Fashion Ed: What is Fashion/Style?

When I hear the word fashion I immediately conjure up images from the pages of fashion magazines (duh) and replay scenes from The Devil Wears Prada and Clueless ( don’t judge me) in my head. From there I start thinking about the clothes I wear and wonder if it would be considered “fashionable” and start questioning my sense of style and on and on. After all of that pondering, i am left asking myself: what is fashion/style really? Well ,here is what I got.

The term Fashion by definition is: A popular style or practice that is accepted by a majority of a group. So right now I can say that the Peplum, is in fashion(believe me you’ve seen it everywhere) because it is popular right now and widely accepted, but fashion is not just for the apparel industry alone.

ASOS Dress

Automobiles and appliances are also fashion items( e.g., blenders that come in a multitude of colors). Almost every product sold is influenced by fashion and it is the customer who determines the fashion. How is that you say? Well to put it simply, it is a way for the consumer to be unique and different. It is a form of expression. I can not stand out from crowd if I'm rocking the same (insert here) that everyone else is. If company A is only selling one color of a blender but company B has more than 10 color options available, you bet my money is going to company B because I have the option to choose what I want can be little different. Company A will eventually fail if they don't appeal to consumer tastes and offer more color options.

Company A

Company B

It is easy to confuse the words style and fashion and believe that they are synonymous they aren't. Style is the characteristic “appearance “ of a product. The distinctive way a product looks and the combination of features that make that item different from others.By saying Grace Kelly had a great sense of style, I am basically stating that I liked the unique look and combination of the clothing/accessories that she wore. Her style is as influential today as it was back then.

  

Those are the text-book definitions for style and fashion but the meaning for the words can vary from person to person. What is considered fashionable to me , you may think is out dated or the type of style you like, I may think is lacking taste. In fashion terms, Taste defines a personal feeling toward a particular style. When people speak of good taste they are referring to the appropriateness of a style for a particular occasion, so taste is the opinion of some but not adhered to everyone. 

Thanks for reading :)