Why are people in Dallas so much more formal/dressed up in appearance? (Fort Worth: neighborhoods, to buy)

[vailbaby]

Oh coming from Colorado people most certainly do “dress up” in dallas. I personally like it. Going out to a nice restaurant and wearing shorts and flip flops is normal in CO. As a matter of fact people will stare you down if you “dress up”. My husband went into straight culture shock moving from dallas to Boulder. I love going to dallas. It’s my only chance where I can wear cute non yoga clothes and not get asked if I’m going to a wedding or a “special” occasion.

[KathrynAragon]

True story - a couple of years ago I was shopping at Neiman Marcus in Dallas. I had on expensive Born sandals FOR COMFORT because I knew I'd be shopping all day. (I live in NE Texas about an hour and a half east of Dallas.)

I bought an outfit and decided to buy shoes too. When the shoe salesman came out with my size, he also had another box with him - of comfortable but much dressier platform sandals that just happened to match the outfit I was wearing that day. He said, "I brought the shoes for your new outfit, and I brought these others to, because honey, you're shopping in Dallas. You need to be wearing cuter shoes."

I said, "But these I have on are comfortable." He looked at them in dismay and then said, "Well, maybe - but so are these and they look a lot better." He was right - LOL - I knew he was being a consummate salesman but I had to admit the other shoes looked a lot better and were cute with my outfit. So I bought both pairs!

I get what the OP is saying - yes, it's all relative, but generally speaking, people do dress "up" more in Dallas than in Seattle. And though it's a stereotype, Texas women have a reputation for "big hair," and wearing makeup and generally dressing up a bit more. Some like to do it, and some like to see it, and others don't but oh well - personally I prefer dressing up a bit more than dressing down, regardless of the occasion. I don't even work out in my yard without putting on lip gloss and powdering my nose! And though I'll wear shorts and a T shirt when it's really hot, they're always cute shorts and the T shirt is always bright, clean, and crisp looking.

And my shoes are always cute.

[MurphyPl1]

There's no reason you can't be comfortable and still look out together. It's just as easy to put on a cute too and well fitting pants as it is to out on yoga pants and a wrinkled tee.

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by MurphyPl1

There's no reason you can't be comfortable and still look out together. It's just as easy to put on a cute too and well fitting pants as it is to out on yoga pants and a wrinkled tee.

Right on. Like my mom always told me "It's just as easy to fall in love with a rich man as a poor man." LOL

[Debsi]

I work at home. I only dress up when I have a client meeting. You didn’t see me!

I definitely don’t think the majority of women in Dallas wear those torturous heels everyday. Were you spending time in some of the wealthier areas?

[Annikan]

eh, I know what they mean. If you go out in uptown on a weekend night, there are a ton of really dressed up people, and most women are wearing heels. And dresses.

In Seattle, every time I've been there, even in the trendyish bars and restaurants, you'll see a lot of people wearing "hiking chic". Lots of hiking sandals with dresses, lots of backpacks, lots of Northface type stuff on men and women. In Dallas, I'd never in a million years have worn a northface hoodie "out" (as a woman), but they were common in Seattle.

in NYC, you actually see a lot more flats on women, because most women are walking a lot. Even in the nicest restaurants, at least half the women will be wearing flats. Pants are a lot more common when going out here, probably because of you know---winter/spring/fall which Texas just doesn't have a whole lot of.

[R1070]

Dallasites definitely dress better than many other areas of the country. Places mentioned above are way more casual than Dallas. NY is it's own animal in any regard.

[Vanderbiltgrad]

It is like that in Nashville as well, Southern women were raised to dress up for formal events and look nice and polished. I love it moving here from the Northeast and Ohio it is a great change. Usually in the Northeast only the super wealthy dress up but here it is pretty common for all socio economic classes to do, Dallas, Atlanta, Nashville it pretty common in Southern cities.

[The Golden Rule]

When I first moved to Dallas in 1985, my friend (a local) took me shopping at North Park Mall. I wasn't dressed sloppily, but I still felt underdressed compared to the women who were dressed up in outfits that probably cost more than the entire contents of my closet, and I had fairly nice clothes.

A boss I had in the 90s told me I shouldn't drive my Ford Explorer; I needed to trade it in for a BMW or Mercedes or some other "status-worthy" brand in order to "send the right message" to our customers. (We sold mainframe computer hardware and software.)

In 2003, I worked at Neiman Marcus' headquarters, in their IT department. During a meeting with some of the store department heads (we were working on an sales and inventory system), somebody mentioned needing a pen. I said, "I have one in my purse." One of the department heads turned to me and said, "Darling, here at Neimans, we call them handbags." I replied, "Well, I bought it at Target, so it's probably a purse."

(Side note: Anyone referring to the company/stores as "Needless Mark-up" was subject to immediate termination.)

People's priorities when sizing you up often involved the size of one's diamond, where one vacationed, which neighborhood one lived in, and which private school one sent their children.


Pretention in Dallas is a real thing. Obviously you don't have to get sucked into it, but you will encounter it.

[Nn2036]

Originally Posted by The Golden Rule

When I first moved to Dallas in 1985, my friend (a local) took me shopping at North Park Mall. I wasn't dressed sloppily, but I still felt underdressed compared to the women who were dressed up in outfits that probably cost more than the entire contents of my closet, and I had fairly nice clothes.

A boss I had in the 90s told me I shouldn't drive my Ford Explorer; I needed to trade it in for a BMW or Mercedes or some other "status-worthy" brand in order to "send the right message" to our customers. (We sold mainframe computer hardware and software.)

In 2003, I worked at Neiman Marcus' headquarters, in their IT department. During a meeting with some of the store department heads (we were working on an sales and inventory system), somebody mentioned needing a pen. I said, "I have one in my purse." One of the department heads turned to me and said, "Darling, here at Neimans, we call them handbags." I replied, "Well, I bought it at Target, so it's probably a purse."

(Side note: Anyone referring to the company/stores as "Needless Mark-up" was subject to immediate termination.)

People's priorities when sizing you up often involved the size of one's diamond, where one vacationed, which neighborhood one lived in, and which private school one sent their children.


Pretention in Dallas is a real thing. Obviously you don't have to get sucked into it, but you will encounter it.

Geez, that is some pretentiousness that you encountered.