In Pursuit of Elegance

 In Pursuit of Elegance: Why the Best Ideas Have Something Missing the best-selling book by Matthew E. May is one of the best I've read all year.  Thought provoking and insightful, he analyzes the principles of the mystifying quality of elegance- in companies, products, markets, art, nature, interactions and people.

We are captured by elegance- in a person, a painting, a symphony, in nature, in a building, in a math equation

and drawn to it with a magnetic pull because, I believe, some part of us recognizes the profound simplicity within the extraordinary complexity,

and we are seduced by the subtlety in that restraint.

Guy Kawasaki, former creative dynamo at Apple, says elegance "is a thoughtful, artful, subtractive process, focused on doing more and better with less."

Matthew May writes that the power of elegance comes from achieving "maximum effect with minimum input."

We knew this of course.  But it helps to be reminded during these crazy financial times, in a world where more seems to never be enough, that elegance is possible while consuming fewer resources.

  

According to Mr. May, the four essential components of elegance are:  

1.  Symmetry

2.  Subtraction

3.  Seduction

4.  Sustainability  

I love his discussion of symmetry and fractals, nature's symmetric patterns, and will talk more about that later.  Guy Kawasaki (who writes the Forward for the book) notes in an interview that "adding and acting" are the great enemies of elegance, and the notion of subtraction goes against our hardwired drive to "push, collect, hoard, store, and consume."  We are such natural-born adders that we're bewitched by voluntary restraint.

When Coco Chanel said "Elegance is refusal," she wasn't suggesting saying "No" to everything and everyone, she was talking about the principle of subtraction.  As one develops elegance one learns the keys to subtraction--knowing what to eliminate, and then how to go about it.

  

The component that really piqued my interest however, was Sustainability.  To be elegant, a thing must be repeatable and lasting.  I thought of George Clooney, an actor who is well-known for elegance on and off the screen.  In order to develop a reputation for elegance, it isn't enough to behave like a gentleman or lady occasionally, it must be a habit of one's day to day existence.  

I have heard for example, that for designer and legendary gentleman Tom Ford, politeness is as natural as breathing.

Jason Gay writes in the Wall Street Journal magazine that, "one of the first things people notice about Tom Ford is his politeness —what his friend, the actress Rita Wilson, calls his 'extremely good manners'; the way a simple act like a handshake or opening a door becomes a suave, elegant gesture, a throwback to another era. Little things, perhaps, but little things matter in the world of Tom Ford, a man of refinement and control, always dressed as if he's about to be photographed, even when he doesn't want to be photographed."

He goes on to write that artist Lisa Eisner recalls picking Mr. Ford up to see a movie and he was dressed in one of his suits.  "'He is not going to wear cargo shorts,' Eisner says. 'He is always going to look impeccable, no matter where you catch him.'"  Read the article here.

It is said that beauty is truth and truth, beauty.  Elegance is uplifting and authentic, and only happens when conditions are natural and pure.  When our manners with loved ones in the presence of other people are equally gracious in private.   When our habits are graceful, even when we're alone and there's no one looking.  When there is no difference between our best behavior and our normal behavior.  

As I was driving yesterday I played a word association game with myself.  I thought of someone I know, and then the first word that came to mind to describe them.  A friend called and I told her that her name came up.  

"What was my word, she asked?"

"Class.  You are without a doubt, the classiest person I know.  I have never known you to behave without kindness, and you always, always go the extra mile.  You surprise and delight everyone who knows you with your thoughtfulness in big and small ways."  

She thanked me for saying so, and told me that it meant a lot to her because it is the character trait that she most values in herself.  I asked if she had been that way from birth, or if she had learned it somewhere along the way.  She related that she grew up quite poor and her childhood had been very hard, but at about the age of 10, she was "adopted" by a woman and her extended family who did not have money, but who were always incredibly gracious, charming, kind and, "I don't know how else to describe it," she said, "besides genteel.  That is when I decided I wanted to be just like them.  I wanted to live my life in a way that was refined, dignified and kind."

When I told her about the book I had just read she said, "I don't know if I am elegant, but I made up my mind a long time ago to try and develop the characteristics of it."

I love that, and can't wait to hear your thoughts.  

Find the book below.  One caveat worth mentioning, this is a fairly intellectual exploration of a complex concept, not a style manual.  So keep that in mind.

Images:  1.  Chateau de Boury via Pinterest  2.  Alice Vanderbuilt Sheppard by John Singer Sargent 3. Andrew Skurman Architects- San Francisco and Paris  4.  Carolina Herrera  5.  Tiffany & Co. Arts and Crafts sterling creamer with jade accented handle  6.  In the Northern Wilderness by Ivan Shishkin, 1891.  7.  Audrey Hepburn  8.  Peony, via Pinterest  9. George Clooney 10. Tom Ford photographed for the Wall Street journal by Sølve Sundsbø.  11. Wave via Pinterest 12.  The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge via Pinterest.




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