Fashion & Style
In Fashion: Styled v. Style
By Duane Wells

Aug 13, 2007

Paula Abdul

I must forewarn you that the subject of this week’s column is more than a trifle Hollywood thanks to my latest summer addiction, Bravo’s new Paula Abdul reality-series, Hey Paula, which I find is best enjoyed with a tall glass of Belvedere vodka served on the rocks with a twist of lime.  

If there is one notion that I have sought to drive home time and time again since the inception of this column, it is that true style comes from within rather than without. It has always been my contention, that it is not so much the clothes one wears or how much one spends on them but the attitude with which one wears one’s chosen apparel and how that apparel reflects one’s individuality and spirit that matters most in the style game. For as the late Vogue editor and fashion icon, Diana Vreeland, once said, “The only real elegance is in the mind; if you've got that, the rest really comes from it.”  

However, it occurred to me while watching a recent episode of Hey Paula that some might take issue with this idea given that, the notoriously style challenged Miss Abdul, manages to earn kudos for some of her fashion choices by simply hiring a stylist to help her get off the worst-dressed list and into the best-dressed winners circle.  

Now before I dissect the faults of such an argument, I must say of Miss Abdul, who I have had the pleasure of meeting in passing a couple of times backstage at various Hollywood events, that she is one of the most charming and kindest celebrities I have ever encountered. Further, on the two occasions that I have personally seen her, Miss Abdul has been beautifully and flawlessly attired.  

That said, there can be no denying that Paula Abdul has made some disastrous red carpet choices over the course of her career, most of which have been well documented in the press. I bring up this point, not to trash Miss Abdul but to reflect back on the point that true style is inborn.  

Thanks to the increasingly brilliant glare of the paparazzi, what celebs wear has become of utmost interest to the public. Hence the reason that most personalities who chose to dance into the limelight these days are well advised to enlist the assistance of professionals in shaping the fashion looks they present to the outside world. But do not be fooled into believing that this means that these celebs are truly stylish, because that couldn’t be further from the truth. All it means is that they are styled well.  

You see, even in a world where nearly every celeb, D-list and above, has a stylist, the true style stars still stand out because of their innate ability to choose the looks that work for them and to own those looks outright. Take for instance style stars like Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman, Sarah Jessica Parker, George Clooney and David Beckham. Each of these mega-wattage stars has armies of minions sending, selecting and suggesting looks for them, but there is a continual seamlessness to their sartorial choices for every occasion, grand or casual, that indicates the weight of their personality in what they choose to wear.

Even when stars like these make a rare misstep, they leave the observer questioning their own style aesthetic rather than the other way around. Now that’s style. Unfortunately for the lovely Miss Abdul, and others like her, who are merely styled out of bad choices by glam squads… well they might dodge the bullet of being named ‘worst dressed’, but they never become true style icons either.  

Such proves my point about one of the most important lessons about style… “Be yourself and the world will follow”. How many times have you seen someone dressed from head to toe by the snappy salesperson at Prada squirming about uncomfortably at an affair? To me these people look like they’ve been dressed up and spit shined by their mothers, shoved out the door and told to behave.
Moreover, they seem desperate for attention wearing ensembles that scream “Look at me! Look at me!” What these poor sods don’t realize is that we are all looking and wondering “Who are you?” because nothing about what these people are wearing says anything about the person wearing it. So… so… sad.  

For those who thought that they could buy their way into style, think again. You can certainly buy your way to being ‘styled’ with a Gucci belt, some Antik Denim jeans and a pair of Mark Nasson boots, but true style will always be the forte of those who might put all the same things together, but because of the right reasons rather than the right names.  

Until next time… Cheers!