Why Styling Means Everything

 
Styling is not just what stylists do. They do it, of course, but "styling" means how things are put together. We style ourselves every day, with or without a stylist's help. How you style an outfit can make it sing...or sit in a corner.

That truth walked the runway in L.L.Bean's show at Men's Fashion Week in New York City.

L.L.Bean! The venerable sporting wear company founded in 1912, predictable as the day is long. The L.L.Bean look of classic, utilitarian gear sometimes veers close to fashion but usually is not. It's just there—dependable and never-changing.

Evidently L.L.Bean toyed with tweaking the brand before, but the results (mostly in fit) were barely noticeable. Burberry was first of the old guard to do it, hiring Christopher Bailey in 2001. Look at them now—major players in the fashion pantheon. And remember, once upon a time Gucci was just leather goods.

L.L.Bean hasn't thrown the baby out of the canoe, but their collaboration with Todd Snyder, shown this week on their first runway outing, looks freshandnew. Nothing is revolutionary so much as styled in new ways.

This is such a scrumptious display of sartorial splendor, I am going to let 42 pictures speak 1,000 words:

Yes, these make better postage stamps than style guides, but I urge you to cut-and-paste: www.thefashionisto.com/collection/todd-snyder-fall-2020-menswear/
to view in greater detail. There are lots of ideas to steal.

If you love Gentlewoman Style (the sophisticated version of "Annie Hall"), you can put these styling tips to play with clothing you no doubt already own. Or you can rethink your existing wardrobe and give it a lift, especially during these late-winter doldrums. And I do mean ladies here. Whether the men will actually cotton to it will have to be seen.

A few points:
> Notice how pants are cuffed or "juusshed". Your socks become important here, and socks are an inexpensive way to have fun.
> Layers—a t-shirt, a turtle, a button-down—add pops of color and texture. We all know layers are the best way to keep cozy.
> Pattern mixing—there are THREE different plaids in this ensemble. They work together due to similar shades of green.

> Details that unite—The cuffs and sweater sleeve pick up the ochre. The shoelaces (shoelaces!) reflect the pattern in the sweater.

> A hint is sometimes enough—a bit of camo peeking out of the collar, a slice of graphic tee layered under.

The more you look, the more you see...

Why the fuss? Well, reliable sources (ie GQ magazine) predict Preppy is due for a comeback in a big way (though it's never really been gone).  According to their creative director, Jim Moore, "It has to be just the right preppy, but you can feel it coming." I know more than a few gals who will be very happy to hear that.

Women We Love: Aunt Jean

Every family has one—the black sheep, the rebel, who makes for the best stories but is always on the outs with the relatives. And every family has one—someone who finds in that relative a kindred spirit.

I found mine in Aunt Jean, the middle sister. My mother, Ida, was the youngest; Sally the oldest. Jean was always known for behavior no one else understood, and stories about her traveled the family grapevine.

Jean was a "handsome woman", often used to describe someone whose features were strong rather than delicate. She was an extrovert with style to beat the band. As far as I could tell, she was the only one who truly married for love.

Uncle Herb and Aunt Jean, 1927

Jean was my glamorous aunt. These few photos from the family album are of an Aunt Jean I didn't yet know. By that time she wore bright colors and leopard prints, pedal pushers, bathing suits with matching cover-ups and cocktail dresses. Her perpetual tan, pedicured toes in high-heeled mules with an ankle bracelet were movie star style. She clinked when she walked with arms of dangling bracelets. This was the 1950s. The only women I knew who dressed that way were my paper dolls. She was not as outlandish, of course, but she reminded me of Carmen Miranda, whom I adored.

Jean lived in Florida (thus the perpetual tan). Her husband, my Uncle Herb, had moved the family to Miami from frozen Ohio right after WWII. He started a construction company and prospered in the south Florida building boom. His success brought Jean the riches she desired—minks, fancy jewelry and latest fashions. Family stories would have her never satisfied with what Uncle Herb provided. I don't know how true they were. I'm guessing they might have been tempered with a little sisterly envy.

Not only was I fascinated with Aunt Jean's wardrobe and joie de vivre, I felt we connected. At 8 or 10 I couldn't articulate it, but I think she knew I loved fashion and all its trappings. I might have filled in for the little girl she would have enjoyed having. Happily in years to come her two sons each gave her a granddaughter.

I saw less of Aunt Jean once my grandmother died. There was no longer a tie to bind the sisters.  We did meet once or twice after I was grown. She still had her Aunt Jean style, adjusted to the times. I never thought to tell her she'd always been my style crush.

Yet again time churns up buckets of nostalgia laced with a tiny bit of insight.