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One reason I moved here was to escape from Palo Alto, CA, the trendiness capital of the world. Got tired of people trying to outdo their neighbors' wardrobe, car, house, kids' college.
Folks here aren't caught up in that kind of thing.
I am much (ahem) older than the OP. I wear business clothes (not business casual, business "dress") to work and was told I dress very "East Coast." I don't know if that is good or bad. :-p I'm from the East coast, obviously, so I guess it's fine.
I would say I dress traditionally, and conservatively. I do show a lot less skin than many NM women. I do wear hose and heels, I'd die before I'd ever wear tight pants (both b/c I think it is extremely unattractive, regardless of the "trend" and b/c it is extremely uncomfortable)! Skirts/dresses come to or an inch below my knees, I don't show cleavage and I'd never wear anything sleeveless unless it's under a suit or blazer, but I'm chilly in air conditioning and I am trying to protect myself from the sun, lol. I would say I am probably more "dressy" than most people in my office, and I probably spend more money than most on clothes. I suspect they are just smarter than I am, but I like what I like and I am very picky about fabrics, cut, and details. I am addicted to Italian shoes and shopping is also one of my favorite hobbies. The men in my office wear dress pants, a dress shirt and a tie, and have a suit coat or sport coat thrown over a chair someplace. The only thing I have really taken note of is the very strange bolero tie business. I have two (male) coworkers who wear very well cut, high quality, perhaps even custom, dress shirts, with these ridiculous ties. It makes me smile.
I have a son in high school. Let me sum up: Levi's, a t-shirt and Sperry Top Siders, no socks. That's it. That's the uniform, with an occasional foray into tennis shoes, with socks, but then the socks must be Under Armor, lol. The jeans must be Levi's silver tab with a button fly, and they are loose fit, but not baggy. He at least wears them at his waist, thank God. I tried to buy Timberland Top Siders once and he took them back. Only Levi's silver tab (red tab is unacceptable!) and only Sperry. Other than that, any old crappy old t-shirt will do, lol. When his friends come over they are similarly dressed (but I never noticed if perhaps their shoes were <gasp> Timberland, lol). One kid was actually wearing a Polo shirt and looked very nice, which I pointed out to my son, who remains unconvinced that a collared shirt would improve his life. They are all athletes and into showing off their athletic builds, so they seem to prefer fitted shirts, with or without collar. I bought him several t-shirts from Aero and A & F, but my son says only "posers" and kids buying their clothes at thrift stores wear shirts with labels on them, so I took them back and bought him a bunch of t-shirts from Target and he is much happier.
My middle school daughter wears uniforms to school, which makes my life considerably easier. Out of school, she is totally into Ugg shoes and boots, but otherwise doesn't care. My middle school son will wear anything, as long as it is dirty.
I don't think lack of "fashion forwardness" is a bad thing, but I do think the laid back attitude of NM goes a bit too far sometimes in regards to attire. I mean, there's a difference between not caring about designers/the latest fashion trends and not caring about looking presentable. From what I see, there are many young (and not-so-young) people here who, unfortunately, fall in the latter category - and I say this as a native New Mexican in her 20s. I won't say where I work, but I can't tell you the number of times people have come to my office looking like they just rolled out of bed. Literally, hair a mess, pajama bottoms and ratty t-shirts. I've seen this in the grocery store as well. Not saying people need to be dressed to the nines each time they leave the house, but come on.
To each their own, I guess.
But no. New Mexico will never be a fashion capital, nor should it be. Leave that to the pros in New York, London and Paris.
Sounds like you're way to concerned about appearances and don't bother to get to know the people. This part of the country doesn't worry about fashion as much as other places. I go to the Opera here all the time and there are people in evening dress and people in jeans and cowboy boots. The West is more individualistic. We're not followers. We dress the way we want, not what TV or a fashion magazine says we should.
