In yesterday’s extremely L-O-N-G 😳 post on influencers-I covered the history of men’s style eras of the past 125 years pretty thoroughly. Within the confines of that period I stand firmly behind my repeated statement that the difference between fashion and style is that “fashion is ‘out of’ the second that it is ‘in’. And “Style” is never ‘out of’. For periods of time longer than 120 years ago throughout human history the terms fashion and style become extremely interchangeable and blurred.
Again, this post is my take on revisiting @antonio Centeno great Style system program that I recommend that you take (or perhaps retake). In this module Antonio uses the trench coat and its history as just ONE example of something that has a proven track record. It has established itself as a somewhat timeless garment that is as stylish as it is functional ie a Classic Timeless Menswear piece. In this module he has some great quotes:
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- “knowledge of menswear and knowing that something has been around for over a hundred years, guess what? You can afford to spend a little bit more money on it because you can rest assured that this isn't going to go out of style,”
- “when you understand history and menswear and you go for classic fits, classic clothing. It comes down to fit, fabric, and function. If you nail those things, all of a sudden, you're going to walk in and people aren't going to say you're fashionable. They're going to say, "That guy looks good" and that is timeless….know your history.”
- “History gives us an understanding of the social context of different outfits, the traditions involved, and the practicality behind them.”
- “Modern men’s style is often taught in a disorganized and fragmented fashion, leaving you, the student, with a lack of understanding”
- “The challenge of following “current” fashion is the transience and unpredictability of trends.”
In other words know your history about clothing.
Now I am aware that Antonio and other great’s like G Bruce Boyer, and Alan Flusser, and Ralph Lauren use the word “fashion” interchanging it with the works “style” in a slightly different manner than I, but I stand behind my use of the word style as meaning much more that just “personal style”. Style that is Classic and Timeless (or at least enduring for a hundred years or more), is a true enduring art form. Antonio describes a study of monkeys in his video where one monkey puts a feather behind his ear and all the monkeys in the group mimicked him. (Hmmm can any one say Tom Ford organ grinder monkey suit fit perhaps?🤔). This is clearly fashion. But in all fairness, fashion itself is an art form or at least a partial art form or better yet an ingredient of a bigger art form that is best expressed by individuals. And truly we each follow someone else’s art (personal style) constantly. Thomas Browne as a fashion designer introduced the fashion world to the little boy’s suit around 2004 (see the pics with the three guys in “suitlets”. ) This androgynous/infantile suit fit screams the blurring of men/women/ little boy-gender-bender idealism that has permeated society for a good part of the present century. But it wasn’t until our favorite secret agent James Bond began wearing Tom Ford’s design that guys across the globe began adopting this fashion statement-most of whom were unaware of its origin. If this fashion statement remains the preeminent look for three more decades-beyond my existence on this earth-who am I to say fashion doesn’t blurr into style as it alway does over longer periods of time. Heck, look at the stalwart of New England Ivy clothing, JPress. Their Lookbooks over the past couple of years have as many women wearing men’s clothing in their adds as men. (See the blond lady in a coat and tie pic). This androgynous fashion statement might just endure and become viewed as classic timeless her/him 😳 style one hundred years from now? But to me Style is that which shines brightly for long periods of time. There are several examples in the art world. Monet was a radical painter and a leader of the impressionist movement in his time. For 10 years at least he met severe resistance by critics. Mozart died broke yet his musical art and genius is still played and studied three centuries after his death (Bach’s music was “discovered” far after his death as well). Each of the artist’s STYLE endured far beyond their deaths. Or how about more modern composers. Sir Paul McCartney was a pop icon through-out the 1960’s and 1970’s. Two guys in my band hate the Beatles relegating them to a 1960’s boy band pop group. But it has been fairly recent that people have finally recognized McCartney’s incredible work ethic (since leaving the Beatles, McCartney released an LP or EP effectively every year for 50 straight years!). He was the most artistic of the group, always adapting to current trends the most notable examples of which were his push for completing the Sgt Peppers album ( it marks the birth of album rock) after hearing Brian Wilson’s Pet Sounds Album, And then his monumental leap in Bass line complexity beginning with Rubber Soul and Revolver-after hearing James Jameson the great Motown bassist. Ironically this was the exact concurrence of the Beatles’ studio years of releasing more advanced songs. The number of musical artist over the past 60 years that directly attribute their primary influence to the Beatles, and specifically to McCartney, from Ozzy to Sting, and from Billy Joel to Eilish/Finneas and from Springsteen to Petty etc presents a staggering array of talent.
In the history of clothing from the personal Style of Beau Brummel-then through all the great Golden Era influencers who were directly involved with their own clothing choices: Crosby, Astair, Grant, Cooper, Stewart, MCQUEEN, G Bruce Boyer, Allan Flusser, Ralph Lauren - they all represent a recognition of the art of stylish dressing that transcends trendy fashions. To put it another way: Innovators adopted the vagrancies of fashion trends around them to present their own personal style. This adaptation became the essence of a “STYLE” that has become recognized as something others want to emulate-not for just a season or two but effectively almost every season for the past 100+ years at least. Style is therefore an enduring art form whereas fashion is a fleeting ingredient that can influence Style but the two are not the same.
I’ll end my take on Antonio’s history module with a quote I learned from a Dale Carnegie course I had 42 years ago: “Enthusiasm is that ingredient of vitality mixed with a firm belief in what you are doing that ensures the success of any project you undertake”. So be enthusiasts about wearing the classics by knowing what got them there. I think this sums up the value of learning the history of enduring style elements in Menswear. (not to mention the value of Fit>Function>Fabric). If you want to truly enjoy this art form, learn all you can.