In the 1990s, Doina Berchină wrote in one of the first books on clothing in our country that fashion is an unjustifiably feminine preoccupation, from which many men (designers, tailors, photographers, makeup artists, stylists, etc.) make a good living. Thirty years later, the reverse has also become true.
In contrast to fashion designers are style creators, fewer in number, who introduce easily recognizable ideas to the market that set them apart (Brioni, Armani, Tom Ford, Ralph Lauren). Their pieces are more expensive and produced in limited series.
The modern man’s dilemma is that he tries to be stylish but ends up merely being “fashionable.” That’s why, in this article, we’ve outlined five clear differences between fashion and style to settle the matter once and for all. You won’t believe the fifth one!
1. Duration
One of the first differences is duration. Fashion is temporary, and therefore perishable, while style is timeless. Fashion changes often without justification, arbitrarily, simply to bring something new to market. Fashion houses release new collections every six months, with clothes labeled as “seasonal items.” Thus, what is new this year will be outdated the next—a strategy that drives consumption. In practice, fashion promotes novelty for the sake of novelty. Style, however, is not defined by duration. It has developed gradually, generation after generation, leading to today’s refined rules. Having style means finding the right balance between proportion, model, and quality material. This balance differs from person to person, which leads us to the next point.
2. Individualization
Fashion pieces are designed to dress large masses of people. This makes outfits uniform and makes everyone look the same. Style, on the other hand, seeks to highlight the wearer by respecting universal aesthetic principles tailored to each individual’s build and features. For example, style allows a man to choose his preferred fabric, texture, color, and pattern, but forbids jacket sleeves from covering shirt cuffs.
3. Extravagance
Fashion is loud, while style is subtle. Fashion promotes increasingly flamboyant pieces simply because they haven’t been tried before. This leads to outfits with oversized garments, impossible color combinations, and even recycled plastic fabrics! The success of a fashion collection has come to mean the success of its runway show in Paris, Milan, or New York. But no one will actually wear those pieces on the street—no one wants to look like a Christmas tree. By contrast, style does not need to reinvent itself periodically. For this reason, style focuses on highlighting the wearer of the clothes, not the clothes themselves.
4. Comfort
Fashion seeks convenience, while style seeks quality. Fashion items are often cheap because they target large masses of consumers. Polyester, polyamide, and acrylic are some of the most common materials used. Style is not always cheap or easy to obtain, but it pays off in the long run. As we’ve said before, what is cheap isn’t necessarily good, and what is good isn’t necessarily cheap. A high-quality garment that lasts ten years has a lower cost per wear than a cheap garment that lasts two.
5. Process
Fashion is copied, while style is built. Anyone who wants to be fashionable walks into the nearest store and checks out the latest trends. But anyone who wants to build a personal style must set aside time and patience to educate themselves in this direction. Taste, elegance, and refinement are cultivated over time, and their benefits come with delayed rewards.
In conclusion, style is a set of conventions that allow you to achieve maximum effect with reasonable resources. It is always personal but rooted in universal principles. Fashion, on the other hand, stands outside such conventions, chasing novelty for its own sake and irrationally driving consumption. Which one do you choose?
