I live in the Northwest in the U.S.--in Idaho, on the Confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers. Our main industries are a lumber company, a bullet factory, and an engineering firm. A few wineries are sprouting up. Three colleges (one in town), one 30 miles away where I taught for 22 years and one 45 min away. What I see here primarily are:
Jeans
and more jeans
lots of sneakers (not fashion sneakers, sports sneakers)
athletic wear
and more athletic wear
variety of tops, sweaters, sweatshirts
and even flannel pj's in the grocery store (and not on old men
 either!)

where I taught: diversity reigned--from long skirts/dresses, jeans/tops, athletic wear to professional clothes.

what I wear: a classic, eclectic/artsy dresser who knows how to 'dress up' (and down) for the occasion or just for fun. I don't tend to dress like everyone around here; I rarely buy my clothes in any store here. I like clothes and I enjoy the creative element in fashion. I am also mindful of budget as well as buying clothes of quality so they'll last.

It is the West, not necessarily the wild west. But it has a rugged element here. Fishing, hunting, water sports of all kinds, hiking, backpacking. We are located close to true wilderness areas which we love. I also love big cities in the U.S. (Seattle, NYC, Washington DC, etc), Paris, Athens, Greece. And all the diversity the places where we live and visit offer us.

I live in a city in Florida that sits on the Atlantic. As you can probably assume, fashion is casual.

1. It's hot and humid most of the year. This means you will spot many wearing shorts, t-shirts, tank tops, and flip-flops around town. In the grocery store you may see a bathing suit strap peeking beneath a top.

2. There are a lot of retirees. There is a lot of golf attire. Tommy Bahama type shirts on men are popular. Jeans, chinos, and shorts are seen year-round on men. Cargo shorts are popular. Deck or boat shoes are everywhere on men, as are sneakers -- especially Adidas running shoes. You can see men and women wearing workout clothes or athletic brands. Under Armour and Nike popular. Slip-on Skechers popular with women retirees.

3. I work in a hospital. Administration and office workers wear
a) business suits b) black pants with "professional" tops, c) dresses or skirts with appropriate tops, cardigans d) polo shirts or button-ups with khakis. It's a conservative environment but I often see female management in bright colors.

4. As far as brands go it seems that the country club set favors Lily Pulitzer, Tory Burch. Coach and Michael Kors is everywhere, no matter the income level. We have a store in Florida called Beall's. They sell the brand Columbia. Columbia clothing is popular year-round and you will often see Columbia fleece jackets when we get a cold snap. Beall's also sells a lot of resort-type colorful clothes -lots of prints. Men will often wear the Columbia shirt with vents meant for fishermen out and about in their daily lives. These shirts are designed for air circulation and they dry quickly so I see why they are popular.

5. Surf culture and water sports lifestyle if huge and you will see a lot of surfing brands, especially on younger people.

6. Teenagers wear khaki pants and polos to school. They are often skinny khakis, or pegged at ankle. Preppy and normcore popular. Lots of Vanns and Converse on teens.

7. I recently met friends for drinks at a popular hotel that opened on the beach. I spotted women wearing: A bright orange sleeveless silk top with white jeans, a long sleeve fuchsia silk top with white shorts, heeled sandals and a fuchsia pedicure. A leafy tropical print jumpsuit with kitten heel black sandals, a floral printed dress with thong sandals, white linen pants with a chambray sleeveless linen-like top, and a white and yellow linen-blend tunic with white capri pants and thong sandals. Open-toed shoes on women are the norm in summer.

Wonderful thread, Sally. Thanks for opening the discussion. People's contexts influence the ways they dress so much!

I'm still getting acquainted with my new neighbourhood, so I'm not fully qualified to comment -- not that it's stopped me!

Vancouver is diverse. There are huge disparities of wealth. Neighbourhoods have distinct personalities. In my own corner of the city, which houses mostly upper middle class families with kids and pets and some retirees, I see lots of Lulu and other athleisure, some Patagonia and similar. Downtown, some of the young people dress more distinctively. On Main Street and Commercial Ave. there are hipsters galore. Rain gear of some type is a constant across every age and social class; without it, you'll eventually be miserable around here. I've seen it all, from Goretex and soft shells to trenches to plastic bags worn as ponchos. Umbrellas everywhere, too. Almost every store and home has an umbrella stand at the front door. I'm thinking I might amass a collection of them here, to go with different outfits...

