Developing a Taste for Fashion

Aesthetic: Start with an aesthetic—everything is contextual to an aesthetic. Taste isn’t set by the ruling class anymore, meaning rules about colors, silhouettes, proportions, etc. have become contextual to the aesthetic you’re trying to create.

Fashion as a language rather than purely an artistic expression. A good sentence is more than just following grammatical rules; it’s about taking into account how different parts come together to create meaning. Outfits as a form of visual communication.

Think of the whole package: Be truthful about how your dress interacts with your physical appearance and lifestyle. With style, you can’t convincingly adopt someone’s wardrobe any more than you can mimic their manner of speaking. You can observe how other use the language to broaden your horizons, but your use should be natural to you.

Over the last 40-50 years, fashion has gone through the “great uncoupling” where instead of going to 1 “person” for their entire wardrobe, they go to different companies depending on what they need (socks, jeans, etc.); which “is a terrible development”.

Dressing well is similar to learning to write in your own voice in that you must learn how to communicate something while also doing so in a way that feels natural to you.

[Mark Cho]

People with good taste are often able to empathize and understand other people’s aesthetic preferences. - Mark Cho

You have to have good eyes; you must learn to notice things in a very focused and deliberate manner. If you study things carefully, look at them for an extended period and compare them to similar items, you’ll begin to notice what distinguishes them as unique or ordinary.

Focusing on “versatile” items is fine if you’re starting, but sometimes you have to take chances. Then a one-size-fits-all, best-business-practices approach will never achieve “self-expression”.

Enjoy having different things for different seasons, situations, and occasions while keeping in mind what’s best for you. Relish the idea of having flannels for the winter, linens for the summer, small gold dress watches for special occasions, etc. Not using something often is not waste; using it at a right time will feel more special.

Preferences and interests will shift.

Clothes should be coherent in terms of how they form an outfit. A fit coherent on someone else may not be coherent on you, vice versa. “You always look your best when you and your clothes are in sync”.

[Rachel Tashjian]

https://anatomica.jp/#collection

Reading Recs: Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited and A Handful of Dust, Jean Rhys’s Quartet, Toni Morrison’s Jazz, Nabokov’s Speak, Memory, the big book about Elsie de Wolfe’s Paris, Joan Collins Prime Time, Genevieve Antoine Dariaux’s Guide to Elegance, Joan Juliet Buck’s memoir

She is more critical: “we need a complete reimagining of the way that we relate to ideas and objects. We don’t just over- or undervalue things but completely misunderstand how we should live and be with things.” Increasingly wary of how her and most others use platforms to find information, as they essentially “encourage us to think the same ways and enjoy the same things.”

“Offering steps to developing taste goes against developing taste. To develop good taste, you simply have to grant yourself imagination.”

Her tips:

  • buy secondhand.
  • don’t go on a buying spree, make each purchase count.
  • shop in person > online: let’s you flip the garment inside out and study the seams, examine the fabric for quality, or look at the fabric tag, inspect the care instructions.
  • don’t forget to hang your clothes at the end of the day; airing them out allows excess moisture to evaporate, making them less likely to deteriorate and smell.
  • at the end of the day, jot down what you wore, the occasion, what worked or bothered you about it. This will help you remember what works which circumstances.
  • Brush your clothes using a clothing brush.

[David Marx]

2 extremes to be careful of when it comes to fashion writings:

  • General audience books that feel like nothing more than wiki factoids and licensed images cobbled together;
  • And the academic books that read like impenetrable tomes.

Sometimes, “good taste” is simply the skillful execution of pre-existing patterns and rules. To have great taste means creating new options or combinations that have not been previously considered to be “acceptable” and yet elicit delight from others.

  • Conceptualize the specific identity you aim to create;
  • Learn the full meaning of every possible choice.

Taste and style can be taught, as most of us started from imitating those we admire. This means, style became a self-taught discipline starting with imitation.

It can be realized that fashion is no longer shaped by the creative designer but by “algorithms” and sales optimization models/analytics, that double down on whatever sells fastest. This appears paradoxical as we live in a time of unprecedented consumer choice, with an overwhelming number of products; but, much of what is produced looks about the same. This is because companies rely on data and rapid production models to remove uncertainty that often comes with creativity.

Once enough brands use these same data-driven tactics and trend prediction methods, the results homogenize overtime. Everything is popular, but nothing is the thing you didn’t know you wanted. Even the outfits that look new on surface are usually repurposings, gussied up with new details, but the same dress underneath.

The fashion business is just trying to convince us that if we wear what they tell us to, we’ll have impeccable taste and style. But if people in the industry believed in individuality, then why have trends?

