What is the difference betwen fashion and style?

A friend of mine recently decided that she wanted to change her style now that she was in her 40s. She always had her own sense of what she liked and was never afraid to experiment, so I was surprised when she started searching online, speaking to stylists, buying books on how to dress - because for me, consulting others on how to dress was never something I would consider. Fashion has always seemed something organic to me, something that might be a mish-mash of different sources, but never something that I had to research as such. 

But then when I thought about it, maybe we are not all as original as we think. I've always been interested in fashion - read fashion magazines, books on fashion, gone to exhibitions and watched documentaries. I've followed fashion weeks across the globe to see what the latest trends are and kept up to date on what my favourite designers are putting out. But most of all - I've always been a people watcher. The best fashion, and if you really want to be ahead of the crowd - it to know what's going on on the street. I live in Camden, so I've always been surrounded by fashion on the street - going to Sainsbury's for a pint of milk and walking along the high street - particularly on a weekend - is like a melting pot of all the latest styles and influences. If it were an ice-cream, it would be every flavour in the shop with all the sprinkles and a flake.

I always thought that my style was my own - as original as it could be. I don't chase the latest trends. I never did the puffball, you'll never catch me in a pleated midi length skirt as they make me look colossal - as do empire line dresses. And I've always felt - odd - in baseball hats. Perhaps this is the difference between following fashion and having your own style? Or is it that now I've got older, I have a better idea of what suits me?

But is anyone truly an original? I see lots of people with great style - but is anyone really that unique? If you hang out in Shoreditch or the trendy parts of Hackney you'll come across a lot of people who dress cool. They know how to mix vintage with designer and hight street. They look hip for sure. But they also all look the same. 

Rather than being the trailblazers we think we are, maybe whether we like it or not, we take in what we see and form our own version of this - which would mean that no-one is really original, but some people might have a great sense of style. 

So who is deciding what is fashionable at any given time? There's an old adage that says fashion is just recycled every 10 years and reworked to fit in with modern tastes.  And we all gobble it up, afraid of being out of the loop or left behind.

This quote from the film "The Devil Wears Prada" pretty much sums up where fashion trends come from: "You think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select, I don't know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise. It's not lapis. It's actually cerulean. And you're also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves Saint Laurent, wasn't it, who showed cerulean military jackets? I think we need a jacket here. And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers. And then it, uh, filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic Casual Corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs, and it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room from a pile of stuff."

If you Google, 'who decides what is fashionable?', you are met with this creepy answer that sounds like something from a QAnon pamphlet:

"People in the fashion business say trends are rarely decided by individuals. Instead, they are decided by committee. One of the most influential committees is a group of 10 people whose names are a secret."

The truth is a little less elusive, but not by much. Whereas once upon a time, the King of Queen over the top wardrobe was seen as the pinnacle of taste and trends then filtered down to the masses (Louis XIV was the King of Couture, darling and Queen Elizabeth's ruffs were fire). More recently Fashion Houses might have called the shots, but since the birth of the Internet, social media and influences, sub-cultures and kids on the street are now the major influencers of fashion forecasters.

Fashion write Sneha Conda has listed exactly how trends make it to your wardrobe. She writes:

🛍 ️Trend forecasters use the above information to analyze and predict trends up to 10 years into the future. 

🛍️ Data from trend forecasters and in-house designers are combined and a collection of 30–120 pieces is designed by fashion houses. 

🛍️ A sample range and lookbook is rolled out for fashion buyers at stores like Saks, Nordstrom, Bergdorf Goodman etc. 

🛍️ Collections are released as Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter, twice a year during fashion shows that are held six months in advance of the season. 

🛍️ Based on what’s trending, fashion buyers decide what to stock and how much of it, in their stores. If you complain that everything in fast fashion chains like H&M and Zara look the same, it’s because they subscribe to the same trend forecasts. They then translate trends from the runway into much lower-priced versions. 

🛍️ Dependent on the demand, the fashion garment supply chain gets cracking and the trends are manufactured and shipped to stores across the world. 

🛍️ Early adopters and online influencers then wear $1,425 destroyed sneakers that look like they were definitely attacked by feral dogs and over-sized moth-chewed sweaters and make you hate yourself, but make you want it too.

And that folks, is science.

So if fashion is disposable (clothes waste, recycling, upcycling etc is a whole other story I will write about some day).

Which brings us to the age old question, what is the difference between fashion and style? Yves Saint Laurent once quipped, "fashions fade, style is eternal." He of course, is a man who would know, and this most certainly rings true. However, his clothes were certainly part of fashion - Le Smoking is still referenced today, half a century after it first hit the catwalk. So what is the difference between the two? Indeed is there a difference?

David and Victoria Beckham in thieir youth and in head to toe Gucci leather.

Fashion is defined as what is being presented and worn by the masses at any given period. It is a craze, a passing phenomenon. When you follow fashion, you are essentially in a comparison mode, desiring to appear and be viewed in the same way as everyone else. You purchase and wear the same clothing that are sold in stores, portrayed in the media, and demonstrated on the runway. It may be tiresome, not to mention a financial burden, to have to keep up with the seasonal trends of the day. 

On the other hand, style is distinct and highly personal. It is a distinctive manner of expressing oneself. Instead, it is a reflection of your persona. Fashion is transient, however style is eternal to paraphrase Yves. It is possible to have style without fashion, but not fashion without style. Style, it would appear, transcends fashion. You can be stylish without following all the latest trends. 

Your style is personal - it is about establishing your own distinct look. In cultivating your own style, you are instantly imbued with an inner confidence and charisma. Style can take time, and work. Think of David Beckham in his youth - all 90s curtains, head to toe designer looks, matching leather outfits with Victoria, and who can forget the sarong incident? So-wrong! But today, with his easy, laid back jeans and t-shirt style, earthy tones and baker boy hats, he is always topping mens 'most stylish' lists. His tattoo sleeves and immaculately groomed hair and beard are copied the world over. He is undoubtedly, whether you like his style or not, a male style icon.

David Beckham sports a more laid back style these days, that is copied the world over.

There is a school of thought that says it is more important to focus on an overall style, rather than aiming to be fashionable. Designer Marc Jacobs once said, “I’m a bit suspicious of men who follow fashion too closely.”

By developing your style, you create your own self-brand. Your style is all about how you present yourself to the world, and this is what I think my friend wanted to shake up. Fashion is fun and frivolous, and part of growing up involves experimenting with what you like and don't like. True style, on the other hand, commands attention. It requires a comfortability in ones own skin as it may require you to stray from what is deemed popular. It may occasionally mean you are accidentally in fashion, or it may mean you are accidentally out of it, but this is irrelevant. Style, in this sense, is always fresh and timeless. While trends come and go, if you have a sense of style that works for you - and that you feel confident wearing, you will always look good.

All this got me thinking about my own sense of style. Who inspired it? How did it evolve? So for the next couple of weeks, I will be examining who inspired my own stlyle, from my mother to Madonna, the list is quite eclectic!