Fashion by Region - Does it change your choices? - YouLookFab Forum

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Fashion by Region - Does it change your choices?

Thistle

Veteran

We moved around a lot when growing up (military family), and now that I am settled in the Midwest with DH (I married Wisconsin when I married him!), I find that this area is far behind the fashion curve.

I have lived from Delaware to Seattle to New Orleans. And each region seemed to adopt trends at a different rate. I really feel like the part of the Midwest I am in is very conservative and adopts trends slowly if at all (at least in my age bracket). Booties are still "catching on", and I was deemed so "fashionable" this last winter for wearing knee high boots.

Milwaukee is NOT a hotbed of fashion. As a matter of fact, it was voted in the 10 least fashionable cities.

As such, I know this impacts my fashion decisions a great deal. I love the sci fi trend, but it is nowhere to be seen here. Maybe in another 2-3 years

The concept of skinnies made it here, but there is no slouchy anywhere to be seen. No track pants. No harem pants. No booties with shorts or dresses.

As such, what seems on trend to YLF is extremely fashion forward here. This sometimes stays my hand when making purchasing decisions whether or not I like a piece and feel it would fit my style.

Anyone else feel like this? Do you go for what you love, or do you also temper your purchases?

Dressing

33 replies

Latest reply was from Nicola

Sara L.

Veteran

I'll admit I choose my purchases based on what I see people around me wearing and my somewhat conservative professional field. I don't mean conservate such as wearing a suit, but engineers, in general, are a conservative bunch, so anything too "fashiony" will get me funny looks. I'm not the type of person who wants to stand out in a crowd.

Glory

Veteran

I think this certainly plays a part. Also, climate, general standard of living, size of city/town, main sports or activities. I think they all factor in. I believe you see this in main department store chains like Target, Costco - what they stock in each caters to the demographic.

Nanabear

How other people dress does register in my mind, and I'd be lying if I said I don't think about it. However, I don't really let any of this "rope me down" just to fit in with others. I like to wear a lot of blazers and business-y clothing, which does contrast with my sweatshirt-wearing classmates. It's how I express myself, just like how my friends express themselves through art, hairstyles, sports, nail polish etc. I say if you like it, go for it and don't be self conscious. Other people around you are probably just thinking "she's so fashionable" anyway!

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I recognize that region impacts fashion but I can't say it affects my personal choices. Climate very certainly does.
When I go to FL, I don't wear boxy give-away tees with slogans on them and rubber flip-flops, or candy colored capris with matching tops, of which I see plenty! Ditto, the 'biker chick' look with black tanks, short shorts, bling and platform flip flops. I wear what I wear - drapey dresses, gladiator sandals, drapey fitting tees and tanks with BF shorts and/or cargo skirts.
Tahoe - surrounded by hoodies and jeans and other very casual wear. I have to wear a version of this for my work uniform at my pub job, so I really don't want to wear it on my own time off of work. Maybe I am the only one in Columnist trousers at the sushi joint. Or trendy metal plate sandals playing croquet by the lake. Or ikat jeans to go bowling. That's okay. It makes me happy to wear these things.

Thistle

Veteran

Sara - I am SO with you!! I work with a lot of engineers, and they started giving me funny looks just for wearing skirts and dresses. Engineers have a dress code of their own, here, anyway.

MsMary

Veteran

This is so funny... I read your thread title as "fashion by religion!"

I'm in Lost Angeles, where pretty much anything goes, Perhaps we're more casual than other big cities, but I dress up anyway.

rachylou

Veteran

Oh, I made a whole thread once about my compulsive impulses to match the buildings I work in. I definitely like to be in alignment with the spirit of a place. It's a good thing I wasn't living in Hipsterville when I met my engineer bf. He would never have talked to me. He would have been all, "Look at that weird girl walking around with her apron still on!"

