It was said of the inimitable Coco Chanel that she surpassed fashion to create a style. She didn’t ignore fashion, bypass it, make fun of it or worship at its altar. What Coco did was to use it as a tool to create a look, first for herself, then as a designer. For most of us, the concept is simple enough but difficult to execute.
In the book “The Power of Style” (Crown Publishers, 1994), one woman of style says that the secret to looking elegant (khakis and a white shirt can be that) is research. This fall designers have created clear throwbacks to those days when fashion classics were born. That’s good news. You can invest in these if you don’t already have them in your closets. We remember the women who embraced some of those looks. Acting set them apart, but so did their clothes. Study those stylesetters. They found their look. And they used fashion to get it.
