Rachy, I had fun putting the native wear in your neck of the woods together in my head. A vivid picture.

In my neck of the woods - in the city of Seattle - it's almost all Casual Hard Edge Grunge. In the burbs, there is lots of Athleisure.

I love seeing the variety of style all around me -- I think it's one of the things I appreciated about my father's favorite pasttime, people-watching!

In my actual neighborhood, it's Lululemon meets JCrew or Banana Republic with a little Anthro thrown in. Upscale suburbanites. Go further into Annapolis and it gets even more boat-y conservative. However, when I'm in Baltimore, depending on the neighborhood and the occasion, it's almost anything goes. Urban, artsy, hipster, preppy, working class, you've got it all. Go up to the north part of the city and it's Lily Pulitzer. Out to Dundalk and it's painted-on acid wash jeans, and tops from that 80s worn without a hint of irony. Near MICA, lots of thrift store finds remade into avant garde garments, and not a hint of natural hair color. Downtown you see a little bit of everything. I kind of love it all.

Fascinating thread. It's very densely populated around here so native wear varies with generations and subcultures rather than location.

Denim is very popular for anyone under 50. Millennial native wear seems to comprise a kind of proto-Grunge look of skinny jeans ripped seam to seam at the knee, parkas and flannel shirts. Culottes worn with duster style coats and platform booties are also showing up very strongly at the moment.

In general, certain sections of the older generation tend to be very polished and stylish, but there's also a strong contingent of elegantly wasted Provo hippie baby boomers around Amsterdam and Utrecht.

I do live in the suburbs, so I can't say I really can identify people in my neighbourhood (too diverse!) but I greatly enjoyed your description of the crunchy-granola-financially-secure natives! Lol awesome!

Ok, I'm thinking of my mate who went to Seattle from here after high school... and he may be 50, but gosh durn if he isn't still doing Casual Hard Edged Grunge!

Baltimore sounds like it's like my town, like you can tell neighborhood styles. This is interesting. I've been to Baltimore and there's a certain resemblance... I mean, there are aspects of urban planning that I'm certain are from the East Coast of yesteryear.

High density is interesting for me to contemplate. One of the big deals at the debate and in our city is the push to make the downtown high density living. A certain faction wants to put a 17 storey building up. It was a three storey affair in my childhood. Over the last 16 years, the faction put in a lot of six storey condos that have made downtown cold and gloomy. But because of the pricing - luxury only - My guess is it would make downtown more suburban-like. Neighborhood people have stopped going downtown already.

It's wall to wall Lululemon and Athleta in my suburb! Now, I did just come home from a Christian women's conference today. I saw a lot of bold drapey cardis and statement necklaces.

Native wear sounds a lot more fun!

Ooh - a trend by tribe: Bold drape and statement necklaces. A tribe not called 'hipster,' lol.

Ok, speaking of necklaces, I'm petting Lilypup right now...and I bet you can identify a person's tribe by the collar they put on their dog... well, in this town at least. I mean, we have a shop that only sells dog collars!

Went to our urban farmer's market yesterday: first cold snap so lots of turtlenecks, down vests, jeans tucked into knee high boots

I know this look!

Very interesting read! Rachylou, your descriptions are so illustrative. I think the Crunchy Granola Financially Secure "Native Wear" pretty well depicts the style - and psychological, financial state - of a segment of the population across North America, with minor fluctuations depending on the region. It is a style also very much encountered in the province of Quebec.

Around here, one notices another trend, a kind of sister chic if you will: The Crispy Granola Financially Insecure Minimalist-Yet-All-Over-The-Place Wear (I realize this title is long, should be revised). This would be the CGFSNW, next generation. A new, quirky breed of easier goers striped socks wearers Sunday morning family walkers minus the RRSP's. "Minimalist" must be read as "voluntary simplicity", and "all-over-the-place" as a by-product of embracing multiple causes at once. This new type flaunts fit-and-flare tunic-like jumper-dresses over thick cotton leggings and lace-up calf boots, sometimes heeled, but preferably with a round toe-box. Hair must be unkempt, sometimes under a tuque, most often wrapped in a funky scarf. But their best accessory is a little one, with a runny nose best, attached to their side. When they are not investing their

CGFSNW parent's basement as abode, they will be mostly found around economical tract development inspired neighborhoods. While this portrait seems condescending, I have to say I bear a lot of admiration for this generation, who must compose with so much less than the ones before them, in a world oriented towards consumption and more particularly their elder's, not theirs, and who find themselves with less attractive jobs, less attractive offers, serving others, yet go on with life, courageously having children, taking mortgages and committing to car payments while also reimbursing their student loans.

