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A couple of friends and acquaintances have recently decided to move to NYC. One of their many reasons included wanting to have the freedom to dress up more without people thinking you are weird or overdressed or any of the other myriad of negative assumptions when you dress up too much in our industry.
So it got me thinking about how my own style might change if I lived somewhere else. I tend to dress up, but I intentionally add a casual thing to look less dressed up. My native style is more east coast preppy than west coast casual. And I wear flats 90% of the time. Thinking about the more formal NYC look (black, black, black ) I realize I wouldn't move in that direction. But I might be inspired to add more polish with some makeup. And swap my sneakers and sporty inspired shoes for dressier flats more often.
Would your style change if you lived somewhere else? How do you think it would be impacted?
yeah, absolutely!
I lived in VA for 3 years and wore country dresses, polca dots and stuff. I worked in a bank for 2 years and wore mostly suits and very conservative clothes - haven't worn them since.
If I was moving to NYC now, I would clearly wear very modern clothes, pretty much the opposite of VA clothes.
Well if I lived somewhere where people didnt mostly dress like slobs then I would put more thought and effort into my appearance. As it stands now that would do nothing for me except make me look like a tourist from back East.
A couple of friends and acquaintances have recently decided to move to NYC. One of their many reasons included wanting to have the freedom to dress up more without people thinking you are weird or overdressed or any of the other myriad of negative assumptions when you dress up too much in our industry.
So it got me thinking about how my own style might change if I lived somewhere else. I tend to dress up, but I intentionally add a casual thing to look less dressed up. My native style is more east coast preppy than west coast casual. And I wear flats 90% of the time. Thinking about the more formal NYC look (black, black, black ) I realize I wouldn't move in that direction. But I might be inspired to add more polish with some makeup. And swap my sneakers and sporty inspired shoes for dressier flats more often.
Would your style change if you lived somewhere else? How do you think it would be impacted?
Being from the West Coast, I used to wear a certain style using Asian-inspired prints by a Seattle designer. It was fine in the Bay Area too, where I think the same designer had some kind of outlet. But when I arrived in the SW, people stared at me like I was from another planet. So I've retired those items until I move back to the coast. In NM, Western wear is one long-time trend (my town has several fancy hand-tooled cowboy boot shops), among others. It's a different planet out here in the high desert.
Well if I lived somewhere where people didnt mostly dress like slobs then I would put more thought and effort into my appearance. As it stands now that would do nothing for me except make me look like a tourist from back East.
I don't mind looking like I'm from back East. In the 90's, when my office wear tended to be on the matchy-matchy side, I remember getting stared at occasionally around Shattuck Ave. in Berkeley. Even back then, being well-dressed stood out with a certain crowd. It didn't stand out at all around the FiDi, though. Don't some people get the concept that some work in more formal settings in SF, and then may be seen walking home or waiting for the bus around Berkeley or Oakland at the end of the day, after taking BART? The stares surprised me, but then--it was all 20-something types or college-age people, so they lived in a different world, I guess.
Well if I lived somewhere where people didnt mostly dress like slobs then I would put more thought and effort into my appearance. As it stands now that would do nothing for me except make me look like a tourist from back East.
Sometimes my coworkers look at me like I'm an alien. :P
"Jade, you always look so put together at work....*"
*this is when I am wearing a business casual outfit. Or dressed up casual.
I used to be pretty ardent about not wearing leggings to work. I finally gave in and wear them with a boyfriend blazer and a long top!
At heart I am a product of my Massachusetts upbringing and if I moved somewhere warm would miss my New England prep clothes I wear for casual wear. I don't think my work/dress clothes would change.
Also, that NYC black on black isn't how people walk around, even in midtown. It is kind of a TV/movie myth. I do think many of the women and men are much, much more fashionable than in the burbs but in a less monotone way.
My clothing choices changed when I moved from a tropical climate to a cooler climate. It also changed when I went from a casual job to a more professional job. My "style" didn't change so much, but the clothes I chose to fit the style and how fancy they were did change.
Overall, I think I would stick with more universal/general appealing styles: Athleisure wear can be found in most cities. I would keep basics: straight, skinny, bootcut jeans; leggings; jeggings; tunics; button-downs; skirts; black dress; fleeces and hoodies for mild climates; winter gear for colder climates; monocolored tanks/Cami/tops, etc., and build my wardrobe around adding staples from the area: more flannel and basic tops in Midwest; more plaid prints cargo pants, and hiking boots in the Pacific Northwest, Cowboy boots in the southwest; sundresses, flip-flops in the southeast; CA, high-low dressing, hoodies, sneakers in Norcal, sundress, and flip-flops in SoCal; NYC designer shoes and purses & new wardrobe altogether; northeast, wouldn't change a thing.
Last edited by LexWest; 10-15-2016 at 09:54 PM..
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) I realize I wouldn't move in that direction. But I might be inspired to add more polish with some makeup. And swap my sneakers and sporty inspired shoes for dressier flats more often.
