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September 08, 2003

The Substance of Style

Better late than never, I finished The Substance of Style today and was quite impressed. I initially was rather leery of a book about style, but I have a great deal of respect for Virginia's work, so I took a look and I'm glad I did. Below I've reproduced my Amazon review, since it won't be up for several days at least.

Upon first hearing of Virginia Postel's new project, I confess I was somewhat taken aback. After her fascinating analysis of political thought in The Future and Its Enemies, what was she doing writing about something as ephemeral as style? I therefore approached her new work with some trepidation, as I wasn't sure where she might take such an odd (to me) topic. I needn't have worried.

The Substance of Style is one of those books that is almost annoying, because in it Postrel has identified a trend that is so pervasive that once you've read the first few chapters, you look around you with new eyes, noticing things that have been there all along but that you accepted as simply part of the backdrop. As products have become better and better, Henry Ford's famous dictum (You can have any color as long as it's black) can no longer hold. When the average product can easily accomplish its intended purpose, function no longer holds the same relative importance. Form, once an afterthought, becomes more and more important, because we can afford to consider it. And so we face a world where we can change the color of our cell phones and lap tops to match our mood, and Apple's latest computers are seen as works of art as much as functional systems.

Better yet, Postrel ties this age of aesthetics to her prior work in The Future and Its Enemies. As in politics, she identifies the aesthetic conflicts between those who want to leave people free to determine what works best for them, and those who prefer to determine 'one best way,' whether in housing, fashion, style, or whatever else. Postrel clearly comes down on the side of those who prefer fewer constraints, and she defends her position very well, particularly when noting how many things we all take for granted today were spawned by the near free-for-all of dynamic creation and competition.

Postrel's writing is concise and clean, making the book a very easy read. Through her use of numerous contemporary and familiar examples, she is able to tie her points to common experiences, making the work that much more powerful.

Like it or not, the age of aesthetics is upon us. If you have any interest at all in understanding how it will affect you, read and enjoy this terrific work.