Difference Between Fashion and Style

Fashion vs Style

Fashion and style are two related concepts. They can both refer to types of clothing, to aesthetics, or to ways of doing things. Both of them also have verb forms which are very different.

‘Fashion’ can mean a way of doing things. The most common use is to refer to popular trends in clothing or appearance. It can also mean the way something is done.
“The boat glided across the waters in the fashion of a swan.”

‘Fashion’ can also be used as a verb. The modern use of it is to build or construct something.
“I have fashioned a spear from a sturdy stick and a pointed rock.”

In earlier times, it also referred to making something designed around another.
“We fashioned the mast to match the ship’s dragon design.”

It could also be used to mean counterfeiting, though that use is much more archaic.

‘Style’ can also mean the way something is done, and this is often interchangeable with the similar meaning of ‘fashion’.
“The boat glided across the waters in the style of a swan.”

However, it is much more common to use ‘style’ in these sentences than ‘fashion’.
Another meaning of ‘style’ is to do something with flair or grace.

“He signed the document with style.”

Sometimes, people will use ‘style’ as an alternate spelling of ‘stylus’, which means a pen or other writing instrument, as well as a number of other long, pointy objects like some medical instruments.

As a verb, ‘style’ means to design something.
“Let me style your hair.”

When it comes to clothing or appearance, fashion and style are related concepts, but can only be used interchangeably in some cases. ‘Fashion’ means the trends in appearance. If many prominent people are wearing hats with cages containing snakes and a lot of other people are trying to copy them, then wearing snakes would be the fashion. It can mean either the current fashion or the appearance that was popular in another time frame, such as ‘50s fashion. In any case, they are usually temporary.

Style, on the other hand, is different. It means an appearance that looks good, regardless of the fashion. Tuxedos, for instance, are considered stylish because of how they flatter the appearance of the people who wear them, though not currently fashionable because they have been around for over a hundred years. Sometimes, something that is fashionable can be stylish. Again going back to tuxedos, they were very fashionable when they were first invented, but they became popularly used because they were good enough to keep using. However, not everything that is fashionable is stylish. Wearing snakes would not be stylish, because it very rarely looks good on people and it would be very impractical. However, if a snake is wearing a hat, then the snake may look stylish.
Another big part of style is how individual it is. If someone were to always wear red and black because they feel those colors express themselves or flatter their body instead of how popular the colors may be, then that would be their personal style. Some people may feel that the current fashion is good at representing who they are or that it will look good on them, so the fashion would be stylish for them.

Overall, fashion has a temporary nature and means what is popular at the time. Style is something more permanent or more individual: a way to show off someone’s looks or personality. They can both mean a way of doing things, though it is more common to use ‘style’ than ‘fashion’ in those situations. As verbs, fashioning something means to create and styling something means to design something that is already created.

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