Style- What Is It?

The funny piece about this English language thing that we all share is that it has the most words of any language. Many of them overlap- similiar meanings, shared meanings. How many words can you think of that mean 'tired'? The meanings of some words change based on the context of the situation. Context is the most powerful driving factor in communication, bar none.

Like the spoken and written word, context can also change nonverbal communication in powerful ways. The clothing which you wear can speak volumes about your personality. Or your intent. Or your mood. How you wear that clothing can change the meaning drastically. For instance, a necktie cinched up against the collar and knotted symmetrically conveys a sense of order and professionalism. Take that same necktie and loosen it overtop of an unbuttoned collar and it now shows a slightly disheveled, much more casual look.

So, the point of the story? Context plays an important role in how other people perceive your image. Seems simple, doesn't it? Well, it is. Sometimes. The problem with looking at context and image as a simple matter of do-this-and-people-will-think-this is that everyone thinks differently. The most pronounced differences in how people perceive things run along cultural and generational lines. This is most evident in the design of garments among different ethnic groups. Take, for instance, the differences in Asian-inspired garments versus those of North American design.

Hopeless, right?

Not entirely. Style should speak about who you are. What you do. What you like, and perhaps even what you think (although, in my case I tend to avoid the latter. Honestly, who would want to wear a shirt that just screams 'I LOVE BEER!!!' -- my apologies to people who like to wear shirts that scream 'I LOVE BEER!!!' and also the people at Molson Canadian. I hear they give away a lot of those shirts).

And here I promised that I would try to veer off on tangents less often. My apologies, dear reader.

So, how does style speak about who you are? On the surface, this seems like a ridiculous statement that I've just made- one that is difficult to put into practice.

Here's the brilliant thing about it though- your sense of style speaks of who you are simply by the act of you purchasing things that appeal to you (by God, if I had a nickel for every time I heard 'but I like to wear what you like to look at, honey' then Forbes would be writing about me every month, and not Warren Buffett).

The SIMPLE ONE MOST IMPORTANT thing to keep in mind when buying clothing is fit. Proper fit, to be exact. If your clothing is ill-fitted, then it will make you look sloppy. Or worse, it will make you look like you're wearing dad's hand-me-downs. Or mom's hand-me-downs. Or mom wearing dad's hand-me-downs (this would be fairly close to worst-case scenario, I think).

What makes for proper fit? Comfort? Not necessarily. Yes, 'comfort' is important. You can't wear clothes that you're not comfortable in. But the idea of comfort can be a giant razor-toothed bear-trap sort of thing that you would only see in the most outlandish Bugs Bunny cartoon. Being set by Elmer Fudd. Here's what I mean by this: if you're used to wearing shirts that are two sizes too big, that's what you will find most comfortable (even though they make you look sloppy).

Clothing that fits properly flatters your frame, enhances your physical assets, and presents you in a much more positive light to the people around you than clothing which does not. One side effect of this: if you look fantastic, and you know you look fantastic, you tend to feel... more or less... fantastic.

If you're not sure how to go about this buying-clothes-that-fit-properly thing, hire a professional to tag along for the afternoon when you go shopping. Ironically enough, I know one who loves that sort of thing.

Inceptum

Well, I have to admit that this is my first blog posting. Ever. It's entirely possible that you are far more excited about that than I am. Writing comes naturally to some people- at least in different ways. Some writers are very adept at choosing what to write about, and some are very adept at how to write about them. Personally, I'm the latter. For the life of me, I could not decide on what to write in this quasi-monumental post (my best friend has been harassing me for ages to start a blog in companionship with my business interests- she's a certified event planner, FYI. And a very good one. Not that I know this from personal experience, as I'm unmarried.. but I have experienced some of her work first hand.). That was very tangent-y, wasn't it? Back to the subject at hand- what to write about. How does one decide? I agonized for the better portion of an afternoon. I tried many tricks to self-inspire. A glass of scotch. Browsing blogs of the 'pros.'

(another tangent sorry... but I have to point out that 'pros' and 'prose' are pronounced exactly the same. And 'prose' is what this blog is. Har har. I know... love me or hate me, I'm an incredible nerd at heart)

Again, back to the subject at hand. How to decide? So, I had a glass of scotch (a very smooth MacMillan ten year, I might add). And then browsed over a few long-running blogs. After that, I watched the antics of Hank Moody, writer extraordinaire of Californication (Amazingly enough, David Duchovny is believable as a character other than the Fox. Not that I ever watched the X-Files much. Although I did go to high school with a guy who had an obsessive crush on Scully).

Even this didn't help. So, after practicing my eyebrow furrows and nose-crinkles in my mirror for a considerable amount of time... it dawned on me. I sat down, and began to type. And now, for your reading pleasure, a blog about indecision. Why indecision? Because it's my blog and I can bloody well blog about anything that I wish.

Oh, and because this is a blog about image and perception, here's my self-mandated theme tie-in:

Men (yes, even caucasian men), CAN in fact wear pink and look incredibly good. To those men who say that pink is not manly, consider this: it takes far more brass in the southern regions to do something that you will be judged on than it does to conform and follow the herd. Ps, most women that I've crossed paths with LOVE a man in pink. Just a thought.