This is very interesting, krishy. I know this look, but had not taken the next step and associated economic circumstances. I too am impressed that they take the leap and get on with life and have kids. It's not gonna change and people should go ahead and have a life, instead of starving themselves of it.

I'll note we don't have economical tract development. Again huge point of contention in my area and at the mayoral debate. We only have luxury home development with promised afforable (meaning subsidized for the poorest of the poor) units - which are almost always left empty. My uncle, a retired architect, is working on pitching a development project for the working poor (meaning teachers, nurses, firefighters and other professionals!!).

Such an interesting thread, specially your descriptions!

I don't have time to do descriptions, but was struck by some antipodean similarities between my area and the 2 Sallies from New Zealand. My local gov area has 34% born overseas and there are also burkas and saris. Many students from China too, and some indigenous australians.

How striking, Anne! You know what's strange about my town? We have sari shops but you don't exactly get a sense them being distinctive. We have headscarves yes, burkas no. And Chinese people, but not PRC. We have a legacy of segregation but also much more mixing than surrounding towns. I think people come, bend, blend, share. It's a purposeful movement from the hippie days. I remember going once to the old country and wearing salwar kameez. My cousin's husband, who is Indian, was surprised that I should have and wear such a thing. I hadn't thought about that. I just brought my clothes from home...

Rachy, as a teacher, would I qualify for your uncle's project? I don't own any salwar kameez however...

You could get some when you get here But, yes, my uncle's project is aimed at enabling teachers like you live in the city they work in (!) But it's just at the proposal point. No buildings, not yet!

I'm trying to wrap my head around the idea of having "neighborhood native wear." There must be some significant cultural differences where I'm from! I don't even know where I would observe such a thing. What I see actually in my neighborhood is people walking, jogging, playing with the kids, playing basketball - it's going to be very casual and/or athletic by definition. I don't want to classify my neighbors that way. (Or them, me, by how I dress to mow the lawn when it's 95+ degrees...)

Or at one of the local grocery stores? Depends on the day of the week and time of day. Same for any one of the malls around the county.

At church? Or one of my (many) choir rehearsals? Tribal, as Rachy would say.

And there really is not a history to the neighborhood... 15 years ago the land on which my neighborhood was built was grazing land. And it was that for many decades before; and earlier, open land for hundreds of years before that. Not exactly a long history. And no, I'm not rural.

So this discussion both fascinates and puzzles me!

Mostly just casual middle America - jeans, knit pants, plaid, tees, sneakers, dresses with boots, furry vests in winter, some "bling". Very few suits and ties. Nothing "too" anything really. I wouldn't be able to guess for half a second anyone's affiliation by the way they dress here. We have former astronauts, politicians, preachers, teachers, fire fighters, farmers, tech people, and so many others just in our immediate neighborhood.

My hometown *is* old, as American ones go. It's got history. It was a lively size before the invention of the car. When I was a little further south, where the towns have only built up in the last 20 years, there really weren't neighborhoods as such. I do think it interesting, and that geographical factors play a role. We're not landlocked, which means more goods and different kinds of people. I mean, in a small town further out...much less variation in everything. You can see everything came from the same Sears catalog...

I'm in the suburbs, and the closer to the city you get, the more monied the look and the more likely it's nannies instead of mothers at the park. Or that's how it was when my kids were little.

I'm going to pay more attention.

Report on your findings, Barbara Diane!

