Is it possible to dress well without being influenced by fashion?

[TanyaKiller]

Ok, I've been discussing this with a friend of mine. And she thinks that someone can dress well without knowing fashion at all. I just have some doubts about it, I started thinking this through and it kinda gave me a knot in my head. I mean I admit that someone can dress well without following trends, knowing the name of the designers and such things. But a person dress well without knowing anything at all about fashion? That's just weird. Some kind of influence you have had, right? You must have seen it on some magazine. And the stuff that is on the magazine IS fashion. If you didn't see it on a magazine, and if you saw this on a member of a punk band
, then it's still fashion, because what they are dressing is still a part of it, being it fashionable or not in their time.
Now, can someone just come up with something that is totally their own without being influenced by anything in the history of fahsion? I am frying my brain because of that now. It's giving me wild thoughts. I'm thinking of this Tarzan persona, away from society and everything, and then he just creates clothes of his own, not influenced by fashion nor anything. Then if his clothes are good or not then it would be just a matter of taste. Ok sorry, it just gave me a black out. I can't imagine it any longer. So what do you think about that?

 

[ChloeFrancoise]

I don't know. I guess you do have to be influenced by fashion in some way, but dressing well is also about how the clothes fit and how someone carries themselves and how much of the person's own personality comes through. At the same time some people just seem to know how to put an outfit together without trying too hard. I'm not even sure what I think the answer is.

 

[Hanne]

hmm.. if your blind, I guess you can 'dress well'... but it would mean something different , than what 'dressing well' for a seeing person would mean, as it would be a question of sensing rather than viewing.
I would think that it would mean that you paid attention to and chose garments which fit felt perfect on your body.. and also be very aware of how a the texture of a garment felt on your body.

 

[fashionista-ta]

I think the answer to your question is yes ... but the reality is that even if the person isn't influenced by fashion, the clothes are ... unless the person in question made everything from original patterns, which is highly unlikely without knowing anything about fashion

But sure, I can see the theoretical possibility of someone dressing sharply with no knowledge of fashion.

 

[TanyaKiller]

^Then this person wouldn't be influenced by anything? This person wouldn't have flippped through some magazines even a little? I always thought we create things based on other stuff.

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ I know lots of people who never crack a fashion magazine ... but I have to admit those people aren't terribly well-dressed. That's why I refer to the theoretical possibility

I remember softgrey once mentioned knowing lots of well-dressed people in other creative fields like architecture ... I do not work with these people

 

[softgrey]

..
ta-ta..you are too funny...


i think it depends on what you define as 'fashion'..
i never read any magazines at ALL growing up..
neither did my mom...
but you see movies or you read a book that describes a beautiful dress- even snow white or cinderella...

i don't know if i classify things like that as 'fashion'...

it's more 'costume' in my opinion...

same with onstage clothing of performers and bands..

so yes-
i think it is completely possible to dress well without knowing a single name of a single designer or anything about how the fashion industry works etc...

of course you will still be influenced by something...
but not necessarily 'fashion'...

 

[TanyaKiller]

^I think costume is a part of fashion and if it isn't, it certainly is influenced by fashion. The costume designer is someone who studied fashion, if it's a period movie, the designer had to study the fashion of that time. A book that describes a beautiful dress could be inspired by some dress the writer saw in a store, and that would qualify as fashion. So even if the clothes described in the books aren't fashion, they are influenced by it. Which means that indirectly you were influenced by fashion.
And now about the person dressing sharply, where is this person gonna buy clothes? A fashion store, and if you want good clothes, well-made, good material, the guys who did it would have some knowledge on it.
For you to not be influenced by it and dress well then you would have to be Tarzan, completely away of society and with lots of creativity. So I think that in our society of today that's pretty impossible. Maybe an indian or something.

 

[ravensWood]

This is an interesting thread! I think that, yes, it is perfectly possible.

I do not buy or read magazines and haven't for a while now, I don't own a TV so my media influences are limited. I consulted a stylist 6 months ago and learnt my 'colours', also the best fabrics, cuts and shapes of clothing and accessories for my body type
and these are the pieces I look for when shopping.

I like to think (others may disagree) that I dress 'well' - defined by choosing items that suit my natural colouring and body type - without any external influence.

