I don't like that quote on a lot of levels. Not only does it assume that only young people are stylish, but also that being stylish is expensive and out of reach for some people, both of which Angie has disproved more times than I can even comprehend. I also find it odd that this person says the stylish people of Seattle shop at vintage and thrift stores, but that they "can't afford it." If they're so poor, they're shopping exactly where they should be shopping.

Well, this designer guy (or girl) is just going to have to be patient. Angie will need a lot more time to make over an entire city!

Hmm, I read that article too and wasn't offended by it. I think it's true that the style quotient isn't very high in Seattle in general - of course present company on YLF excluded :-) And it's not a super fashion forward city in that we don't exactly create trends in Seattle but it takes us a while to adopt trends.

(Remember the quote was part of an article about Seattle fashion week and local fashion designers. They have a very different perspective on fashion as art and an expression of creativity rather than practical "daily wear" style, which is more of what this community is about. Does that make sense? And in that context, they were right - Seattle is not where you see the most creative street fashion nor beautiful high fashion.)

Oh San, I know that this sentiment wasn’t meant to be funny but you crack me up. And actually Maya, you crack me up too.

So having been in the international fashion game for years, I’m going to make a sweeping generalization: most fashion designers live on another planet. Hectically creative and innovative – absolutely. Mainstream, practical and profitable – seldom. That job is left up to fashion buyers, marketers and merchandisers. So take what this designer says with a huge pinch of salt. (To Antje's point). Karl Lagerfeld recently said that to wear colour in urban settings does not work – save it for the beach. Codswallup. We need to think practically for fashion designers – but that doesn’t mean wearing gear everyday either.

Just for you San, I’ll say it again:

o My older clients are amongst my most stylish (63 to 74 years old)

o In Paris, the women that take your breath away are the older lasses, not the Spring chickens.

I hope you feel less frog-like :0)

It sounds like it is a long road from design table to retail customer. What a tuff business.

Well, never having been to Seattle, I'm not really qualified to comment on the city's style quotient, but I wanted to chime in to agree with Angie here. Designers can be very far removed from the end product, and as San says, there is a long road from them to us. One of reasons I gave up on design was that I realised that it was too removed from what actually interested me about fashion- real people (ie. not celebrities or those with tons cash to burn) creating a look and developing personal style.

I also wanted to echo Angie's thoughts about older women with style. No matter where I am (at home in Canada, the States, Europe) it's always the stylish mature women who I notice and am impressed by the most. I'm not sure whether it's because it can be a bit of a novelty, but they always intrigue me. Something to look forward to, I guess!

Having just spent the day at Disney World, I can tell you that Seattle is definitely not at the bottom of the list for style but FAR from it. It's hot and you have to walk long distances, but I wish more people would find a stylish way to be comfortable and practical without resorting to micro shorts (for women 40+), PJ's, etc.