Charm With Depth

I have never understood why growing up is supposed to mean becoming serious about everything. Especially fashion.

Somewhere along the way, we are often taught that sophistication requires restraint. That elegance should behave itself. That if something makes us smile, it must somehow be less important, less refined, or perhaps a little too frivolous.

I don't believe that at all. To me, some of the most interesting things in fashion happen when beauty and playfulness meet.

A surprising image. An unexpected color. A crystal that catches the light. A detail that makes you look twice and then, perhaps, smile.

There is nothing childish about that. The difference between something that is merely cute and something that has lasting charm is intention.

When a playful idea is beautifully made, when the materials have substance, the workmanship is considered, and every detail feels deliberate, whimsy becomes something entirely different. It acquires depth.

I think this is one of the reasons I have always been drawn to creating things that live somewhere between art and fashion. I love beautiful materials and thoughtful construction, but I also love humor, fantasy, storytelling and the unexpected.

Why should we have to choose?
A beautifully made handbag can be elegant and still have a mischievous personality. A sophisticated woman can wear something that makes people smile without sacrificing an ounce of style. In fact, I think it takes a certain confidence.

There is something wonderfully self-assured about wearing a piece simply because it delights you. Not because it is the prescribed color of the season. Not because someone has declared it an essential. And certainly not because it matches everything you own.

You choose it because it speaks to you. That kind of style feels much more interesting to me.

Craft is what gives that playfulness its foundation. It is the difference between decoration and design. The materials matter. The proportions matter. The finishing matters. Even the smallest detail should feel as though it belongs exactly where it is.

Then something rather magical happens. The humorous becomes elegant. The fanciful becomes sophisticated. And the unexpected becomes memorable.

Perhaps that is what I love most about charm. Real charm is never one-dimensional. It can be beautiful and funny. Romantic and irreverent. Polished and slightly eccentric.

Just like the women I find most interesting. Sophistication doesn't require us to remove all the joy from our closets.

Sometimes the most sophisticated thing we can wear is something that reminds us not to take ourselves quite so seriously.

A little beauty. A little sparkle. A little mischief. And plenty of intention.

That, to me, is Charm With Depth.

~ Carol Entin