ETA: I have to say, I really think people look like clowns when they wear their big city clothes outside of the city. This includes myself, so I like to at least apply the brakes. Big cities are full of abstract expressiveness and there's a whole dialogue that everyone participates in with their clothes. But outside the city, people don't talk to their navels like that. They have real things to do.

unfrumped

Veteran

I think context does matter. By that I mean, are you are a couple of years behind the fashion trends, but your whole community is 5 years behind, you will appear to be....different. And not necessarily more stylish. You may think your are just a bit modern classic but you may appear trendy or even...weird.

Would it be like living in a parallel universe--you're keeping up with fashion and style but only in the ether somehow, not in your real environment!

It also gets back to the idea that in some circumstances, one has some concerns about being noticed for the wrong things--dressing funny or perhaps appearing too focused on fashion. I think this is typically more of a workplace issue, though can be an issue for any "community" (church, social organizations) in which one has another goal or multiple goals and dress is partly a means to an end, not just a form of self-expression.

In a very conservative community, one thing you miss out on is seeing the "street fashion" , the real-life interpretation of style. Sure, you can look at blog posts and magazine photos, but you can learn so much from actually seeing real people in motion wearing different things, different ways.

amiable

Veteran

Yes! I notice it here in Nebraska too! Skinny pants are just barely catching on. In fact, I have yet to see anyone that's not a teenager wearing them (other than moi) - and here on YLF, they're on their way out - slouchy is now favored! (And I myself am favoring slouchy too.)

I also notice that when I dress in something that I think YLF would like, I stand out pretty far among my peers. Colored jeans? Yipes. Skinny jeans? Double yipes.

I find it funny that now that I'm learning to wear clothes that fit and flatter (regardless of being trendy), people consider me a "fashionista" - and not really in a complimentary way.

I've decided that I like it anyway. I like the way I look, and I'm having fun with fashion and style. I don't need to mind that others don't get it

biscuitsmom

Veteran

Oh yeah! Although I live just outside Mpls, which is not super FF, my little suburb is decidedly far behind but it's my budget and weight that determines much more of what I wear than my area does.....if I had the figure, and the money, the H what others think!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Chuckling @ Mary.

As far as the generalization made about engineers - Greg is an engineer, software developer and a computer scientist - and he has been fashionable and stylish since the day I met him in 1987! He is my in house fashion stylist :). Furthermore, I have plenty of software friends who are very hip. Our friend Morgan - who helps Greg with the YLF app - is as fashionable as it gets! And he just turned 51. We need to convince him to do a fashion shoot for YLF.

Thistle, I hear you 100% on how you're influenced by your environmental norm. And in the same breath I also love the way you are setting the stylish standard in your area. You are feeling your style way beautifully, and I vote to continue trusting your instincts. You're striking a brilliant balance.

I need to move to the East Coast where people are dressier! On the West Coast, people are extremely casual - like Mary mentioned. This does not effect the way I dress because I actually love to wear jeans. And I have no problem looking dressier than others.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Like Angie, I have no problem looking dressier than the norm. Here in my area, pretty much anything goes. Baltimore is not exactly fashion central, nor is Annapolis (very conservative, preppy, nautical), but Baltimore embraces the quirky, so you can get away with a lot here. I guess we're close enough to NYC that trends arrive here in fairly short order. I feel pretty good about my style in relation to my environment. Of course, my vocation in a creative field also means I can push the envelope if I wish. But I kind of love that I can walk around here in anything from cutoffs and flip-flops to a DVF dress and the Rockstuds, or funky boots and a cool leather jacket, and it's all fine.

