“The thing that made her stand out was what we call ‘style’” McCall’s magazine commenting on the style icon, Grace Kelly
Is there a woman today who wouldn’t wish to be considered ‘stylish’ rather than ‘fashionable’? Well, truth is that there are quite a few and they idolize ‘celebs’ who are slaves to their stylists. However, there are a number of us who seek style over and above trends; we would favour the Grace Kellys, Audrey Hepburns and Jackie Onassises of our day over the Victoria Beckhams, Cheryl Coles, SJPs. When it comes to innate style and elegance, our true style icons differ hugely from the ‘celebs’ that grace our glossies. It is one thing to be a hanger and a clothes-horse for great clothes, it is quite another to select clothes judiciously for all the right reasons and then to wear them graciously.
What is it that differentiates the iconic style of Kelly from the so-called ‘celebs’ and trend-setters who appear on the covers of fashion magazines today? Besides the obvious changes in fashion and trends, there is the question of style and its many qualities: modesty, subtlety, propriety of the outfit for the occasion, getting noticed for the right reasons – i.e. how to wear an outfit to express who you are rather than to speak about the outfit. As Grace Kelly once said, 'I think it is important to see the person first and the clothes afterwards'.
So who can we look to today? Well, last week the fashion world was enthralled by one woman. No, not the fashion world of fashion-junkies - who get high on throw-away fashion and transient trends - but the true savvy style sleuths who know what’s hot and what’s not. They were entranced and inspired by a woman who has inadvertently been crowned the queen of fashion within a matter of days. And she is royal in more than a sartorial sense.
Sheika Mozah, second wife of the Emir of Qatar is the epitome of royal. During her state visit this week, Julian Macdonald praised her style saying “not since Jackie O has any first lady has such global resonance in terms of fashion.” So, you might ask ‘What’s the key ingredient?’ Well, besides the fact that she was wearing Couture pieces by Dior, Armani and Jean Paul Gautier and therefore unlikely to inspire the average woman on the street to seek these elitist brands, she oozed what fashion experts will call ‘timeless style’. What is more, in a feat of true wardrobe wizardry to be admired and feared in equal measure the stylish sheika does not even employ a stylist! Frightening!
Let’s not get carried away and forget that most of us cannot financially afford to leave our high-street comfort zones, but let us remember the qualities we are searching for that say ‘quality and style’ rather than a whimsical ‘let’s tick this fashion box for a hot trend under £20’. Smaller independent boutiques are sure to know exactly what this ‘timeless style’ is and you are most likely to find incarnations of this iconic look there.....and at a fraction of the price.
If there is one savvy style secret to be shared which will stand the test of time it is this ladies: look for style-led fashion rather than trend-led fashion. As cryptic as that might sound, if you can decipher that code you are on course to follow Sheika Mozah and her predecessors on the road to style royalty.
