The colloquial expression “s/he’s got class” is used to indicate that a person has intelligence and savoir faire. While some sociologists say that ‘class’ is largely determined by where and to whom you were born, ‘class’ in the popular sense is something we can all have.

The key to being classy, is to be the best you possibly can be: in your dress, but also in your speech, manners, knowledge and skills. It’s about making the most of what you’ve got, i.e. being you, but being your best you.

This article is about just one of the things that determines how classy you are: the way you dress. We are a fashion site after all!

These four rules are the key to looking classy:

Rule No.1: Being sexy doesn’t mean looking slutty

Whatever your views on sexual promiscuity, most of us have realized that looking slutty and looking sexy are two very different things.

A slutty outfit shows off as much of the wearer’s body as is legally possible: everything is tight, revealing or both. It’s usually finished off with a pair of super-sexy shoes; the kind that are colloquially known as ‘f**k me pumps’ (and incidentally can look great with a more conservative outfit).

The slutty outfit signals sexual availability. The wearer is putting on a peep show for all who cross his/her path, so what else is he/she up for?, the thinking goes. The look is about titillation, not sexiness — and there is a difference.

A sexy outfit shows just enough to pique interest: it follows the shape of the wearer’s body and/or shows just a little flesh, but it also leaves a lot to the imagination.

While a slutty outfit screams ‘come f**k me’ at the top of its lungs, a sexy outfit whispers throatily ‘come say hi, it’s worth getting to know me’. It says that for the right person, in the right setting, you might be available… maybe. It’s about seduction, not sex.

If you’d like to be fascinating and alluring, go for a sexy outfit. If you’re after a one night stand with a random lout, slutty is the way to go ;)

(PS: I’m not opposed to slutty outfits, but I generally only wear them to costume parties. There’s a time and a place for everything!)

Rule No.2: Show your intelligence by skipping silly fads

If you’re smart enough to be reading this site, you deserve respect for your intelligence — but in the wrong outfit, you’re almost guaranteed not to get it.

The fastest way to make people think you’re a bimbo is to buy into every ridiculous trend that crosses your path. You might think that wearing the latest hot thing shows how up-to-date and fashion savvy you are, but if it doesn’t suit you or is incomprehensible to all but the fashion pack, it just makes you look dumb.

The signal you send by wearing every hot trend, regardless of whether it suits you or makes any sense, is that you’re not very discerning. When people outside the fashion world see that you buy and wear everything you’re told is hot, you look gullible. Most people try to avoid trends that don’t suit them, so they will likely perceive you as being unable to tell the difference.

To look smart and up-to-date, treat trends discerningly. If something that’s hot right now suits your figure and lifestyle so well that you’ll wear it for years to come, invest in it. If a one-season trend item will make all your classic pieces look more current, and you can get away with wearing it, spend a little on it. But if a hot trend makes you look like an over-stuffed sausage, leave it on the rack.

You don’t have to avoid trends altogether, just show your intelligence by choosing well.

Rule No.3: Show your savoir faire by dressing appropriately

There is a time and a place for everything. Wear your sluttiest outfit to a costume party, or your trendiest outfit to a fashion event, and you’re still 100% classy. Knowing exactly where to wear everything you own is a quick way to demonstrate your savoir faire to those around you.

The flip side is that, no matter how fabulous your outfit, dressing inappropriately is never classy. A Chanel couture ball gown with Louboutin shoes is all wrong for hiking, catching a plane, gardening, going to the office (unless you work at Vogue) and a million other things besides. Wear it for these activities and you’ll look eccentric at best. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that ;)

Knowing what type of garments to wear, how much to dress up or down, how much skin to show etc. shows your savoir faire in action. You look like you belong, so it’s much easier to be taken seriously.

Rule No.4: Stuff what anyone thinks, be you!

If you internalize all the rules about what suits you, what to wear when, which pieces go together and what’s hot right now, you can end up looking blandly formulaic — which is why it’s important to break some of the rules.

The key to breaking rules successfully is to be consistent in the rules you break. Personally, I overdress. Whatever the occasion, I’ll probably be more pulled-together and ladylike than anyone else there. The reason it works for me is that I always do it, because loving classic femininity is part of who I am.

Which rules do you love to break?

Perhaps you’re a femme fatale, whose outfits are always just a trifle sexier than is strictly appropriate — all the better to enchant every male who crosses your path.

Perhaps you’re athletic, and your outfits show it. Not for you the stiff shoes and restrictive suits the rest of the office wears; your clothes are broadly appropriate, but they always let you move freely.

Perhaps you’re an artiste and you delight in challenging convention. For you, an appointment with your bank manager calls for a deconstructionist suit from a Belgian designer; your work clothes are covered in oil paint; and at any occasion, you reserve the right to wear something completely out of left field, just to keep people guessing.

Whoever you are, be sure to break the rules in your own unique way, because dull conformity is never classy.

—–

Just remember, you can wear the classiest outfit possible, but if your words, your behavior or your brain let you down, people quickly stop thinking of you as classy. Clothes are necessary but not sufficient, so remember to also be articulate, well mannered, well informed and good at what you do — because ultimately, they count for a lot more than the label on your jacket.

Photos: Timo Elliott, Kate Patten, Sung Sook, I See Modern Britain and ldhren