Style Vs. Clothes
A couple months ago, I came across a video highlighting an idea I had been ruminating on for a long time, but had never seen articulated outside my own thoughts: there is a stark difference between those who love fashion and those who love clothes.
The video explained that individuals who are truly passionate about fashion are not only interested in runway shows, styling, and clothing design, but also politics, history, economics, literature, music, and philosophy—almost every industry and field besides fashion. People who work directly in the fashion industry might not necessarily be invested in the clothes they wear, and people who care about dressing well might not be truly interested in the fashion industry. But how real is this distinction?
When I tell people I want to pursue a career in fashion, I often feel a slight prickling of doubt behind my statement. I’m somewhat apprehensive to give the impression that my life goals revolve solely around clothes (even though, at a broad level, that is true). Instead, I think of my aspirations as a desire to explore fashion as a reflection and recreation of the world around us: our society, culture, and the beauty in how we conduct our day-to-day lives. It may be cliché, but I always think back to Miranda Priestly’s iconic “cerulean” monologue from The Devil Wears Prada: fashion is not only countless jobs and millions of dollars, but also a vessel for creativity, dreams, and innovation.
As the daughter of two Chinese immigrant parents, my thinking might be the product of my upbringing rather than an indicator of any inherent truth of fashion. But I think it raises an important and interesting question, something that many others seem to have been wondering as the line between having style and following trends gets blurrier and blurrier. What are the differences between being into fashion and being into clothes, and what do these differences actually mean?
To dig a little deeper, I decided to gather some perspectives from my fellow MFMS members—a population already united by an interest in fashion. Through an online survey, I asked questions about style and the fashion industry, including ones like “What is the difference between having style and being interested in clothes (if any)?” and “How has your perception of the fashion industry changed as you've grown?”
Across the board, respondents felt that having style meant something beyond just the physical garments purchased; style is about expression, identity, intentionality, and taking risks. Julia Velloso, a member on the Digital team, stated, “A person with style buys an item of clothing because it says something about the person wearing it.” To have style, clothes should not only serve the purpose of being flattering or aesthetically pleasing, but of conveying a message about the wearer. While being interested in clothes simply means keeping up with trends or optimizing one’s appearance, having style is a reflection of who you are, what you believe in, and how you express yourself. Another member summed it up succinctly: “Style is having an appreciation for fashion. Having an interest in clothes is about liking things that are marketed to you.”
Additionally, I asked MFMS members about whether they were pursuing jobs in fashion, and if so, to share some thoughts on their perception of the fashion industry. Most grew up with a limited view of the industry. One member stated, “I didn’t think fashion was accessible to all people when I was a kid…Now that I am older, I love knowing that there are so many ways to get your hands on any industry.” Although we rarely grasp the full range of possibilities within a field when we’re young, fashion in specific seems to have a surface-level perception of only containing “models and designers,” as two members put it, emphasizing the industry as largely image and appearance-driven. This, in part, may be a factor in the ambiguity between loving clothes and loving fashion—while both are rooted in an aesthetic interest, the latter demands a deeper and more complex understanding of the cultural, social, artistic, and even political frameworks that make up the foundation of the industry.
The question now is, how much does this distinction actually matter? When it comes to day-to-day interactions and the outfits we pick out each morning, maybe not much. But the value we place on an industry based on clothes, including our perception of how it operates, can vary wildly based on which lens we choose to adopt. While it’s not wrong to buy clothing solely for the sake of following trends or maintaining self-image, there’s a sense of community, learning, and passion that can only be found in a love that goes beyond material assets. Some of the best connections I’ve made have not only started out with a simple, “I love your outfit,” but also blossomed from a further shared interest in art, culture, and the human experience. In the end, the distinction is up to us.
