"Is there an American Style? Do any core sartorial values run like shared DNA in the bloodstream of cowgirls and corps de ballet dancers, of Silicon Valley CFOs and Bronx stylistas straphanging home from law school on the B train?

Absolutely. This is a nation founded by pilgrims and pioneers--and just as our common history of hard-knock self-determination lives on in that famous American individualism, so it lives on in our wardrobes.

Practicality and comfort are dear to our heart... Clean lines, stripped of silliness, always sell.

This is the land of the free. We never stop moving--ever-forward, westward ho!--and demand to be able to really move in our clothes. This is the home of the brave. Trends come and go, but sportiness trumps snobbery in the end."

I read this in Vogue this evening. I came to the same conclusion while I was in China this summer. There is such a thing as American style; defined, it is casual elegance. Simplicity. Natural fabrics. Classic shapes and heritage brands. There are times when I envy the French their femininity, the British their edginess, the Hong Kong cuteness--but I like American style best of all when it comes down to it. You too?