative of the best in any period or era, a characteristic of mode or expression or execution.  

That word characteristic is important.   Style is defined as a lasting quality that reflects the best characteristics of any period, whereas fashion is seen as a temporary mode. The concept of style involves ideation, where current trends shape the mode, and skilled designers and editors interpret contemporary ideas accurately. 

If that was too wordy, don’t worry, we are going to break it down. 

Fashion can vary while adhering to principles of good taste, combining classical elements with modern expressions. Ultimately, style harmonizes ideas and their expression, transforming a woman’s clothing from mere fashion to true style through a coherent blend of color, line, and texture.

If you’re confused- let’s simplify this.  Fashion is the form of clothes that changes each decade.

Style is how you use those pieces. The IDEAS and characteristics you imbue by your artistic creating. 

For style- we are looking for harmony (or intentional contrast) with line, color, texture, and the 4 style pillars I discussed in a previous episode (linked in show notes).

Style, therefore, is the embodiment of contemporary ideas expressed with a refined sense of appropriateness and harmony

How does personal style fit in then?

But, how then do we develop a PERSONAL style?  Because style itself is just a baseline. 

The poet Richard Eberhart put it beautifully when he said “Style is the perfection of a point of view”. 

The art of dress and personal expression relies heavily on the totality of your look (your head to toe), and a somewhat spiritual or self-expression aspect.  When I say spiritual I mean looking past just the mechanics of clothes and the foundational aspects of style education, and learning how to CONNECT and invest yourself into them. 

So we have style being elements like precise proportions, complimenting color use, totality in coherent design, and understanding of the 4 style pillars.  Whereas personal style expression is about distinctiveness.  It’s the expression of YOU. Now this includes both your personality you possess longterm and/or the one you assume for the moment. 

It’s individuality.  

So fashion- broad strokes market and trend. Style- foundations of good dressing and style principles.

Personal Style Expression:  How you use all of these things together to express your best self. 

This means it’s not about what you spend on clothes, or how many you have.. but about the personal rightness of what you are buying.

This is why your shopping habits can be tanking or supporting your best style. this is discussed in episode 3.

We have a social fascination with clothes.  We use them as identifiers and cultural denominators, and it creates a social hierarchy of sorts.  

And so often we look at it through the lens of if I want great style I need to buy this.  If I want to fit in or be associated with XYZ then I should buy the same dress she’s wearing.

But, I reckon this is exactly the opposite of what we should be pursuing.

Inspiration is fantastic, but copy/paste is getting on the style-treadmill and never actually moving forward.

You can create stylish outfits by copying and pasting a look you see online. And there are some phases of your style journey where this can be a helpful exercise.  But, without observation and building out your own style toolbox, you’re going to be trapped in a cycle of generalized style. 

To get to the style expression, we need a true understanding of our inner selves AND our style principles.  This is why in the last episode I talked about my style toolbox workbook which encourages you to deep-dive into each aspect of your style and how YOU personally use it. 

It’s that true confluence we are looking for.  Confluence means merging. 

And style confluence is about finding a harmonious blend of different elements to create something new and compelling. It involves drawing on a wide range of influences and techniques, recognizing their unique qualities, and synthesizing them into a coherent and unified expression. This approach not only enriches the creative process but also results in works that are dynamic, innovative, and reflective of a broader spectrum of human experience.

This is why systems like kibbe or Kitchener can be so helpful. Because they help you find those harmonization baselines. 

But individualization is a pivotal next step.  It’s not enough to say your style parameters are XYZ, you have to be able to personally identify their meaning and customize them to create a distinct personal expression. 

Style Harmony vs. Style Contrast { it might not be what you think}

Now, on the flip side, you may be thinking, that’s all great but I actually don’t want harmony, I  like a bit of contrast in my look.

You still need to build your style toolbox. Those principles are also the basis where you develop opposition or contrast.  Because to create novel, interesting, or thought-provoking looks, you need to understand the totality of harmony. Only then can you find the difference between the two parts.

We don’t necessarily want our contrast to appear like a foreign body part, where people only stare at that one piece and think “Hmm that’s kind of strange”.  But rather, we want them to think “Oh, that’s unexpected, I’m intrigued by this dynamic shift”. 

So confluence is merging or harmonizing. Body + Garments merge to create the same lines

Contrast is an intentional oppositional balance.  Body + Garments do not merge and sit next to one another.

{ Contrast is not always extreme like an Olson twin in a super oversized outfit. It can be more subtle or nuanced, but it should not feel wildly out of balance with the wearer or awkward to the eye. Instead of like mirroring like (harmony), we have like + different for contrast. Now if you’re wondering if the Kitchener dramatic essence always has “style contrast” see the below visual of Cher. She wears dramatic essence lines in harmony and in contrast. The drama imbued in the dramatic essence does favor this extension and exaggeration of line, but it is not a pre-requisite for the essences’ silhouettes}

Contrast fails when our style pillars are out of whack and we introduce a piece that does not create novel and interesting but instead overwhelms and creates visual imbalance and awkwardness.

And this is where the laws of illusion come into play.  We can discuss this more it in depth in an article if you’d like.

But essentially it is how are you using your style pillars and toolbox. When you are creating a painting, royal portrait style.  Full body, face, and vibes.  How are the garment lines shifting and creating space around you? 

