The Secret of a Style Icon
These days, the meaning of style has become somewhat cloudy. From the high street fashion stores dominating the industry to the magazines that heap praise on the trendiness of the Kardashians and the Hadids, all too often style is being integrated with what’s hot right now.
Quite often the obscure trend cycles are supported by a selection of ‘It’ girls, however, they’ll never hold a candle to the ongoing style direction of the true icons.
No matter where the on-trend fashion scene takes us, the enduring presence of the classic style icons remains constant through their films, images and most importantly, their legacies.
In our article ‘What is Style?’ published last month, we visited our ultimate style favourites, Audrey Hepburn, Jacqueline Kennedy and Grace Kelly.
We have since examined our style icons to determine if there were any common denominators amongst them.
We discovered the key element of the enduring style icons was their use of classic pieces.
It’s long been a common misconception that in order to be a style icon, you must reinvent the wheel.
However, when browsing through the most famous looks of the greatest style icons, you will find button-up blouses, turtlenecks, pencil skirts, blazers, midi skirts, ballet flats, pumps and so on.
In essence, basic staples are worn throughout every decade regardless of what trends are dominating the fashion scene.
Quite frankly, what raises a woman’s style to an iconic level is how she chooses to wear those classics. Rather than presenting those pieces in a somewhat pedestrian form, it’s the versatility of the classics that allows them to easily style these pieces into unique ensembles.
A true style icon has an intuitive sense of style, which shines through in the way she presents every ensemble.
Next week, we will focus on each style icon and identify the key elements that gave them ownership of the style and elevation to their famous iconic status.
Create your own visual style… let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others.Orson Welles