Substance vs. Style

I think it’s safe to assume that if you’re reading this you like clothes. And not just wearing them, or buying them, but you actually like the objects themselves. Certainly, if you swoon over a perfectly placed breast pocket or an expertly folded necktie, you’re in the right place.
But, love of clothing qua clothing aside, the goal is to cultivate a sense of personal style. What you are, and how that is expressed by what you wear. When you look in the mirror, it’s not some designer/trend mannequin staring back, but you.

As many authors here have identified recently, editing one’s wardrobe is a key part of this. Accumulating a closetful of beautiful garments you don’t wear, can’t wear, or worst of all, wear and don’t enjoy wearing is useless at the end of the day. The beauty of clothing is that it’s art that require you to be complete, and that you get to live your life in, so start doing so.

There are typically two types of clothes that sit in closets unworn – old, poorly fitting things that should be stored aware if you think you might want them again, and tossed out if you don’t, and then there are those items so precious that the thought of breathing on them, let alone, dare I say it, putting your body in them, sends shivers down your spine. I happened upon a lovely pair of wholecuts this summer that I had been lusting after for quite some time. After wearing them once, out of sheer excitement, it was weeks, if not months, before they saw the light of day. Sure, you don’t want to be careless with those things that you cherish, but letting them gather dust is hardly enjoying them, is it? Not that I wear these shoes every day now, but even if they just protect the dogs for a leisurely saunter to dinner every other week or so, I get to see them, enjoy them, and remember how happy I am to have them. Make the things you love a part of your life.

The other problem with curating a wardrobe is conflicts in personal style. Do I want to have a Trad/Ivy wardrobe, a closet full of sharp city suits, a sportsman’s locker, or some other cabinet full of wares? The answer is all of the above. While I’m all for aesthetic continuity, your style should be you, not some headline to an internet forum. I like wearing corduroys and rugby shirts on lazy Sundays, spotted ties and a double-breasted blazer going out, and when the temperatures plummet I go for plush knits to soften the look of a sharp jacket. If you took a picture of me every day during any given week, it wouldn’t look like some pages torn out of a cookbook. But I would look like me, and that’s what it’s about in the end.

So yes, editing what you have, enjoying what you have, and figuring out some sort of continuity are all vital, but to me, the thing that tops it off is when you look in the mirror and on any given day the person staring back feels, without a doubt, exactly you.