If there is one thing I strive for when it comes to fashion, it’s that I’m always striving for elegance. I’m not sure that I’m ever going to get there but it’s something I study and continue to evaluate. I think there’s a very big difference between someone who is trendy and someone who is elegant.
In my opinion, being elegant applies to just about anything that is designed, which is really just about anything we use or touch. I like to compare architecture and fashion with one another and think there is some significant overlap when it comes to elegance. The historic buildings we treasure today are there because they’ve stood the test of time, both in function and in beauty, at least for the most part. So there is a sense of elegance to them. Many buildings today have too much going on, too many different materials, too many different shapes, all screaming to be noticed and none of it elegant. This is true of fashion and is most obvious to me on a red carpet. There are all types of statements being made and most of them are outlandish. Too many different colored fabrics, too many statement-making elements on one outfit and it often looks like there’s too much tape holding it all on the person wearing it! There is something always elegant about a classic ball gown, well-fitted and easy to move in.
This notion was reinforced to me about 15 years ago when I stumbled onto a book called Elegance by Kathleen Tessaro. The one I found is a fictional novel but the character within it uses a real book, also called Elegance by Genevieve Antoine Dariaux, in her life journey. So once I read the fictional story, I bought a copy of the original which is a how-to-dress book written in the 60s.
The fictional version is great in that we get to go on this transformational journey with the character and learn in many ways what not to do. The how-to version is great in that it is straight forward and tells the reader what they should do, and should not. The only issue with the original how-to version is that it is from a time when there were many more rules in fashion as to what should or shouldn’t be worn. It’s also from a time when women wore mostly skirts and dresses and it also is for a particular social strata that assumes the reader participates annual vacations, cocktail parties and other similar events. However, underlying that are some really great, timeless tips on what one should or shouldn’t wear. Mostly that simple is elegant and quality is key.
My biggest take-away from both books is that buying a lot of cheap items that quickly fall apart or are too trendy in the moment, simply end up costing a lot more than investing in classic, well-fitted pieces. We all know what those are. They can be a classic cut pair of dress pants with a straight leg. Something Katherine Hepburn would have worn and seen possible today on Tea Leoni. Classic turtlenecks, a well-fitted (that being key!) button up shirt, a nice pencil skirt that’s not too tight or too wide, a nice classic overcoat for those of us that live in a place with winter, these are examples of classics that I think create the building blocks of an elegant wardrobe. I also do think that more festive or timely pieces can be a part of that, as long as they aren’t so trendy they fall out of fashion within a year. And the absolute key to any elegant wardrobe is tailoring or fitting. This is something I’m trying to focus more on these days. I have a sewing machine and a basic understanding of off-the-rack construction because I’ve made a few things, so I need to put that to better use and take in a few things that don’t fit quite right (and let a few other things out where needed!). Because an elegant person shouldn’t have to use a safety pin to keep a shirt closed or be tugging and pulling all day long just to get something to sit right on my body.
But I do digress a bit from the books that I was planning to focus on. I really highly recommend anyone interested in being more elegant to buy copies of both – which I know can also be purchased used (something I strongly encourage in order to help our world be more sustainable). I’ve read the fictional version of Elegance at least 5 times and just cracked it back open again, realizing that several years later, with an older perspective, I’m getting even more out of the story despite knowing how it ends!
I’ll probably write more about style and elegance versus trendiness over time, mostly because I think the conversation doesn’t really happen in our society anymore. I want to stand out from the crowd, in a good way. I want to walk into the room and command attention, not because I’m wearing something that’s cut down to wherever, but because I’m dressed elegantly in a way that says, I’m in command of me, I know who I am and am confident in that thought. And really when it comes down to it, true self-confidence is probably the best way to be elegant.