Are they exuding your beautiful natural body shape?  Or are you exaggerating this shape?  Or are you trying to create novel interest by something so artistic it moves beyond the realm of style and fashion and goes into fashion as art category.

An example of this would be… Grace Kelly in the rear window promo- that famous black and white dress.  The lines of that dress accentuate the natural lines of her body.  They highlight her body and there is an appropriateness and logic in this outfit in relation to her body. A Soft Classic– truly soft classic-ing. 

Now an example of intentional contrast would be exaggerating the shape.  Create more distance between the body’s natural line and the piece worn, but not too much distance where the two parts of the whole cannot be connected.  Rihanna does this nicely.  Much of her style expression is being a chameleon and not having any set rules, but most of the pieces she put together create a balanced look.  There’s a magnetism in how she uses the pieces, like an artist going “outside the box”.  But rarely do we look at her outfits and go “Huh, that’s off”. 

You may think “Cool, not for me” but those are different sentiments.

Now, there’s an important balance point here.  If your contrast goes so far outside the realm of your body and natural lines, you veer into the “art” category.

Which is why we don’t often see people wearing Hussein Chalayan pieces walking down the street.  It’s more art than style.

The problem with contrast or juxtaposition is it takes a trained eye and understanding of your style toolbox to see where can I exaggerate, amplify, or intentionally expand this look?

Versus… creating outfits that just have you hmm… that’s.. not… quite.. working.

So before you expand into creating more duality in your style, I encourage you to find out your harmony basics and your 4 style pillars.  It’s much easier to break the rules, when you understand them. 

Style Goals: Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic

Now how you approach personal style, has a lot to do with your baseline expectations and surrounding cultures.  To say that style is created in a vacuum, would be an interesting experiment, but not a repeatable learning environment. 

The purposive aspects of style boil down to, why do you wear what you wear.  And here we are not going to say “Well my style toolbox has….”

No, here we are looking at our baseline for fashion and style (remember we discussed their differences).  What you put on your body has an intrinsic and extrinsic goal. 

If we are considering the extrinsic goal here, we are looking at what is the point of doing all this work on personal styles, what do other people get out of it and how will that impact me?

The intrinsic goal would ideally be enjoyment, satisfaction, and a beautiful depiction of all the things that make you, you.  Which I discuss as a pivotal element.

But I haven’t yet talked about extrinsic elements to personal style and how it affects how comfortable we are trying new things, and framing new style input. 

Extrinsic goals can include dressing for function or utility (this allows you to adhere to social norms like wearing running shoes at a marathon),  displaying cultural associations and signs of inclusion, and wearing items that signify achievement and trophies of sorts.

Or when you dress to express your bodily self BUT you adapt it to meet the constraints of your surroundings.  You’re adhering to your norms.

I bring this up, because it’s not bad, and we all do it.  Yes, I want style to be this highly personal, beautiful expression of yours that sparks ultimate confidence and you find strength through style.

But… our framework of life, forces us to interact with our world and immediate surroundings. 

Working with your extrinsic expectations can help you on your style journey. It’s recognizing what you gain from your style growth, and how your baseline expectations are formed. 

{how to reach and measure your style goals, resource}

This helps you tackle new style input beautifully.  

Practical Style Integration

So let’s take examples of each.  Recognizing what you gain from your style growth.  If you are in a professional corporate job, and you have a traditionally curvy body, understanding your style toolbox allows you to show up to the job and allow your clothes to highlight your best self in an appropriate way.  You’re seen as an individual who belongs, who people have confidence in, and people respect. 

You learn how to be taken seriously while not dampening your inner spirit and style distinctiveness. 

Now, it can also help you understand why new style input or a style technique or concept might be scary or intimidating to you.  Or it might just not belong in your style toolbox. 

I can speak from experience when I say for the first 24 hours my bright spring color analysis created some cognitive dissonance. 

I mean, I’m from NYC. Land of black chicness. While people use color in a variety of different ways, I was trying to rack my brain for examples of how that bubbly, bright palette would fit into the landscape of skyscrapers, pavement, and that distinctive bold energy. 

I got there. But, it also made me realize, my baseline… My comfort zone is where I was using color previously. Muted colors, and blacks… 

My need to belong in the landscape of New York, was shifting my comfort with this new style input.  As soon as I was able to recognize this, I could reframe.  The heart of NY is about individuality, by using my bright spring palette in an aligned style way, I will be creating my distinct style. And NY values distinctness.

Now, you may decide.. Hey, I was told I’m a bright spring, and my environment and culture just won’t support a full-blown execution of that.  That’s a great observation too! You are then using the tool (color analysis) to shape your personal style, in accordance with your extrinsic goals.

Maybe it’s about buying a warm white sweater, and a beautiful pair of bright caramel shoes.  You might not be doing the full monty, but you’re meeting the new input where you’re comfortable.

Integration does not have to be absolute conformity.  

And if you got anything from this episode it’s that understanding and personalization are the keys in style that makes you feel like a million bucks. 

Or 10 million in this economy. 

Action Step

So what’s your action step?  Start taking stock of where you are in your style journey.  Reflect on any new style input and how you can integrate it in a way that meets you where you’re at instead of cold-plunge shocking your style into submission. 

And, consider the purpose of your style and style goals. Define how you combine fashion, style, and personal distinctiveness into a unique style pov.

Thank you for tuning in, until next time.