20 March 2019

Street Style : HOW TO FIND YOUR PERSONAL STYLE




How to find the style that suits you ?




How would you describe your style? Formal? Classical? Casual? Smart? Find out how you can discover your very own style.

First of all, what is style? Let’s hear a few words of wisdom from the wise and witty.Style is knowing who you are and what you want to say,” (Gore Vidal); “Style is an expression of individualism mixed with charisma,” (John Fairchild); “Style is the perfection of a point of view,” (Robert Eberhart); “Style is a simple way of saying complicated things,” (Jean Cocteau); “Style is the dress of thoughts,” (Lord Chesterfield).

So, now you know what style is, you’ll need to buy some clothes. But where? In the UK, you can get really cheap, stylish, second-hand clothes at charity shops. They’re great if you want exclusive labels but don’t want to pay the price. The only difficulty is discovering where the really good bargains are. But don’t worry; Leila Gray can help you here. She’s the proud owner of a vintage Hardy Amies coat, picked up at a charity shop for £20 - a good deal when you realise it cost more than £800 new. “You have to go to the richer areas of a city,” she says. “That’s where all the labels are. It can take a bit of hunting around, but that’s half the fun, and there’s a lot of buried treasure just waiting to be discovered.”

So, now you know where to buy your new, stylish clothes, how do you acquire your style? Experts say that mixing and matching from charity shops can help you find your own style – something that’s really you. That’s what Scottish musician Momus did. “My fashion tip is this,” he says, “look at yourself with the eye of a graphic designer. If you can’t be attractive, aim for ‘interesting’ or ‘original’.” Momus’ unique style could even make him happier, too. As psychologist Marilyn Elias explains, the happiest people “judge themselves by their own yardsticks, never against what others do or have”.

Shoichi Aoki, the founder of Japanese street style magazine FRUiTS, agrees. “I think real fashion is what people wear on the streets, the clothes that they wear, the way that they wear them,” he says. “What you see in fashion magazines and on models has been styled and it’s more commercial.” He says that his inspiration for FRUiTS came from people combining traditional Japanese clothing such as the kimono and “geta” (Japanese wooden clogs) with Western fashion. “This really caught my eye,” Aoki adds. These styles may seem wild, but Aoki’s idea is not: be bold, be creative and find something that suits you.

Maybe it’s time to create your own look. There are many online guides to help you. Perhaps the best advice comes from a website called WikiHow, “If you see something you like,” it says, “feel free to copy, but don’t make yourself a clone... mix it up and make it yours.” Think about it!

GLOSSARY
Casual adj “casual” clothes are ones you normally wear at home or while on holiday
Smart adj clothes that are neat and clean in appearance
Words of wisdom exp clever/intelligent thoughts and words
Witty adj someone who is “witty” can say clever/intelligent things very quickly
Charisma n someone who has “charisma” can attract, influence and inspire people
A charity shop n a shop that sells second-hand goods. The money is used to fund charities
A label n clothing produced by a top fashion company
A deal n a bargain; something that is good value for money
To hunt around phr vb to look for something carefully and in a number of places
Buried treasure exp metaphorically = great clothes that are very cheap (in this case)
To judge yourself by your own yardstick exp to form an opinion about yourself without comparing yourself to others
Commercial adj a “commercial” product is one that is made in order to be sold to the public
To catch your eye exp if something “catches your eye”, you notice it
To suit vb if something “suits” you, it looks good on you a
Clone n an exact copy/replica of something

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