I live in Tucson, AZ and it's still summer here. The town has lots of snowbirds, college students, and many tourists, too. I see a lot of sandals and sundresses, sports and hiking gear, and shorts and tees. At the symphony today, I saw many nicely dressed women in trendy styles, arty styles, and more casual styles. I haven't been downtown at night recently but that is where I see the most interesting, creative outfits.

This is all fascinating to read! And Grey Rainbow, I'm flattered to be an example of the edgier SF look.

I live right in the Mission District of SF, which is the trendy neighborhood of the moment. In the 12 years I've lived in this neighborhood, I've watched it shift from Latinx immigrants and young counterculture types (hipsters, artists, cafe and bar workers) to wealthy 30something software people. It's become more mainstream and more conventionally stylish, and there are also more fashion-forward people here now, but it's lost some of its old eclectic style. The working class styles haven't changed much, but people have been priced out of the neighborhood. The software guys dress pretty well: still lots of hoodies and jeans, but a bit nicer than in the old days. Short sleeve buttoned shirts with a pattern (floral, etc) are the standard attire. SF still has a large population of gay men, and I think that's upped the fashion game for men in general. For women - Everlane started in our neighborhood and that look (clean, minimal, understated) is pretty typical. One big shift is that weekend nights bring a lot of young people who wear high heels, makeup, and sexy (but not tacky) dresses out to restaurants and bars. That wasn't really a part of the scene in this particular neighborhood when I was younger.

On my campus, the young women are still mostly wearing ankle-length skinnies, with some boyfriend jeans and wide leg pants too.

SF still has an edgy counterculture. The art opening I was at last night (in a little live/work loft in the East Bay, not a commercial gallery) was full of people in dramatic clothes, bright hair, facial piercings. And last night at a trendy restaurant, I was happy to see three old school SF types (a man and woman in their late 50s with very quirky hair styles/colors and clothing) along with all the young party people.

I have had the privilege of living in Boulder, New York City, and Los Angeles.

In Boulder, people very much wore their Patagonia, North Face and Birkenstocks in a prominent way--brand conscious towards earthy yuppieism.

In New York, wearing a fleece was just not an option. You had to wear a pea coat or some other dressy jacket in winter, and it was the norm to go home and change before going out to a bar or dinner. I find that New York is the most fashion forward city.

In Los Angeles, it has some of the relaxed vibe of Boulder, but some of the trendiness of New York City. However, it seems to be behind New York. One thing I'm fascinated by is girls who keep themselves model-thin. Then, their outfit of choice is a midriff-bearing, tiny black tank top, black skinny jeans, and some type of black boot. They look great.

Just on way to work so will reply later...love the new posts.

Sounds a bit corny but I think understanding our differences and our similarities helps us all. I love imagining Texas life or San Francisco life - I have visited there twice so have more idea - and what I would wear and need!!

Right. I’ll try to just keep it to my current neighborhood.

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area metropolis. I have lived all around the Bay Area, made a circle in fact. Anyways I noticed when I moved from Hipsterville to my current location... about three miles... my summer wardrobe and dog walking outfits were totally awkward.

Hipsterville was fashion forward in a non-fancy way. Overalls and suede court shoes. Heels and dresses ok. It was flatlands. Fences with horizontal boards looked good.

Now I’m in hill territory. Heels and dresses not only look awkward, they ARE awkward. The entire local is dressed by REI. Black, grey, navy, grey-blue fleece. The closest to a dress one should get is a past-the-knee full skirt with running shoes and ankle socks. For dress up, it’s japonesque lagen look and Fluevogs. No black leggings, like near the universities. No Lululemon as in Yuppie Town (which borders Hipsterville). NO fences with horizontal boards (god help those people who just built this house that belongs in Dwell magazine). This is a place of Middlemarch Dorothea’s.

A little note, having just driven across five states from California to Wyoming, avoiding the big cities, you can feel the ‘dress code’ narrowing. I didn’t see ANYONE with dyed hair. Not even Big Rich Texas (as in the show) blond. I saw ONE woman with blond highlights in a town next to Salt Lake. She was very noticeable.

Also last peanut gallery comment: somewhere midway across Nevada, the haircut to discourage lice becomes ubiquitous on boys and men. I don’t think it’s because all veterans retire to the middle of the country... but maybe it’s becaise so much of Nevada is devoted to government use...

I was just talking to my husband, who was at his orientation for a new job. They brought employees from multiple locations together for the training and he said he could tell which office people were from, based on their dress.

NYC - every single person had a jacket and (for men) tie, though some wore suit pants and others dark jeans.

