A thoughtful look at how we dress, who we are, and why the difference between being stylish and fashionable is more personal than we think.
In a world obsessed with aesthetics, we often use the words “fashionable” and “stylish” interchangeably. But anyone who’s ever people-watched at a café in Salcedo or scrolled through TikTok and Instagram for hours knows there’s a quiet but unmistakable distinction. It’s the difference between someone who catches your eye because they’re wearing the hottest collection, and someone who you stop to stare at because they look like themselves.
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What’s The Difference?
A stylish person moves differently. Their outfit and overall look don’t depend on what’s trending; it depends on who they are—or who they know they are. Their wardrobe is a conversation between identity and intention—pieces chosen not for exposure, but for how they make them feel.
Whether they’re in a vintage Prada jacket from a boutique in Paris or trousers meticulously tailored by a local Vietnamese artisan, their outfit feels cohesive, lived-in, and unmistakably their own. Style isn’t loud—it’s rooted. It comes from a well-developed sense of self, and it shows in the quiet confidence of someone who knows what works for their body, their lifestyle, and their personality.
Meanwhile, the fashionable person plays a different—and equally valid—game. They’re the early adopters, the trend translators, the ones who turn the world into their runway. Fashion speaks to them like a language, and they answer back by carrying the season’s newest shapes, colors, and silhouettes.
They’re attuned to the energy of “what’s now,” and they mirror the cultural moment with precision. There’s an excitement to being fashionable: it’s dynamic, ever-shifting, and deeply connected to the pulse of the times. Yes, last year’s coveted piece might feel outdated today—but that’s part of the thrill. Fashion, by nature, moves—it is dynamic and fast-paced.
So What Does That Make You?
You may find yourself leaning toward the stylish camp—the person who treasures consistency, who feels most at home in pieces that tell a story, who values craftsmanship and personal expression over the cycle of “new.” Or perhaps you resonate more with being fashionable—the one who embraces the now, who delights in novelty, who intuitively understands that clothes are a form of cultural participation.
The truth is, neither is better. Neither is more “authentic.” Both are simply different entry points into the world of self-expression. Style is self. Fashion is context. And in the best wardrobes, the two often meet.
In the wise words of Kelly Cutrone, the fashion publicist and cultural voice behind The Hills, The City, and America’s Next Top Model, “People should just express themselves and not worry about trends, try to use fashion like a compass, an indicator, examples of things that you can be. It’s not to be taken so seriously. It’s just clothes.”
What matters is recognizing what resonates with you. Are you someone who curates or someone who experiments? Someone who builds a signature look or someone who reinvents themselves with every season? Either way, the beauty of dressing up is this: there’s room for all of it. There’s no wrong way to show up—only your way.
And maybe, just maybe, that’s what makes both stylish and fashionable people interesting. They remind us that identity can be constant or ever-changing—and that clothing will always be one of the most personal ways we tell the world who we are.
Photos via Kinorium
