What is Elegance?

Elegance is usually defined as anything that contributes to the well-being of human being in a meaningful way without being loud, tasteless, attention seeking, intrusive or vulgaire. Elegant people understand quality, and emphasize quality over quantity; whether we are talking about clothing, interior design, behavior, choice of music, friends, etc. Being elegant and have refined taste is not something one can purchase for money, therefore, it is not a privilege of the wealthy. Often, elegant people are described as radiating internal spiritual peace, harmony with their environment, and rich intellect combined with a desire for simplicity.

Elegance also involves the ability of finding the right proportions, and setting emphasis points / focal points that underline the whole, by enlisting help from the detail itself. Elegance is a skill, often combined with innate hunger for beauty. Elegance is not about being perfect; rather, it is about awareness of imperfectness as it is juxtaposed with perfectness. This theory is embedded in Zen so deeply, as exhibited by Zen gardens where a single smooth rock is often placed in a group of other rocks with rugged surface.

In a home, elegance can be established by, for example, picking up one main color, shape, or theme; then placing items of the same color or shape in various places throughout the house, while the rest of the furniture and textiles are rather low key.

There are some World famous fashion designers like Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera (see red dress), Schiaparelli, Marc Jacobs, Celine, Louis Vuitton, Trussardi, Prada, Fendi, Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Tiffany, etc., who have gained such fame because they understood like only few others how to create classically elegant (meaning: timeless) clothing and accessories. This group welcomes well-written (minimum 5 modules) lenses about such designers. Lenses will be approved on a case to case basis on their content, expressiveness and writing style. [If your lens gets rejected, please try to improve it and you are welcome to re-submit it.]

The credo of this group is not to described famously elegant people (e.g., Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, etc.), rather, ELEGANCE as a matter of concept or style. So, just because your lens mentions X.Y. was an elegant person, the lens does not fulfill the credo of this group. If you, however, describe a specific designer or era and introduce this through his / her work or meaning, that is perfectly adequate.

In the Elegance group you will find lenses about

(1) Elegant Apparel and Accessories;
(2) Elegant Home Decor Items: Furniture, Lamps, Carpet, Linen, Glassware, etc.;
(3) Famous Designers with Elegant Style;
(4) Industrial Design;
(5) Haute Couture;
(6) Decorating Styles;
(7) Famous Porcelain Ware;
(8) ELegant Style Event and Party Organizing (Wedding, Anniversaries, Graduation, etc.)

Featured Lenses

Oscar de la Renta

This lens is about my all time favorite fashion designer Oscar de la Renta. He understands feminine elegance and female beauty like only a few others in the fashion industry. A multiply talented Artist, his message is clearly, "Feel well, enjoy...

Tiffany Design

Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 - January 17, 1933) made a lasting impact on stained glass Art as well as interior design. More than a 100 years after his family started to create these beautiful items, the Tiffany style is still very popula...

1920's Womens Fashion

1920's ladies fashions often featured brighter and more vibrant colors than fashions from the previous decades. Following on from the depressing circumstances of the Great War (Now known as World War 1) and the post-war recession, most people were h...

Classic Treasures

It is our pleasure to introduce you to this on-line store Classic Treasures! The choice of name is accurately describing the items offered; they could be your treasures soon! If you enjoy classically elegant vintage and new clothing, handbags and Art...

Schiaparelli

Elsa Schiaparelli (September 10, 1890 – November 13, 1973) was a Parisian fashion designer of the 1920s and 1930s. She was born in Rome, Italy, of Italian and Egyptian heritage. She was a great-niece of Giovanni Schiaparelli, who discovered the...

Featured Lensmasters

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  Robert20
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  Classic
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  ERG

New Fresh Lensmasters

SusanVillasLewis, jadedcreative, LeslieBrenner

New Fresh Lenses

Decorate Your House with Beautiful Vases, How Fabulous Is That!, Leslie Brenner Fine Jewelry, Women's down filled coats, parkas, jackets, vests, and plush winter apparels

New Featured Lenses

Carolina Herrera

Carolina Herrera (born January 8, 1939 as María Carolina Josefina Pacanins y Niño in Caracas, Venezuela) is a fashion designer and entrepreneur who founded her eponymous company in 1980 with great success. Based in New York City since 1...

Crux Pearl Jewelry

A few years ago, before I even had my own website Classic Treasures selling jewelry and apparel, I've received a beautiful pendant as a birthday gift, similar to this one. The pendant was a huge, wire-wrapped Crux Pearl, also known as Cross Pearl, wi...

Manolo Blahnik Shoes

Since Sarah Jessica Parker from "Sex in the City" donned these way fashionable shoes every girl in town is after a pair. Sport is stylish footwear and you will be the envy of all your friends!