LA - mostly more casual than he was (which was slim chinos and a plaid button-down).

New England (where the event was located) - very casual, jeans and sports jersesy, fleece pullovers, or t-shirts weren’t uncommon (it’s a sports-based company)

Miami - I found this most interesting. He said the men were more casual than anyone else, but the women all wore dresses and heels.

I live in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. Maybe 80-90 years ago my city would have been considered a small town, now just part of the urban/suburban sprawl joined by the infamous LA freeway system!

It has the remnants of a certain upper-crusty/old school background as it was once a favorite wintering spot for the rich. A bit old California rancho, a bit midcentury modern, a bit artistic, a bit intellectual, a lot melting pot of every Pacific Rim culture, and large Mexican-American
and Armenian communities. Luxurious old estates, little tract homes, working-class neighborhoods, yuppie, hipster, its share of crime, etc.

I worked in the investment field, in offices, until 2013. A large investment company in downtown LA. When I started, we had Casual Fridays, by 2013 we had gone all casual (with restrictions). So women wore a range
from fully business formal skirt or pants suits, to jacket-less separates (what was once called “sportswear”), to nice JCrew-ish casual (no jeans, chinos, cords, or sleeveless tops allowed). During lunch breaks, if I went outside to sit in the plaza, I’d see most women following the same mix. Nobody was super-styley or fashion forward.

Now, in my daily routine, I see mostly casual wear. It’s such a melting pot around here -practically anything really does seem to go. If I go for a walk/hangout in the nearest mall, I’ll see plenty of men and women in gear (there’s a large gym attached), nice jeans, ripped jeans, shorty shorts, baggy cargo shorts on the dudes (with baggy tees or Hawaiian shirts, sneakers or Tevas), young women channeling the Kardashians in body con outfits and mega makeup, stroller-pushing moms in nicer mom-on-the-go outfits, retirees also stroller-pushing or mall-walking in comfortable polyester stuff, retiree dapper gents and their coiffed, “dressed” wives. A grab bag of Chicos, Talbots, Forever 21, JC Penney, Uniqlo, INC. etc. etc. A few of the Asian women with designer clothes and bags, some of the younger Asian crowd in more forward looks (modern shapes, bold graphics). It’s a nice mix of shapes, sizes, colors
(bodies AND clothes) – a beautiful parade of humanity.

Once a year there’s a large craft market in our civic center, and then I see the artistic ladies of a certain age in drapey, dramatic, clothes, bright and bold specs, funky jewelry, hints of Iris Apfel.

The folks at the grocery store are in jeans, khakis, gear, etc. The hipsters are at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s!

We’re very rarely, if ever, in areas such as Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Malibu, Rodeo Drive, so no observations there to share. I’ve
occasionally been to the fancier malls in “the Valley” and to the uber-fancy South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa – and really very little difference (though once I saw Harry Hamlin, if anyone remembers him!!!). The few people who dress up are just a little more dressier – logos on bags, sunglasses, etc.

Lisa P, I noted your comment about “how uninspired and homogeneous” some of the women were in your city. Speaking only from personal experience in my own work life, I have learned a different point of view. Not a critique of your own experience, or point of view.

The women I’ve worked with in the past 15 years, who have been most professional, most accomplished, most “smart” or whatever word works there, might well have their wardrobes judged as uninspired, homogenous, or even “frumpy.” Indeed, I have judged them so, even though they are well groomed and appropriately dressed. One of whom is a trailblazer in her industry, is a major philanthropist, and heads a successful firm managing multiple billions of dollars globally. All these women are respected and listened to by male coworkers and multi-million dollar clients. They make big decisions and know whereof they speak. I don’t think I have even average self-confidence, and I know I’m no genius, so it was no shock to realize, during my working life, that I was considered a fairly marginal player. However, it continued to be an unfortunate reminder, that while I might be sitting in a meeting in my latest and greatest super put-together outfit, when it’s time for me to answer a question, I’m mediocre. The clothes may affect my outward poise, but they don’t make the synapses click. A difficult lesson for me to learn.

And since we are in SoCal – not too much change during the seasons – many folks were shorts, sandals and tees throughout the year, some bring out the coats and gloves and soon as we (rarely) hit 60.

Fab thread. I live in southern UK an hour from London. Small county town with 15,000 pop.

Clothes range from

smart country - men: coloured chinos with Barbour jkts; women: jeans, navy jumper, white shirt, pearls, Husky style padded jacket.

