Do you think you have taste or style? Which is more important?
I’d like to say I have both.
I have good taste (have always managed to choose the most expensive item out of a range of them even as a child), and I also have good style because it is my own style.
I think both are equally important, and taste doesn’t necessarily always mean choosing the most conservative / expensive / timeless option and style doesn’t mean always looking chic / interesting / cool.
I think we think of ‘taste’ on the one hand as ladies lunching at the Four Seasons with hats and gloves on, when in fact taste can be just that — a matter of your own taste.
You and I could choose the exact same style of bag, but I would want the cognac brown version and you might go for the lilac version.
It’s all a matter of our individual taste. I mean, I love sushi but only if it is plain, unadorned with mayonnaise and strange sauces, and just the pure taste of the ingredients of the sea, whereas a friend of mine lives for the opposite!
Style on the other hand is what I see as personas, or personalities.
You can be any persona you want. I mean, sometimes I am different person just by what I wear. It’s not what you wear, but how you wear it and how much you own that look (which is all interrelated to how comfortable you feel in it, and in the persona you are projecting).
Over the years, I have gone from typical corporate suits to business casual, to being a wild colour loving person to someone who now prefers neutrals.
My tastes have changed, and my style has evolved to something different, but my inner core style personality (I still love lots of colours for instance, but am wearing less of them altogether at once), has never wavered.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
The entire series can be found here: Women in Clothes Style & Fashion Survey
6 Comments
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Sherry of Save. Spend. Splurge.
You have reminded me of a Banksy sale where he sold his street art for a few bucks in NYC and no one knew. His work is worth millions… or is it? 🙂
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Tania
I’m still not sure I know the difference but I do know I’m often told I have good taste but rarely does anyone mention my style. I think my style is quite boring in some people’s perspective (neutrals, oversized classics). I like interesting shapes with clean lines but for some of my friends who prefer adornment or body conscious clothing, they just don’t get it.
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nancy
Marie in When Harry Met Sally: “Everybody thinks they have good taste and a sense of humor but they couldn’t possibly all have good taste.” LOL.
Sure, I think I have taste and style. I don’t know if I’ve met many people who think they don’t at all. I think I’d ever say aloud that I have good taste or style because it would sound so incredibly vain. I like what I like. I’m also someone who is interested in clothes and food, so I enjoy reading up on these, seeing what’s trending, learning about what is popular, and deciding for myself what I want to bring into my life based on these things.
I think a person’s taste and style are inextricably linked. Everyone has their own taste and style. Whether or not it’s “good” is in the eye of the beholder. What we think is good taste or style is based on our own preferences and what is trending in fashion and media. When someone is criticized for having no style or taste, I think it just means that their preferences are not what are commonly considered to be good choices or their choices are not the ones we make for ourselves
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Sherry of Save. Spend. Splurge.
Oh that is quite true 🙂
I wonder if “good taste” means … “taste everyone likes”… which is subjective of whether or not it is good. Something no one likes could be ‘good taste’, but maybe ahead of its time (e.g. Van Gogh’s pieces which are now considered classics)
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There is individual taste, like you mention, but I do think there’s such thing as “good taste”. If there isn’t a standard for good taste, then McDonald’s and a Michelin-starred restaurant would be on the same playing field. Or that street art you see selling for $15 would be deemed just as beautiful as a museum piece.
Good taste is kind of mandatory for me. But style is something else, just something to distinguish yourself from others. I care less about style because I recognize it’s not everyone’s bag, and that’s OK.