What is Style?

Style is an amorphous, changing element of life that manifests itself in the way we see and experience things. I say changing because what is stylish one day may not be so stylish the next. What may seem impressive and stylish could be bland and tasteless all at once.

Style is the visual and emotional appeal of a work in any medium. Not to be confused with attractiveness, artistic merit or grammaticality, style is more subjective to the interpretations of the viewer, listener, or reader. Therefore, impressions of style can vary widely between individuals. In this way, style is hard to predict, though going along with popular trends can assure a certain amount of style points. At the cost of potentially huge risk an artist could create a new trend and magically generate new style. A new style in this manifestation has a much greater impact when it is widely accepted by the mainstream audience.

Frequently, the context of the work in question has as much to do with the style as the work itself. For example, a hood ornament from an early model car has tremendous style value (in this writer's opinion), however, the vehicle on which the ornament rides on can greatly influence how stylish it really is. Indeed, the ornament may be more valuable if taken away from the car and placed on it's own stand or pedestal and displayed as an icon of style from a long-ago era.

In recent history a resurgence of these "kitsch" items and works have become new symbols for style. Old television shows are looked back upon wistfully by people who grew up with them and wish that shows today were made with the same degree of interpreted styles. Retro fashions like bell-bottoms and flared pant legs were the norm a few years ago. Circling around to the automotive angle once more, some notable car designs are borrowing on previous generations' style with new-retro appearances. The most recent generation of Mustang, Challenger, and Camaro, to name a few, are cashing in on this kitsch-style value.

Style is any form that is looking for acceptance from any particular group. It doesn't have to be new or old, radical or conservative. All it needs is an interest group that can nurture and appreciate the work and the contexts it appears in.