What is street style and why are we all so obsessed with it? In simple forms, street style is what people wear on the street, but that doesn’t explain why we pour over editorials and Instagrams at the street style from various fashion weeks, why there are street style stars, or why fashion magazines devote space to the discussion of street style. So what is it? A quick internet search will tell you: Street fashion is fashion that is considered to have emerged not from studios, but from the grassroots streetwear. Street fashion is generally associated with youth culture, and is most often seen in major urban centers.[1] Magazines and Newspapers like the New York Times and Elle commonly feature candid photographs of individuals wearing urban, stylish clothing.[2] Japanese street fashion sustains multiple simultaneous highly diverse fashion movements at any given time. Mainstream fashion often appropriates street fashion trends as influences. Most major youth subcultures have had an associated street fashion. That sounds really academic, right? What is street style to you?
To me, street style is the combination of the fashion that we are offered 4 times a year, and your own point of view. It can be very “studio”, it can be “funky”, it can be “vintage”. It is what you wear on the street, how you put together an outfit, your point of view expressed. And yes, this is a broad definition of fashion, in my opinion. What I think makes street style “street style” is the recognization of this fact, and the willingness to use the street as your runway. I know this sounds a lot like “inspirational” fashion talk. But loves, I buy it. I think that what you wear can change your mood, life, day. I think what you wear can make a statement, say who you are, be unique. I believe that you don’t need a runway, that you should dress how you feel all the time, and that the street is a great venue for your style.
So, this recent take on my street style? A fantastic vintage Fendi dress, layered and apron tied. A leather jacket for warmth and edge. Flats for walking (and juxatipositon) and shades to guard. Perfect for the street, errands, evenings, and made me feel like me.
What does your street style look like?
XO RA
Photo again by Stepehen Spillman–give him a follow on Instagram @spillmanphoto