We all sort of envision ourselves as members of a “group”, even if that group doesn’t exist except in our minds, and we wish to establish ourselves as individuals in that group. “We wish to identify ourselves at a glance to those who don’t know us, to make it plain the social theatre what role we play.”

“how do you teach a person to be observant enough to pick up the intricacies and subtleties of dress and grooming, colors, patterns, textures, silhouettes, and details? The easy answer is that we all (directly or indirectly, consciously or subconsciously) copy other members of the group, or at least use them as paradigms for our image. This form of dress can loosely be called fashion; we partake of a particular aesthetic and our allegiance to those norms we may call taste.”

We all wear uniforms from one type to another that speak for us; actors with costumes—they’re conscious of the role they’re playing. Articulate what you believe your image actually is. But in saying that, the algorithm has played an important role in giving people what htey want, rather than having taste imposed on them.

So the question to ask is: what do you want your appearance to say about you?

To display a sense of authenticity, we have to be comfortable with the person we have constructed.

It’s not the technical aspects (garments, materials, the item) that concern style, it’s the individual mannerisms that collectively suggest the wearer’s personality; it’s the outward sign that reveals the psyche. Some rules:

  1. Simplicity is usually virtue, and it’s better to be underdressed than overdressed.
  2. Buying trendy gear is the most expensive way to dress, and doesn’t result in suggesting taste nor conveys style. They’ll diminish soon enough. The hard part is seeing through the advertisements that tell you that a particular item is cool.
  3. Buy the best you can afford. It’s less expensive in the long run.
  4. Insist on comfort. If you’re comfortable, it shows.
  5. Appropriateness exists. It’s part of the social contract we hold with others to respect the occasion and purpose. If you’re dressed like a clown, the only thing you’ll find is a circus.
  6. Know yourself and signal that clearly. Clothing reflects who you are, how you see yourself, and how you want to be seen.
  7. Be proud of what you are, and learn what clothes can do to help what nature has given you.

Common mistakes.

  1. Being too strict. Where everything is all matched up and color coordinated. Makes them appear fastidious, narcissistic, or blandly correct and predictably dull.
  2. Too many accessories, or being extreme. These things call attention to themselves, and no one sees you.
  3. But, being understated should not mean/result in boring. People tend to shout when they can’t get attention any other way.
  4. Too many patterns and colors can be overbearing. Better to stick to a few pleasing and flattering colors, and use accenting ones in smaller accessories.

[Geroge Wang]

A pleasing combination of:

  • Colors: nature is our best reference
  • Textures
  • Proportion and silhouette: either adhere to conventional concepts or go the opposite way, never somewhere in between.
  • Context: you wouldn’t dress like you’re going on a date when you’re going for a casual stroll. Understand over- and under-dressing.

Don’t think of fashion tips as rules or conventions; that’s what AI does.

[AAron Levine]

You can take bits and pieces from various aesthetics and still have them authentically reflect who you are as a person.

It’s not fun/true to yourself if you do whatever others consider “good taste”. More important to be authentic and passionate than to meet some criteria of good taste.

Learning to play with nuances can create interesting outfits without being the loudest-dressed person in the room.

You will often come across people who you think have a nice taste, and go, “I should try that!”; but, it doesn’t end up looking authentic. Sometimes, things work for one person but not another. It’s about learning to express yourself in a way that feels right.

[Tony Sylvester]

Better to think in terms of “intention”, than taste. Your intention could be… to be colorful, minimal, create tension, etc.

The purpose of dressing is to feel good and engage in the joy of getting dressed; so “taste” doesn’t even matter, as anyone sensible would never explicitly describe themselves as being “cool” or “stylish”.

Having “good taste” is just an accolade put on by others; but it ends up being a way of gatekeeping; a test to be passed.

[Ethan Newton - BrycelandsCo]

But, “it is a common pitfall we see with many men that try to emulate those they most admire, aping the affectations but missing the solid base on which those style quirks have been allowed to create interest.”

Men copy the quirks and affectations of well-dressed figures they admire but fail to understand the fundamental principles that make those stylistic choices work.

A well-executed outfit is built on fit, proportion, fabric quality, and a solid foundation of classic style. Small, deliberate deviations—like an upturned collar or an unbuttoned button-down—work because they contrast with an otherwise polished look. These details add personality only when anchored by an understanding of classic menswear.

If someone imitates these quirks without mastering the basics, they appear affected or try-hard rather than effortlessly stylish. The “nuance” disappears because the contrast that makes these details effective is lost.

Building a wardrobe of value - fit, visual, weight, occasion