How Much Does Style Cost?

A model on the runway at Lagos Fashion Week photographed by Precious Akpevba

You’ve probably seen those “guess which outfit is more expensive” videos. The ones where two people wear the same fit, and strangers have to pick the pricier one.

Some people genuinely believe that even if an outfit can be recreated with cheaper options, style is only “real” when your wardrobe is filled with custom-made pieces and big-name brands.

And honestly, the pressure to look stylish and in-season has always been strong. But you and I know that constantly updating your wardrobe with the latest designs is expensive.

Brands know this, too. Slap a high price on something and suddenly it’s desirable. If it costs a lot, fewer people can buy it, and that exclusivity becomes a way to show class and “good taste.” I mean, what better way to prove your style than in something expensive and high quality, right?

Which brings us to the real question:
How much do you actually need to buy style?

To answer that, we have to understand what style even is.

To be stylish is simply to choose how you want to present yourself and how you want to be perceived. Style draws on different parts of your life, including your personality, culture, religion, upbringing, and lifestyle.

So style is not temporary. It’s not seasonal. It’s a constant reiteration of who you are through your wardrobe, year after year.

And there are four basic tenets that shape style:

Looks

This is the easiest one,  the simple art of dressing.
Knowing colors, silhouettes, combinations, and what pieces work for you. It’s surface-level, but it still matters.

Taste

Taste develops over time. As you live, travel, grow, fail, heal, your sense of what “feels like you” becomes clearer. Taste isn’t static; it evolves with your experiences. That’s why what you loved at 17 probably isn’t what you love now.

Image

This is the biggest one. Image is the message you communicate through your appearance. It’s how you see yourself and how that vision shows up in your clothes. Your image tells a story before you even speak.

Function

Function is practicality. It’s your profession, environment, culture, personality, and comfort level. Style that ignores function doesn’t last. A banker won’t dress like a painter. A Lagos commuter won’t dress like someone working from a cozy home office. Function keeps your style grounded in your real daily life.

Putting Them All Together

Together, these four elements shape your personal style. It’s important to know that everyone is stylish. Because style is literally just you,  your personality, your upbringing, your comfort, your habits, your inner world expressed outwardly. 

It’s everything about you, the way you reach out for an oversized sweater because it brings you so much comfort on the days you need it. It’s the existing need to wear yellow, so you look like sunshine. These things come together to create a stylish look. 

Your default setting is stylish. So there’s no specific amount of money you need to “have style.” You don’t need the latest drops from your favorite African designers. You don’t need a luxury budget. You can be stylish in the gown that your mom used to wear or the hat that your dad seemed to adore. There’s no price to it, just you.