Walkers - gear, especially trousers with horizontal zips, extra points for nice dog

Kind of rural rustic - jean / dresses, interesting jumpers, scarf, may be a puffy gilet, there’s an arty feel to the town, so often interesting jewellery. There is a Seasalt on the high street and there’s a lot of that kind of style.

Commuters in the week - suits for men generally, some without ties; then a kind of mix for women but largely smarter casual wear with flats

Large non-London city in the UK.

Now that the coats are out there's a lot of black on the streets both in outerwear and the ubiquitous black opaque tights that a lot of women wear to work. More dresses than skirts, more trousers than previous years on the women. Mix of flats and heels (my office leans strongly towards flats).

City centre shoppers are often in skinny jeans with a wider variety of silhouettes for non-jeans. Not as much glamour make up as in Liverpool or Essex. Not very much street style, but there is a little. Athleisure doesn't appear to be much of a thing here. Nor is fleece or outdoor gear.

Rural northern New England, small town halfway between an Ivy League university and a state university. Big regional teaching hospital is the largest employer, followed by farms/forestry. LLBean reigns supreme --duck boots and flannel. College students are usually in gear -- black leggings and team sweats. Footwear tends towards Blundstone, Keen, etc. Gear falls into two main camps: old-school camo for blue-collar townies and high-tech neon for white-collar transplants. There's a subset of older women who deviate from the outdoorsy/preppy norm by rocking the Arty Doyenne look (Eileen Fisher, batik, statement specs). Closer to downtown, young folks inject a bit of classic-hipster into their look via beat-up Chuck Taylor's, vintage knitwear, etc. Dressy stands out: men in full suits, women in heels and real make-up, usually means an event of some sort (conference, gala, graduation, etc). We're slow to adopt trends, too frugal to invest in shiny/new, so the overall style vibe remains pretty constant.

I live near a Scandinavian capital. The most common items seen in the streets now in the end of September are blue or black full-length jeans, sneakers and wind jackets. Few women wear dresses and skirts now, but a month or two ago, when temperatures were much higher, I saw a lot of dresses and skirts in all colours and lengths. White jeans were also popular.

Many dress up a bit on weekend nights--often in black. Last Saturday night as I travelled through the city, I noticed several women in different ages wearing a black column of colour (pants & top) + blush topper + blush or black shoes.

Sorry this week got away from me!!

The Cat - dresses are more popular in our summer too.

La Ped - your town sounds more outdoorsy than mine - I find it interesting how cohorts often dress in a similar way.

Plonkee - black coats and tights are very English aren't they!! I love England and I like black tights too.

Jane - thanks for sharing. Love your observations.

Binkle - some great observant thoughts there. I agree that clothes only represent part of what people have to offer. I think casualisation is happening everywhere - I wonder if the pendulum will swing back the other way?

Jenn - your husband is observant - nicely done.

Rachy - thanks. San Fran is a totally diverse place and I loved your observations about your old and new neighbourhoods.

Vildy - thanks for your thoughts as well. Interesting ones too!!

Im in a small town, the "exurbs", about an hour from small cities and 2ish from several large cities. Theres a mix of Caucasian and African American families that have been here for generations, wealthy retirees that moved here, and Central American immigrants. I see lot of the carhartt and camo, but also the resorty retirees and some people in gear on the streets. My offices are biz casual, though sometimes people push the casual a bit far. People in suits are inevitably lawyers. Nothing super trendy as a rule, but shopping options are few and far between, and salaries (but also cost of living) are low, so understandable.

Everyone thinks of "black" and "conservative" when they think of Boston, but that is not necessarily true! Boston is a city of neighborhoods with lots of universities and an ethnically diverse population. I find the fashion changes from neighborhood to neighborhood. Some highlights:

