Elegance

Perhaps, as with art, one should not attempt to explain it. Elegance — like class and culture — is usually discussed by people who don’t have it. By now, it is rare enough to be like an archeological find and, as such, it enjoys periodic revivals. Contrary to chic, which is sought-after and fashion-dependent, and brings on fatigue and a touch of perversity, true elegance should be unconscious, natural, and oblivious to fashion, indeed, it should be subtly “démodé”. A totally and visibly griffed look is never elegant. One can look super elegant wearing a men’s white shirt, but one has to be Lauren Bacall. The same wearing a T-“shirt, if one is Audrey Hepburn. Elegance is a gift — sometimes undeserved — and is independent of social class. Archival photos sometimes show nomadic tribes, native chiefs, or poor peasants, along with depictions of humble trades and activities, and these subjects often possess incredible elegance. While for romantics true elegance is more than anything an inner mood and spirit, skeptical people sometimes associate elegance with people who may be rather questionable in one respect or another but who are nevertheless aesthetically impeccable. Elegance can perhaps be defined as a distillate of style, equilibrium, sublime simplicity, and, maybe, a bit of boredom.