True Fashion vs Passing Fashion

Dariaux distinguishes two things that are commonly confused under the word *fashion*. The first — True Fashion — is the underlying silhouette: the line of the shoulder, the fall of the waist, the length of the hem. This shifts slowly, on a cycle of years, and when it shifts it is because a particular creator has marked an epoch. It is worth following. The second — Passing Fashion — is the seasonal trim: the buckle, the sleeve detail, the colour of the fortnight. It is a budget trap dressed up as urgency, rapidly copied by lesser manufacturers and quickly dated.

On a limited budget, Dariaux advises, resist Passing Fashion entirely. It will date the wardrobe and drain its resources within a season. The elegant woman buys for the silhouette in materials that do not date, and lets the trims pass her by. When she wishes to feel current, she adds a scarf — not a wardrobe.

*"Love at first sight,"* Dariaux notes, *"is usually more successful than a marriage of reason when shopping"* — the irresistible impulse tends to be worn; the sensible purchase tends to hang. The Fourth Principle asks one to be discriminating about *which* impulses to follow. The silhouette that moves you is worth following. The seasonal detail that merely tempts is not.

The principle has a corrective function. It releases the woman of limited means from the obligation of chasing the season, and releases the woman of means from the folly of doing so. The coat that holds the right silhouette in honest cloth will outlast the lapel of the season. Dressing for the silhouette is a form of patience.