 

[softgrey]

^I think costume is a part of fashion and if it isn't, it certainly is influenced by fashion. The costume designer is someone who studied fashion, if it's a period movie, the designer had to study the fashion of that time. A book that describes a beautiful dress could be inspired by some dress the writer saw in a store, and that would qualify as fashion. So even if the clothes described in the books aren't fashion, they are influenced by it. Which means that indirectly you were influenced by fashion.
And now about the person dressing sharply, where is this person gonna buy clothes? A fashion store, and if you want good clothes, well-made, good material, the guys who did it would have some knowledge on it.
For you to not be influenced by it and dress well then you would have to be Tarzan, completely away of society and with lots of creativity. So I think that in our society of today that's pretty impossible. Maybe an indian or something.

more often than not it's the other way around actually...
many fashion trends are inspired by movie costumes first...
and not just by the costumes but by the art direction/set design...

and lots of designers get their ideas from what regular people are wearing on the street before they ever see it in a fashion magazine...

i think we also have very different definitions of what is 'fashion'...
i don't think there is such a thing as a 'fashion' store..
they are called 'clothing' stores..


and maybe we also have different definitions of 'dressing well'...

 

[rollagasper]

I think this is too open-ended of a question. To answer it we'd have to define what "fashion" entails and what "dress well" means. Personally I think "dressing well" is very subjective. Girls at my school think they dress well but I think they look ridiculous.
I think it's very possible for people to look good without being "in the know" with designers and collections and latest trends, etc. Tom Verlaine said that "true style is incidental." I really think that's true (to a certain degree) because looking good is not all about putting together pieces like you see in a magazine...
It can also be the other way around, where people really understand fashion and have an eye for what looks good, but don't really know about/feel like dressing well themselves well.
All in all, fashion and dressing is not about "knowing" I think... Fashion week is right now and I have no idea what the Oscar de la Renta collection looks like. I don't really care about glamorous beautiful gowns. I see fashion as sort of a canvas for creativity. I love it when designers make stuff that at first sight make you go "what were they THINKING!?!?!" but then the more you look at it, the more you realize that what they created is actually beautiful. You only didn't realize that it was beautiful right away because it's not what society touts as "beautiful." And ok i'm going off topic now.

 

[katherine]

Definitely. To each their own. My idea of quality fashion might not be your idea or his or hers, etc. I can dress well with a variety of colours and make it work (thanks to having an anna wintour-esque mother who won't let me out of the house looking like trash), however, there are people who are all about matching colours (which to me, is not always the best idea). I think a person can dress just as organised if not appeal more if they mix and match than follow a certain trend or era. Yes, I adore classic Chanel but my daily wear is not influenced by black and white patterns. Can I incorporate some of it? Yes! Can I dress well without it? I'd like to think so.

 

[cambry]

looking stylish has nothing at all to do with following fashion and everything to do with knowing what fits you well, and what colors complement you best, and being able to recognize those two things can be entirely intuitive without any direct influence of the conventional fashion world. so, yes, i think it's possible to dress well (dressing well, for my purposes, meaning that the person looks good in what they have on regardless of whether or not it's something to my own personal taste) without stalking vogue or keeping up with the latest trends. usually, it's the people with the most innovative style that don't bother too much with fashion.

 

[eeyore]

sometimes i think the less someone follows "fashion" the better they look. less pressure to follow trends.

but more importantly, it's less about their knowledge of fashion, but pure aesthetic and having a real perspective.

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ You articulated that really well, eeyore

 

[katherine]

but more importantly, it's less about their knowledge of fashion, but pure aesthetic and having a real perspective.

Agreed, agreed, agreed.

 

[fashionista-ta]

PS katherine, my sympathies on have an Anna Wintour-esque mother

 

[katherine]

You know when you're a kid and you hate vegetables but you eat them anyway? And then after a long period of time, you don't mind the taste and eat them anyway? I like to think of it that way! It just gets annoying when she would buy clothes for me that are obviously pretty but not my style. Man, does she go off about materials this, designers that, time period, elegance, etc. However, don't get me wrong, a person with experience and knowledge can be handy at times, too!

 

[porkchopgirl]

yep! i agree with cambry and eeyore. to me, dressing well means knowing what works for you, and maximizing on that. if we're talking about style, though, it's kind of funny, because the people who i think have innovative style don't know anything about fashion, and spend very little money on clothes.

 

[SirSunday]

i love this discussion...great topic TanyaKiller

to avoid redundancy, i agree with what everyone is saying...dressing well and having good fashion sense are purely a matter of perspective from the model to the observer. ultimately i believe that everyone has a frame of reference by which they style themself, whether it be one's environment, the people they interact with, etc. it's the whole nature vs. nurture discussion - is one's creative ability, sense for fabric and colour innate - or are they shaped by what they have come to know of who they are, and what makes them feel most serene or happy? if you believe in evolution, the desire to cover up was a matter of survival, not how you'd look trying to survive... thankfully for us, function and form are matters we can address without so dire a consequence...except pride