We live in a disruptive culture of cool where conventional ideas, customs, and social behaviors are challenged for the progressive good. Over the last 10 years we have witnessed a paradigm shift in what we traditionally consider proper attire for business and social, driven by individuality, creativity, and rebellion. Our individual worn rights of self expression can be appropriate, as sophistication is not a uniform.
Appropriateness is the universal baseline of what is and isn’t accepted behavior in a given place on a given occasion. You’ve heard the phrase, “when in Rome, do as the Romans.” This ancient proverb means to follow the traditions of a place being visited. This is not conformation at the cost of invidiuality, this is social intelligence that allows people from all walks of life to integrate and engage, in-person or virtually.
Not anything and everything goes in a public space, there are rules of engagement to foster and protect the vibe and experience. Socially appropriate behaviors include manner and style, relative, but not always indicative of the other. Establishments use dress codes to communicate a required or acceptable look that conveys and upholds its image, vicarious to its inhabitants. Dress codes can be formal or informal, depending on the venue and the event.
However, dress codes are malleable, as constraint presents an opportunity to think outside the box, but within the guidelines of appropriateness. The F’s of Appropriate Style, the two most important being fit and fabric, will ensure the right combination to enter, no matter the code. In a shared space, individual style is a nonverbal gesture that often sparks a conversation. Unique sartorial charm perpetuated by substance is part of the charisma that attracts and inspires people.
Your attire doesn’t have to look like everyone else’s to be appropriate. You can be your stylish self, but have some savoir faire. As my mom would say, “mind your manners, and act like you got some sense;” style sense that is. Appropriateness will get you in the room, but your creative elegance will be the talk of the room.