When my stepsons were younger and lived with their mom in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, hubs and I would go out to their school basketball games and the like, and I would get stares just for wearing a black leather jacket and boots. Everybody else was in flannel or camo.

shedev

Veteran

Cleveland is up on some trends but not others. Skinnies and boots reign supreme. I see wedge sneakers but no hi cons. Lots of mixed media jackets. The colors of the moment are well represented. The tough girl looks are well represented. I dress by persona more than anything else. I really dont mind being different than those around me. I tend to participate in most trends in my own way but sit out a few.

always trying

Veteran

The most fashion lagging I find here in Orange County, Ca. is footwear. It is definitely flip-flop-ville. Whole families go everywhere in them, even 2 yr. olds.
Last year I bought a pair of oxfords. Never saw another person wearing them. Do see high boots, but mostly on the young, and only with leggings, skinny jeans, or short shorts,,,Never see any kind of boots, or booties with dresses or skirts.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I am with Mo on this. My clothing choices are influenced a great deal by weather. I'm not sure I'm influenced in the least by the environmental norms. But then, I work at home, and am in a creative field anyway, so can pretty much do what I like.

My city tends to be extremely casual because we have a big student population in the winter and a big tourist population in the summer. And I do in fact dress more casually here than when I travel to Toronto or Montreal or any other large city. But some of that has to do with the different kinds of activities I'm engaging in. It doesn't bother me to look different than the people around me, and so far, I haven't got any odd looks (or if I have, I haven't noticed them) for wearing trendier items -- even though I rarely if ever see those styles on anyone else around here...except maybe Mona, who lives in the same town, LOL!

Thistle

Veteran

I am with you, Suz and Mo, on the influence of weather! There's a reason my CPW on my waterproof leather UGGs made them so affordable in one winter.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

The general standard where I live is not dressy, but there is enough of a mix that I feel comfortable wearing whatever I want. I am more influenced by the way people use dress to mark themselves as members of a particular religious group (and I am talking about within the Jewish population!). You would be amazed by what people are saying with their choice of head covering, sleeve length, wearing of jeans and so on. I personally like to mix it up and cross the boundaries and confuse people. Not sure what that says about me. Hmm.

Eliza

Veteran

Weather dictates so many aspects of attire, though I think some choices are more likely in one place than another, even if climate is the same. I live near a major city in the northeast US, but our suburb is more casual or indifferent than hip, populated by many in high tech firms with relaxed dress codes. Focussing on fashion is not the norm here, and at times I sense curiosity about such perceived frivolity in this academically focussed environment. Talk about false dichotomies.

I like to have fun with what I wear and being interested in clothes or accessories stands out a bit. I am not in the conspicuous designer logo outlier group, but just being current or experimenting is atypical. Oh well, I try to dress appropriately for the circumstances, but it is funny how quickly one can feel "fringe" in LLBean land (no offense to LL Bean- just a regional short-hand). For example, if I wear my white jeans and white oxfords out, people will steal glances at my "unusual" footwear. Don't find this to be true in the nearby city.

I think it this thread again demonstrates the value of the sense of community and shared joy YLF creates.

Lantana

Veteran

An interesting and oft times amusing thread, thanks Thistle.

ironkurtin

Veteran

Weather and what Angie calls environmental norms definitely make a huge impact on my wardrobe. Mostly weather. My work environments have always been incredibly casual so I'm usually the only one not in a t-shirt, but whatever. I love nice things!

kkards

Veteran

i live in a small city, not quite on the east coast, not quite in the mid west (when people ask me to decribe it, i call it the gateway to mid west), but its a large college town, that attracts a lot of international students. so its a really mixed bag as far as fashion trends. i can also say, having the rest of my family back in NYC and boston, that just because a few people there are wearing something, doesn't mean that the trend is established and accepted there.

Astrid

Veteran

You can wear EVERYTHING in Berlin. Of course it's generally more casual than dressy and it depends a bit on where exactly you are in the city, but you see so many different styles out there that you stop thinking about whether it is alright to wear something out and about. Especially because my riskier looks are very tame in comparison to some other outfits.

Kristin L

Veteran

My environment definitely plays a role in what I wear. One campus it's mostly jeans because that's what everyone in my deparment wears. When I've walked in wearing a skirt, everyone makes a comment about it and asks why I'm dressing up. I also live in a rather hot climate (near Atlanta), which means a lot of lightweight clothes and dresses when I'm not at work. An d no cute heavy winter clothes because I may wear them once or twice a year.

