The Despotism of Custom

Custom is a term used to describe tradition, heritage, and culture.  The beneficiaries of custom typically manifest a distrust of individuality, which is, I am happy to say, the hallmark of style.  This can most readily be seen by comparing a WASP to a stylish individual.  For example, a WASP is indifferent to style because he is inured to custom.  Consider this picture:

This person is, in the context of this discussion, entirely without style.  His look is instead the product of custom.  Now consider this picture:

Now this look possesses individuality.  It is a development of the WASP aesthetic, to be sure.  But proponents of traditional style will object to its affectation.  They will say that distressed jeans should occur naturally and that popped collars should be used as cover from the elements.  These people forget, however, that the unlikeness of one person to another makes possible the creation of something better than either.