Learning the Literature: Reading Up on Style

“Fashion is more usually a gentle progression of revisited ideas.”

Bruce Oldfield

One of the most interesting things about trends and fashion is that, unlike technology, what is hot in fashion is rarely, if ever, new. It is always just the reemergence or reinterpretation of something that has already been explored.

Take this seasons magazines, for example. I will, without shame, admit that I regularly read InStyle and Elle. Sometimes, if I'm feeling really impulsive at the checkout stand, I might even grad the People style issue.Vogue is a rare purchases, mostly because I actually read other magazines for intellectual purposes and I don't have the time or the patience to weed through the billion adds in Vogue's novel length each month. Anyway, InStyle is much more focused on celebrity style as opposed the more runway honing of Elle. But both magazines are hawking harem pants, studded leather, and Debbie Harry Redux this season. I imagine you could pick up a magazine from 1983 and get the same vibe. But now suddenly it's new again, according to the magazines, and we American women should rush right out to buy it.

Give me a freakin' break. Harem pants are stupid now and they were stupid then, in my humble opinion. And while I am a fan of Debbie Harry's look and studded leather, these aren't things that have particularly gone away or fallen out of the mainstream. This is the problem with just focusing on fashion rather than style--you end up wearing things that may or may not be you just because.

Then why do I both reading the magazines? As I mentioned in an earlier post, runway trends and magazines are a way to see what will be arriving in stores near you. Sometimes it's good news (studded leather is always fun in my book) and sometimes it's bad (ahem--Harem pants).

So pick up a couple of fashion magazines and go through them with an editorial eye. Fold down the pages like you would in a catalogue of things you love and then add the notes to your style journal. What catches your eye? Try to avoid looking at prices and designers (it's actually pretty easy to do with Elle because the print is tiny and at the bottom of the pages) and just focus on the aesthetic. What do you really really love?

The next part of this assignment may take a great deal more time. If you are not familiar with iconic women and styles, now is that time. Books have been written on the style of women like Jackie and Audrey. There are also about a billion websites that can help you. Some people to consider:

• Louise Brooks
• The Duchess of Windsor
• Katheryn Hepburn
• Grace Kelly
• Jean Harlow
• Beatty Davis
• Audrey Hepburn
• Coco Chanel
• Jackie Kennedy
• Cher
• Diane Keaton
• Liza Minelli
• Edie Sedgwick
• Patti Smith
• Janis Joplin

Of course there are many more and I will speak of them in coming posts, particularly modern icons who are coloring our world today. As you look through images of these women, write down anything that inspires you. For example, I love love love Joplin's ability to mix ethnic prints and still look sexy. I also love Audrey's classic black anything and fabulous ballet flats. Do all those things work together? Who cares? I'm writing down what I love.

Look for the final step, shopping your closet, coming in the next few days.