What is style?

What is style? This question has been bugging me since my boss, out of sheer necessity, told our model/endorser that I was the in-house stylist. I then asked myself, what makes a stylish person? Is it still considered "style" even if your particular look is the same as everyone in the mall?

I later learned that there is a difference between being "in style" and being "stylish". Being in style is when you look good in clothes that are in-season, pulling off that normally daring halter maxi-dress to a visit with your boyfriend's parents, while being stylish is simply being comfortable in your own skin.
The most stylish people I know and admire are people who understand their bodies and take pride in their shape.

Take Beth Ditto for example, the fierce lead singer of band "The Gossip" struts around the stage in metallic lame jumpsuits instead of the flutter-sleeved tops "style" books tell women her size to wear. Sure, flutter-sleeved tops aren't very The Gossip or concert-y but nor is it very Beth Ditto. She wears what she likes and she flaunts what she has.

To quote Jean Cocteu: “Style is a simple way of saying complicated things”. So what is it- style in fashion's sense- you want to tell the world?