Btw, on the subject of nannies... My neighborhood doesn't have as many nannies - only one actually that I run into - as Hipsterville. Which is fascinating, because Hipsterville is not a place of solid money. Or power / knowledge. Don't know if the lack of nannies has to with the age of the residents. But when I was little, while there were housekeepers, still no nannies.

This is such an interesting thread.

Native wear in the town I live in would definitely include fleece across the board. The fleece jacket would probably be the unifying item. In older folks, it would be paired with khakis on the older and professional men, mom jeans on the older women, and hunting gear on a few ('tis the season). Then, there would be a whole crew of Loft-wearing working moms. A smattering of women with more creativity in their style (natural fibers, layering) and likely more dough in their wallets, might shop more online or in Portsmouth NH boutiques. And then a contingent of the tattooed and rainbow haired who are bringing some interesting artistic/creative/foodie energy to town. We are a community in transition from a full-on rural suburb to being a younger, more vital/vibrant (expensive) outpost for Portsmouth NH, which no one can afford anymore.

Rachy, the nanny thing is interesting; I've noticed it too. I think more "average" people are hiring nannies on a part-time basis to accommodate irregular work schedules, which daycare centers do not cater to. Also, daycare is so expensive in many areas anyway that a nanny isn't necessarily more out of reach financially -- especially if you're talking multiple children. And, especially if you're reliant on public transit, having a nanny come to your house is way easier than schlepping littles all over town -- I know for some people daycare/preschool drop-off doubles their commute time. Once upon a time, multi-generational households solved these problems -- if there's a grandma or auntie at home or next door, no need to hire help. But so many of us are transplants now that we don't have the local ties for that. Another manifestation of this "gig economy" everyone's talking about.

Interesting... to my knowledge, I've never seen a nanny in the wild. (So to speak.) Maybe I'm just oblivious.

Ginger, i think some areas have a distinct personality, others don't. Walking around a neighbourhood makes you look at it differently, and moving also sometimes makes me realise what is different.

As an inner city suburb where commuters park, event goers park ( we live near an arena where sports, shows, conferences are held), and a mix of housing from very cheap to very expensive, I see a real range of people walk past my home. I love watching the tattoo artists attending the convention, the children dressed up to see Disney on Ice, the Jehovah's Witness convention attendees - it is different every week.

And there are a few nannies- young, casually dressed, in cars they could not afford themselves.

At work, if someone does not have a nanny, I wonder how they get by.

We have a lot of dual career type a folks.

My SO lives in a trendy, expensive neighbourhood and there is a mashup of gear and granola going on. It just seems like everybody is wear brand new Goretex jackets and brand new Birkenstocks at all times. They might also be wearing bogs, or Toms or Blundstones, and a creative scarf or wooly hat or something. This is a very white neighbourhood.

There is also a sort of lululemon, money look. It is sported by women who have nicely done hair and have maybe had work done. They drive around in expensive SUVs. I haven't seen these women with men (or maybe I just don't notice the men). I also don't see them with kids. They are at the yoga studios, at the vegetarian eateries, and in lululemon. These women are more rare.

In my neighbourhood, people aren't as rich, and seem wear a lot of mom outfits like skinny jeans and puffers (let's face it, that's what I wear a lot of the time). generally, people are well-presented, that is, they do their hair and makeup and you can tell that people care a little bit about trends and some will have the long over lean look going on, and others will be wearing their rayban wayfarers. There are a lot of public servants so there are also a lot of black dressy outfits. "Career wear".

There is NO career wear in SO's more affluent neighbourhood.

Oh and not much fleece to speak of here. Mostly puffers.

Smittie - are you saying fleece is absent across the spectrum? Our neighborhoods have different colors of fleece... lol

Another thought: my town has only one giant high school and we all go through this be free to be you and me curriculum. In a slightly oxymoronic move, I think we take distinctive identity to a collective level. Individuality brings us together through the sharing of it. It's friendly, whereas in other places, I could see it being not a way to bring folks together.

Rachy, in the old days you could buy a home kit from the Sears Roebuck catalog:

http://www.antiquehomestyle.co.....endale.htm

I've never seen one in the wild, but I think I heard about them on This Old House.