Introduction

Street style. The term conjures endless images of white, middle-class dandies with too much time and money on their hands, boasting their style credentials from one high street coffee chain to another, itching to run into Scott Schuman from The Sartorialist so they can light a cigarette in an enigmatic and seductive manner. And yet street style is about much more than creatively starved art students who’ve clearly spent hours in front of the mirror practising the obligatory pretentious ‘Street Style Pose’, which usually entails standing on one leg like a contrived flamingo and avoiding looking into the camera so as to create a sense of ‘sprezzatura‘. Rather, as I hope to illustrate throughout this post, street style is an essential force that drives both the high fashion industry and high street trends. More importantly, when done correctly, it can be an art form in itself – reflecting the complex relationship between the world of aesthetics and the real world. If you’re still not convinced, perhaps you’ll feel differently after I share some of my favourite street style images of all time with you…

Street Style: The Humanitarian Aspect

Florence Street Style (Above Left)

This first image is of a very dashing young man wearing a beautiful camel overcoat in Florence. What always excites me about this photo is the sense of movement it evokes. There’s nothing contrived here. This is a genuine snapshot of a human being living their everyday life and showcasing the role that style has to play in that life. This guy is not ‘stylish’ because of the clothes he wears – it’s the way he stands, the way he moves and, in my imagination at least, the way he lives.

Italian Street Style (Above Right)

If anyone is ever lost as to why I romanticise the Italians as such a magical people, I show them this photo. There is so much humanity in this image, that I often don’t see the clothes. The only thing more tangible than the union that their style lends them is the obvious friendship between these two men.