Style - a phenomenological approach
Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2012 6:11 pm
“Style is what we say about ourselves without being aware we are saying it. In what we put across it is equally significant how we put ourselves across.”
Alexandru Dragomir
(A doctoral student of Heidegger and a great mind, he never bothered to write a single book, as he didn’t think it was essential to him; understanding was. Some of his personal notes were published posthumously by close friends and fellow philosophers in an attempt to recover some of his valuable contributions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandru_Dragomir)
Under this light, it becomes clear why we cannot MAKE our style, because we ARE our style. We are not fooling anyone. As a corollary of this, we may dress as we please, our style will show through anyway, no matter what manner of dressing we adopt.
There is nothing we can do to make our style speak, it speaks for itself (and about us), whether we want it or not. We cannot silence it, either…
We can, however, cultivate those sides of ourselves that have a shaping effect on our style. It is all inner work, however. There is no access to direct action over our own style. Style is an odour – if it stinks, masking it will only make matters worse, you need to work on its source. Fill your life with beauty, goodness and truth and your style will mirror that. Fill it with worries, sterile thoughts and futile occupations and your style will promptly reflect it.
So don’t agonize about it. Another word of wisdom from this philosopher who wrote as much as Socrates: “Angst is the tailcoat of boredom”. Be glad you were born alive. The choice to “dress” or to “be” is yours.
Alexandru Dragomir
(A doctoral student of Heidegger and a great mind, he never bothered to write a single book, as he didn’t think it was essential to him; understanding was. Some of his personal notes were published posthumously by close friends and fellow philosophers in an attempt to recover some of his valuable contributions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandru_Dragomir)
Under this light, it becomes clear why we cannot MAKE our style, because we ARE our style. We are not fooling anyone. As a corollary of this, we may dress as we please, our style will show through anyway, no matter what manner of dressing we adopt.
There is nothing we can do to make our style speak, it speaks for itself (and about us), whether we want it or not. We cannot silence it, either…
We can, however, cultivate those sides of ourselves that have a shaping effect on our style. It is all inner work, however. There is no access to direct action over our own style. Style is an odour – if it stinks, masking it will only make matters worse, you need to work on its source. Fill your life with beauty, goodness and truth and your style will mirror that. Fill it with worries, sterile thoughts and futile occupations and your style will promptly reflect it.
So don’t agonize about it. Another word of wisdom from this philosopher who wrote as much as Socrates: “Angst is the tailcoat of boredom”. Be glad you were born alive. The choice to “dress” or to “be” is yours.