Cool v. Stylish

In Thomas Frank’s article, The Conquest of Cool, he argues that nothing can be authentically cool because all of a product’s coolness has been exploited by companies and marketing firms. Additionally, we discussed the concept of cool hunters who are individuals that are hired to find new, cool trends in apparel. In class we saw some great examples of advertising that supported Frank’s theory, however throughout our class discussion I felt that we were using the word “cool” when we should have been using the word “stylish”. Every rhetorical texts we discussed references things you can wear, such as Reebok shoes or Levi jeans, and never a personality traits to describe the concept of cool. What you wear on your body might contribute to an image of cool, but overall I believe cool comes from within and it is very possible to be authentically cool. Furthermore, I believe trendy products only earn the title of cool after people with cool personalities wear them.

I would agree wholeheartedly with Frank’s argument if he replaced the word cool with the word stylish. As we read in Gladwell’s article The Coolhunt, companies hire employees to seek out cool individuals to see what they are wearing and what they would wear. Because of that, I do not think it possible for someone to be authentically stylish. It proves that everyone’s style is, for lack of a better term, a rip off of some cool person’s style. For that reason no one can be authentically stylish.

That idea goes hand in hand with the idea that is it possible to be authentically cool, but not in terms of your style but in terms of your personality. Coolhunters are on the hunt for those cool individuals, the ones with a personality that is so inherently unique and alluring that they have the ability to set trends without even knowing it. If it were impossible for someone to be cool then there wouldn’t be a need for coolhunters. There would be no way to predict trends, but because people can be authentically cool we are able to pick up on profitable trends. Ultimately, I believe being cool has everything to do with your personality and very little to do with what you wear.