1. In the winter you'll see a lot of Canadian Goose jackets in Harvard square, but not so much elsewhere. These are the undergrads. The graduate students are all too broke for that -- and have no time to shop. The men will be wearing slim fit/euro cut button down shirts and slim fit skinny jeans, because they are all slim.... from living on a steady diet of free lecture lunches.
2. Somerville you'll see a lot of what I'd call eco-hipster style. Lots of bike helmets, messenger bags, jeans and stylish flat shoes.
3. We definitely have an artsy crowd -- it's fun to go student watching around Mass Art where you'll see this displayed with dyed hair, tattoos, vintage or handmade clothing, whereas you go to an art opening and it's more the "Eileen fisher, batik, statement specs" crowd already mentioned, wearing artistic jewelry and scarves.
4. The so-called "true" Bostonians will be sporting their team shirts and colors as they pour in and out of the Fenway and North end hitting the bars after the game.
5. Then we have the philanthropic crowd who can be spotted in the back bay doing the ladies-who-lunch thing, or shopping on Newbury, or photographed at charity gala events. They'll be wearing all black but every item of clothing will exude luxury, loads of texture and shine, and you know their bag, shoes, jewelry costs in the $thousands.
6. Newbury is a very fun place to people watch. Just make sure you dress up for it, or you may feel out of place. If you want to know what's trending, this is where you go to find out. Though I expect mostly you're seeing tourists.
7. Boston College has an aesthetic all its own as well, though I find it hard to describe. Think All American kids, lots of long hair, fresh cheeks; this is where I'd recruit if I was filming a milk commercial.
8. Lower Allston -- which we call affectionally "L.A." -- is what we call the student ghetto. Lots of thrift store and vintage wear and dumpster fashion. Hair that hasn't been cut recently. Goatees and beards. And tattoos. Tees with ironic logos. Clothes generally worn ironically.
9. The South End's number 1 fashion accessory: a dog on a leash.
10. Northeastern: can't comment as when we drive through there I am too worried about running over a pedestrian. They don't call it the shooting gallery for nothing.

Then you've got my neighborhood, which I don't want to mention on the forum: yoga pants, hoodies, hair in a ponytail, sneakers, and black puffer coats. Number 1 fashion accessory: a baby in a stroller.

Wow, Shiny, you've really captured Boston (a dear cousin is a recent Mass Art grad, and roughly 99% of my undergrad friends are finishing up grad programs in or near Boston). Dead-on. It is a much more fun and diverse city than how it's commonly portrayed.

My local cohort (young middle class moms, many of them former Bostonians) is exactly as you describe: leggings, strollers, ponytails, puffers. I've very consciously bucked the norm. I look terrible in leggings and ponytails, and DS always preferred being carried.

I live in Scandinavia in a fairly large city. I have read this thread a few times and wanted to answer, but thought it was quite difficult. I cannot really describe or identify what I see around me at home. A lot easier to describe a city I am only visiting. So here is a bad attempt.
People are quite fashion forward, but mostly understated. Maximalists and dramatic dressers are few. Lot of jeans and sneakers. Good looking jeans. Lot of neutrals. Lot of black. Modern. Mostly casual. Fresh. Many women have fabulous hairstyles. Seems they invest quite a lot in chic haircuts and colours in relation to other parts of their looks. Not so great shoes. Natural looking makeup. Effortless looking. Not a lot of glam. Many women wear designer jewelry - modern Scandinavian design. Mostly silver or white gold. Less yellow gold. Not elaborate manicures. Many people use bicycles- lot of rain jackets and wind jackets. COS.

I live in country New South Wales, Australia and as you'd probably guess, most people here wear farm work clothes and boots, hi-viz shirts and jackets, jeans with not a lot of suit and tie wearers.

We have a growing Lebanese population, so the women wear hijabs and niqabs and Arab robes and dresses, but the guys usually wear western style clothes.

Such a thought provoking post! And the replies are a delight to read.
Katerina, despite your initial hesitations, you did a pretty good job. It's most fascinating. What a wide range of fashion landscapes!

I live in an urban setting in Canada that sits right on the border of two very culturally different provinces. One side is French speaking, working class, industrial/rural, underpriviledged; the other (the capital city) is English speaking, upper middle-class, priviledged government workers. I dwell, dine, dance, shop mostly on the English side, but work and socialize on the French side. The two regions offer drastic differences in fashion scenery.

On the French side, men and women play a lot with their clothes and are more conscious of their image, whereas the English side is definitively conservative and tends to not stray from a norm. On the French side, lots of hipster men - there seems to be a trend going on for them to wear extra long almost Amish-like beards with Hitler-style trimmed hair, checkered shirts and suspenders (also often retro thin wired glasses), be young fathers of profuse children, with nascent dad bods, and own local breweries.

Women, however, retain their individuality, although I notice a predilection for what I have come to secretly name the Witch look, popular mostly among women my age and up: a strong attraction for ankle-midi jagged hems skirts in darker shades, pointy boots and patchwork like long coats, and lots of dangling accessories. Oh, and too often, sadly, a cigarette at the end of their well manucured multi ring ornate hands. There is a craze among younger women to die their hair silver with mixed results.