I don't think lack of "fashion forwardness" is a bad thing, but I do think the laid back attitude of NM goes a bit too far sometimes in regards to attire. I mean, there's a difference between not caring about designers/the latest fashion trends and not caring about looking presentable. From what I see, there are many young (and not-so-young) people here who, unfortunately, fall in the latter category - and I say this as a native New Mexican in her 20s. I won't say where I work, but I can't tell you the number of times people have come to my office looking like they just rolled out of bed. Literally, hair a mess, pajama bottoms and ratty t-shirts. I've seen this in the grocery store as well. Not saying people need to be dressed to the nines each time they leave the house, but come on.
To each their own, I guess.
But no. New Mexico will never be a fashion capital, nor should it be. Leave that to the pros in New York, London and Paris.
The pajama bottoms and t-shirt thing is not just a NM thing..I've seen that a lot of places that I have lived (including MO where I am now). I'll admit to going to get gas in flannel PJ's with a coat thrown over in the winter, but I've seen plenty of people wear just the PJ's to go grocery shopping....or to classes, for that matter.
Sounds like you're way to concerned about appearances and don't bother to get to know the people. This part of the country doesn't worry about fashion as much as other places. I go to the Opera here all the time and there are people in evening dress and people in jeans and cowboy boots. The West is more individualistic. We're not followers. We dress the way we want, not what TV or a fashion magazine says we should.
Some of you are obviously not seeing my point, maybe its because you've lived here your whole life, or long enough where you can't see my perspective. As I stated previously, Im wearing sports shirts and a nike t-shirt, Im not to worried about fashion. Its just that huge of a change from Illinois its crazy..Stuff I was seeing 5-8 years ago Im seeing here now. Its just eye catching, and surprising coming from a very very small town coming to a larger city. For you it may sound like Im judging people, but Im sure if you were in my shoes you would notice these huge changes as well (or maybe not if your not in my age range).
Perhaps you are right, if there is a national orthodoxy we should all be following. Sounds like some people just don't care that much about keeping up with the latest.
Some of you are obviously not seeing my point, maybe its because you've lived here your whole life, or long enough where you can't see my perspective. As I stated previously, Im wearing sports shirts and a nike t-shirt, Im not to worried about fashion. Its just that huge of a change from Illinois its crazy..Stuff I was seeing 5-8 years ago Im seeing here now. Its just eye catching, and surprising coming from a very very small town coming to a larger city. For you it may sound like Im judging people, but Im sure if you were in my shoes you would notice these huge changes as well (or maybe not if your not in my age range).
Fashion and other trends tend to move inward from the coasts, east and west, hitting the bigger interior markets first and then trickling outward to the smaller, satellite locales.
My kids noticed that songs that were popular two, three+ years ago in New Jersey just got popular here in Las Cruces last summer! While they don't comment on the clothes so much, it doesn't surprise me that there is a similar lag.
I suppose if the demand here was greater, things might move faster, from what I've seen, kids here tend to be less concerned about the latest thing from Hollister (for example) and more concerned about their cars.
Some of you are obviously not seeing my point, maybe its because you've lived here your whole life, or long enough where you can't see my perspective. As I stated previously, Im wearing sports shirts and a nike t-shirt, Im not to worried about fashion. Its just that huge of a change from Illinois its crazy..Stuff I was seeing 5-8 years ago Im seeing here now. Its just eye catching, and surprising coming from a very very small town coming to a larger city. For you it may sound like Im judging people, but Im sure if you were in my shoes you would notice these huge changes as well (or maybe not if your not in my age range).
I was raised in LA ... one of the fashion meccas of the world. I couldn't care less where and how fashion trends travel. NM is not a place where fashion is at the forefront of everyone's minds. People just don't care if you are fashionable or not.
Spent Sat afternoon at the NM State Fair with my buddy who was an official fair photographer.
I saw everything from casual to formal; eastern NM cowboys to indian dancers in full regalia, from South Valley bro's to La Cueva high school preps and even a few hipsters and goths mixed in.
And guess what, everyone got along and was having a great time.
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They are all athletes and into showing off their athletic builds, so they seem to prefer fitted shirts, with or without collar. I bought him several t-shirts from Aero and A & F, but my son says only "posers" and kids buying their clothes at thrift stores wear shirts with labels on them, so I took them back and bought him a bunch of t-shirts from Target and he is much happier.
