Fashion changes, but style endures.

The aphorism contrasts the short life of “fashion”—seasonal trends driven by novelty, commerce, and social imitation—with “style,” understood as a more durable expression of taste, proportion, and personal identity. Read in a Chanelian key, it aligns with her broader reputation for simplifying women’s dress and privileging clean lines, comfort, and understated elegance over ornament and passing fads. The quote’s appeal lies in its implicit counsel: invest in discernment and self-knowledge rather than chasing constant change. It also frames style as something that can outlast its moment, becoming a signature or even a cultural standard, while fashion inevitably cycles and is replaced.

“Fashion fades, only style remains the same.”
“Fashion is made to become unfashionable.”
“Fashion changes, style remains.”