Style is a word that can be used to describe an individual’s fashion sense, their writing or even the way they speak. Many people think of style as frivolous, but it’s important to know your personal style to create a look that is uniquely you. Having your own style is an expression of creativity, makes a powerful first impression and speaks to who you are without words.
A broader definition of style is that it refers to the distinctive manner in which an act or artifact is performed or made, or that it ought to be performed or made. This broad meaning has led to a number of erroneous usages, most notably the indiscriminate application of the word to any consciously distinguishable way of doing or producing something. For example, the term is often used to imply that any distinctively “good” performance or production is in some way a reflection of its creator, as in, “He has got such a good style.”
The word style can also be applied to a purely technical sense to mean the recognizable pattern of writing and speech, based on certain standardized rules, such as the AP, Chicago or Modern Language Association styles. This definition of style has led to some confusion with the broader notion, because it is common for writers to use the terms interchangeably.
Some writers, such as Hemingway, have a unique writing style that can be recognized regardless of the subject matter of their work. The style of an author’s work is determined by the choices they make in their pacing, sentence structure and word choice. Without this individual style, works of the same author would become monotonous and boring.
Another aspect of style involves its relationship to the social history of a particular group. Some societies may be quite static, with a strong attachment to the traditions of their past, while others are more dynamic, and will encourage and reward innovation in all fields. This polarity is reflected in the various characterizations of style that have been proposed, such as those contrasting classical with modern or those between naturalism and the climax of late Gothic tendencies in the descriptive accumulation of minute details (Huizinga 1919, chapter 21).
Style can be defined by a variety of other characteristics, ranging from psychological to sociological. Often, styles are characterized as expressive of psychological states-“a passionate style,” “a humorous style”; sometimes, they shade into intrasensory descriptions such as a flamboyant or drab appearance. Moreover, many styles are regarded as transitional. This is due to the fact that fashions, by their over-emphasis on the visual, are more likely to be dated than those which are more grounded in more universal conceptions of beauty.