When it comes to sartorially expressing oneself, there are two tactics that the strategic enthusiast employs. First, she identifies her charming quirks and current fascinations, and collects statement pieces capable of highlighting her unorthodoxy. These items may include –but are not limited to—leather fringed batwing tops, white hexagonal shades, and lace-up platform booties decorated with unicorns. This method essentially involves building what I like to call one’s “fashion repertoire,” or the visual sartorial vocabulary with which one identifies herself at the present moment.
To create a bit of solidity to this otherwise theoretical conception, take the following ridiculous example of how I recently proceeded to construct my own fashion repertoire. After taking an interest in sixteenth century Elizabethan fashion I became fixated on the combination of dreamy textures, the elaborate ornamentation, the characteristically Spanish Baroque somberness, and the magnificent reticella lace ruffs. I found myself in a state of near nostalgia for a style so perfectly fussy and extravagant that I felt a dire need to embody what would otherwise be considered “tawdry patterns and a giant cat flea collar” (am I right?).
So after weeks of keeping an eye out for a garment with some kind of Elizabethan-inspired element, I purchased a lovely beige BCBGMAXAZRIA blouse with a large pleated neck ruff as well as matching pleated cuff ruffs. I incorporated it into my existing “sartorial repertoire” by adding an element that currently fascinated me on a creative level, and which was able to express a unique eccentric quality of myself. After a few months, however, I have incorporated new pieces to my sartorial vocabulary, eliminated others, and have temporarily placed my Elizabethan ruffs on the sidelines. This is not to say that fleeting passions are valueless; on the contrary, part of self-expression through fashion involves experimentation with seemingly peculiar objects of interest. However, when expressing oneself sartorially, it is most important to develop an enduring and authentic representation of oneself, capable of emitting one’s consistent identity—something we aficionados like to call “style.”
This brings us to the fashionista’s second strategic tactic when pursuing sartorial self-expression: after identifying the defining elements of her character, she decides to embody them through basic key pieces such as a distressed black leather jacket to highlight her edgy confidence, or an antique cameo pendant to articulate her feminine sophistication. This second method can be thought of as the more critical modus operandi of self-expression because it defines one’s stable, unchanging, and authentic nature, rather than the fickle preferences influenced by constantly changing trends, ultimately causing one to purchase those ridiculous glow-in-the-dark platform loafers (which I recently purchased, thank you very much) that will be out of your closet sooner than you can say “Manolo Blahnik.”
Style, as opposed to fashion, is embedded into the way one relates to others, in the way one feels about herself, and in the way she presents herself to the world. To embody style through sartorial pieces is to understand one’s authentic self and to decorate one’s body with pieces so representative of one’s personality, they can be thought of as more than just garments, but as a material extension of one’s immaterial nature. It is a wonderfully elegant girl wearing the same pearl necklace day after day because its feminine subtlety matches the sophistication she carries herself with. It is a spontaneous free spirit wearing a full tulle skirt, mint green Manolos, and a beaded Indian clutch. It is my unfailing inclination to drape myself in dreamy fabrics and intricate embellishment to embody my overarching sense of aesthetics that guides virtually every facet of my life. It is the enduring sense of self guiding one’s unique views, relationships, and dignity that defines style. As Coco once said, “fashion fades, only style remains the same.”
