It's a Style Thing

At first, it sounds crass-the notion that style is as important as, or even more important, than substance. It's nothing we haven't guessed, but it just confirms the world is going to hell in a handbasket. At least that's what you'd think, until you start reading Virginia Postrel'sThe Substance of Style: How the Rise of Aesthetic Value Is Remaking Commerce, Culture & Consciousness (HarperCollins). The book suggests that a business boasting about its product or service's flash and dazzle over its practical uses may be a natural, and even positive, progression. We caught up with Postrel, who writes an economic column for The New York Times and a column and blog for D magazine, the city magazine for Dallas/Fort Worth (to read her blog, visit www.frontburner.dmagazine.com).

It seems you're not saying style is more important than substance-just that it's important and sometimes more important.