Some young French-side girls adopt the hippie look - not the boho or revisited bohemian style you see in magazines, I mean the actual 1968 Woodstock back of the woods trippy vintage "weaved skirt that doubles as curtain" thing. But most younger women like a sleek, simple, cute, sometimes child-like wardrobe made of various sturdy cotton tunics with appliqués over leggings or cotton/wool hosiery, that they endearingly call "bas-culottes" (long socks-with undies).

The English side, beyond the ultra reactionary heavy suits and clonky footwear of the city center, is very representative of any Canadian small town. I was just noticing today that there seems to be a unform adopted by women of all ages: bluejeans skinnies + white trainers + hoddie + top bun. It's a practical, affordable look for those who must walk their way around. Men are often balding, a little pudgy with undefined clothes unfortunately, such as tired khakies with keys bulging from side pocket, trainers and oversized tees completed with an unassuming, under-the-radar blouson jacket. In other words, the attire of the contemporary detective. In fact, if I was to write a Netflix mystery series, the latter described character would be perfect for it. But that's for another day

I am in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which is the state capital, pop. just under 84,000. It’s a huge art-tourist and outdoors tourist destination, with several major art festivals, a top-ranked summer opera season, a ski resort, gateway to the Southern Rockies, etc.
Saint Ali is our local secular fashion icon—aka Miss MacGraw. Her current look is black or vintage jeans, black or white tops, and strategic additions of dramatic Native American silver.
If you go “full Santa Fe” with broomstick skirt, turquoise, concho belt, cowboy boots, Pendleton blanket coat, etc, you will mark yourself as a tourist. People do wear all of the above, just not all at once.
We have real cowboys, in Wranglers, ropers, and Stetsons. Many of the real cowboys are also real Indians.
A strong biker/low-rider culture.
Lots of outdoor clothing, from Pradagonia to Orvis to Carhartt to Pearl Izumi to camo. Two schools of thought, “neat, natty and new” vs “it ain’t worn out, it’s broken in”. Duct tape is an important accessory for the latter look.
You need a different wardrobe capsule for Canyon Road and for Cerrillos Road.
Scary hippie witches, male and female. Male: bald tops with long skinny braids/ponytails. Female: patchouli, lots of patchouli.
Shopping: tends to either excruciatingly expensive little boutiques that sell hand-knit sweaters of chow-dog yarn, or very picked-over low-end mass market stores (JC Penney, Famous Footwear.) Mid-market shopping is an hour away in Albuquerque.

Here in Switzerland in my village people dress in a casual way ie thie shorts and pants this is not my style of course as I always wear formal shirts If we raprochons cities we see much more people who are wearing costumes whether they are men or women I think they have good clothes. But where I am most conquered is in Italy people dress very often blouse and dress for ladies and men often wear shirt and tie which is really for my personal taste.

Right now I live in the central Indiana county where I grew up, traditionally a farming and light industry area, but the exurbs of Indianapolis are creeping ever closer each year. Style among the locals here is utterly practical - clothes suitable for physical work, very little jewelry or makeup, and a lot of old-school cotton t-shirts with screenprinting on them - men's cut even on the women. Teenage girls wear t-shirts and leggings or athleisure, and teenage boys usually go for 'farm chic' when they're dressing up: tight Wranglers and boots and button-front plaid shirts.

Downtown Indy has a definite hipster vibe, with the guys actually being more interesting imo, with slightly cropped chinos and mustaches and oxford shirts. In the suburbs you get a lot of athleisure on non-working women, and jeans and polos on almost all the guys. Business formal is still common at some of the corporations but I never see that out in the wild myself.

Indiana has become a lot more multicultural and ethnically diverse, and the African-American influence in particular is a lot more spread out than it used to be; that was a community that used to stick to itself a lot and now doesn't have to. But we've still got a lot of issues of poverty and socioeconomic divisions - it's almost like the African-Americans were 'allowed' to move to nicer areas and they instantly got replaced by Mexicans and South American immigrants; those groups are still pretty isolated from the larger community.

It could be 90% my projection, but I feel like Indiana is currently really consumed with political divisions - lots of MAGA/'Don't tread on me' vs. a mostly Christian-inspired desire for fairness and lifting up others - as well as just really *busy* - the unemployment rate is super-low and practically every business is understaffed and constantly hiring. So there's not a lot of conversation about fashion or self-presentation, plus we're still all pretty Calvinist and thinking about that too much feels sinful and a waste of time.