What's In A Name?: Defining A Style - Topic of the day 9/7/24
A common refrain is "what style is this (picture or text description of clothes)? To what extent is having an defined aesthetic name (e.g. ivy, streetwear, workwear, "avant-garde") important to developing personal style and/or dressing "better"? How useful is a broad descriptor (e.g. "ivy") vs a more specific one (e.g. "80s French ivy")? Are there better ways of describing a particular style or combination of styles?
13 Replies
language is hard and to some extent super contextual
broad terms can help when buying items or figuring out brands, super narrow ones feel useful primarily for community building (e.g. 'dark academia', every core)
both are subject to interpretation or bias which is why i like visual markers instead of/in addition to defining a look (e.g. 'dressing like gandalf' vs 'dressing in maiacore')
It's super helpful cause it makes finding inspo easier
Otherwise it doesn't matter
What smiles said
Aesthetic descriptors are super helpful for organizing the like massive and overwhelming world of fashion into digestible groups
i think it's how a lot of people were taught to think about clothing and style too, esp in my like peer group
remembering going to the mall and seeing stores distinguished by their vibe, the hot topic contrasting the abercrombie and so on
i think the more you learn about clothing and style the less useful broad descriptors become because you see how blurry the lines can get, and more precise descriptors become more useful for thinking and communicating about fashion
but it takes a minute to learn the right languange to say what you think/feel you know
(Scorching hot take) There being words for things is incredibly helpful
Categorical sorting can get kind of limiting but it’s also the framework for our understanding of a lot of stuff
One of my favorite styles I admire is the Congolese sapuers started as a way of satirical mocking colonial powers and their arrogance and their ambition by using elements in their high end clothing but in ordinary day to day wear. Just shows how many non white clothing subcultures exist everywhere in the world .
With fashion conglomerates and the rise of fast fashion these sub cultures can be very lost as well as their important commentary on how they are viewed by the world
Theres two styles. Kiki and bouba
This is an example of what my chewa tribe would wear, I think there’s been a lot of effort in taking traditional styles and incorporating them into daily wear for all people. There are nice unique sub cultures out there
Good for finding stuff, but Yeah absolutely biggest problem with fashion media, and fashion trends in general is how narrow the focus is. Everything outside a few big cities is largely ignored or derided
I think labels/names are more useful years after the fact, once it's clear that the style has some staying power. I don't think "quiet luxury" will be used 5 years from now or if it does then it'll look very different.
quiet luxury wont be used even a year from now