Around here, almost anything goes style-wise. Lots of punk, rockabilly, preppy, and other styles flourish here. You name it and there will be someone here who dresses it.

Adelfa

Veteran

Of course! The fashion in LA, where I visit my daughter, is really different from the fashion in Central California. The fashion in Cleveland, where another daughter lived for 7 years, was different yet. This same daughter is now in NC and finds it interesting that brights are worn all year long--where I am, with a similar climate, we wear darker colors for Fall and Winter.

Some of the differences: color palette, what's considered modest, reliance on brands, how much is spent on various pieces, level of boho-ness, level of strictly classic-ness, level of formality, and level of pulled-togetherness which has nothing to do with formality or budget.

One young woman visited my daughter in LA. She hailed from California's Silicon Valley where highly paid people wear jeans and logo tees. She said despairingly of the LA hipsters, "Nobody here looks like they just rolled out of bed and threw something on!"

T-Rex

Veteran

I do think that region has an influence on how I dress, but for me it's not a conscious influence. I wear what I like, regardless of how fashion forward the area around me might be. But I think I also pick up cues subliminally from what I'm exposed to as well. That's why I like checking out blogs like this one. It opens me up to influences beyond what I would ordinarily see in my physical surroundings on a day to day basis.

If you get the chance to travel once in a while, and you like thrift shops, then living in a place where fashion changes slowly could work to your advantage. You could pick up pieces that are so last minute elsewhere, and use them to look up to date or even ahead of the curve at home.

Echo

Veteran

After college I moved from the midwest to Boston. Eventually I returned to the area in which I grew up, and I remember for weeks afterwards wondering what to wear so people wouldn't stare at me. Literally NOTHING I wore in Boston (not a particularly trendy city anyway in comparison to others) could pass on the street here as "average".

And then I just gave up and continued to dress the way I liked. I commonly get complimented on what I wear, looks in small towns and I often get comments of, "You're not from around here, are you?" As I've said in the past, I dress modestly and appropriately for the occasion. I am not wearing stilettos and a bikini to the market. But unless I wear jeans and a sweatshirt or t-shirt, I won't "fit in", and I've decided that's mostly okay. At times where fitting in is more important, I dress like everyone else the first time I meet them (like with parent groups from school) and then introduce my wardrobe slowly. After a while, everyone knows that I am just like everyone else; I just dress "funny".

But surprisingly, while a lot of trends in the past didn't reach the center of the country until a year or two after they hit the coasts, there are many more trendy items in the stores now. For example, Target carries high-low hem dresses.

The thing I find most frustrating is that there isn't a single high-end department or specialty store in. the. state. Not one. So if I want to buy certain items, I have to shop online and I can never see it in person unless I go to Chicago first.

milehighstyle (Linda)

Veteran

Sometimes. I certainly don't mind being more dressed up and colorful than everyone else, and I'm the only one I've seen around here wearing printed and colored pants and jeans. But I do hesitate at times. For example, printed pants that are also very volumunous - I've tried them on and liked how they looked on me and then immediately thought that no one would "get" this look.

rachylou

Veteran

Oh this all reminds me, you can't helped be affected by region when it comes to fashion. They don't put the same things in the stores at all. It's not just clothes. When I lived in/commuted to Tucson, which is getting on to be a long time ago now, there'd be just a few carrots and heads of iceburg lettuce in the supermarket. You have to imagine my little California self going in looking for arugula and learning about reality. In fact, it was hard to get a flight into Tucson. I was booked every Sunday on a direct flight and every Sunday they made us get off in Phoenix and switch planes. They wouldn't even bring the planes there!

cciele

Veteran

I'm lucky enough to live in a place where anything goes (SF Bay Area), so I go for what I love. But I do dress situationally, so what I wear in the office isn't the same as what I wear when am with kids which is not the same as what'd I wear to a SOMA dance club.

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