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Because in the east it would be unthinkable to wear shorts to work. We believe that how you dress professionally is a reflection of the kind of person you are. If you showed up in shorts and sandals to an office job and you were a grown man, the impression would be that you have incredible, incredible disrespect for the job.
Perhaps, but it's no that hard to distinguish between a good and bad employee. How you dress is a reflection of internal qualities. If you dress in t-shirt, shorts, and sandals for work, you're basically saying, "I don't give a s***" and you'll probably be treated accordingly.
The same thing going out to eat and etc. How you dress is a reflection of how you want to present yourself to the world. As a grown man (or woman) isn't it better to dress up and optimize your appearance if you want people to think the most of you?
You must be from the east coast I take it.
Although I am in the field over half the time, and not in the office, my immediate supervisors, are dressed very casually (sandals, t-shirt, jeans, etc.) unless they are meeting a client. The only people who dress up everyday are the conservative Jewish owners/managers who also wear yarmulkes.
I disagree with you, and I think many professionals would as well. In Southern California people put effort and pay a little for a great casual look. There is a distinct casual look, that shows that you care about your appearance. Why in the world do you think shops like Abercrombie, Hollister, H&M, Express, etc., etc. do so well even though you might be paying a bit more.
Why in the world do you think shops like Abercrombie, Hollister, H&M, Express, etc., etc. do so well even though you might be paying a bit more.
To me it means you're spending a lot of money in order to look "casual". Isn't that an oxymoron?
Maybe it's rooted in the fact that our culture was "casualized" years ago, but different regions interpreted that differently.
In the Northeast, business wear is basically unaffected, and "casual" clothing for casual situations- like it has always been. It's just that the number of SITUATIONS that were deemed casual increased- but the clothes are never mismatched to the occasion. If you're told or get the impression that it's an important occasion then you dress for it. Of course, the standards for what is acceptable formally and casually have relaxed a little over the years. But it has very little to do with name brands- it went (in casual wear) from buttoned shirt tucked to buttoned shirt untucked, wearing a belt to not wearing a belt, wearing leather shoes to wearing sneakers sometimes, wearing khakis to wearing jeans, brushing your hair to sometimes not brushing you hair, shaving to sometimes forgetting to shave (the last two are recent developments)...
In the NE casual truly means casual as in wear whatever you want unless it looks too "formal" lest you be teased mildly for being a 1950s throwback (if you're a young person). That's why some people dress nicely but they'll wear a fleece or a sweater over it. But I remember someone earlier in the thread who grew up in CA saying that by the time he was in middle school he was checking out everybody's shoes, everybody's clothes, etc. on the bus.
The first time I heard people talking about shopping for "name brands" was girls in the Midwest saying "I shop at X, Y, and Z." It was odd to hear at first because they were talking about casual clothes. And if it's casual, who cares where you got the clothes? If I found out that you paid big money for "casual clothes" to lay around in, I would think that was hilarious because by definition, if you're putting so much thought into it, it is not "casual" and instead becomes "hypocritical".
We are name-brand blind, at least where I am from...that's why it is so bizarre to me to be paying big bucks in order to dress "casual"...it seems ridiculous but again, I am firmly entrenched in the northeast perspective here and I concede that we may be equally as superficial in different ways.
EDIT: For example, I visited one of my friends in New England recently and we went to a concert. He came by to pick me up and I was wearing a tie. His reaction was, "Oh, I wasn't sure if we were supposed to dress up." He had a tie in his car just in case. But he was focused on the occasion and what the occasion dictated. In the NE, many occasions dictate dressing up: going to work, dining out at a nice restaurant, going on a date to somewhere nice (depending on the kind of girl you are seeing), going to any kind of seminar or work related workshop, classical concerts (usually a mistake not to dress well here), Church (definitely a mistake not to dress well here-people will be shaking their heads that you would have so little respect for the institution), etc etc
It seems to me that what has happened in the West is that the concept of "important occasions" and formal vs. informal has been discarded and replaced with one mode of dress: casual. But the desire to spend money on clothes and desire to fit in using clothes has morphed itself into an obsession with the particular kind of casual clothes, rather than the mode of dress itself (degree of formality).
Although I am in the field over half the time, and not in the office, my immediate supervisors, are dressed very casually (sandals, t-shirt, jeans, etc.) unless they are meeting a client. The only people who dress up everyday are the conservative Jewish owners/managers who also wear yarmulkes.
I disagree with you, and I think many professionals would as well. In Southern California people put effort and pay a little for a great casual look. There is a distinct casual look, that shows that you care about your appearance. Why in the world do you think shops like Abercrombie, Hollister, H&M, Express, etc., etc. do so well even though you might be paying a bit more.
I love the fact that LA has created the mist casual environment of any major American city or even the world in fact because I've never been to a city where people interview without a tie.
Business gets done in LA without the stuffy dress code.
I mean I miss dressing up but if I got some guff from co workers for wearing my polos and khakis when I didn't need to, I could only imagine if I wouldve worn my real preppy clothes.
Although I agree with what you're saying I still have to say that LA has it's own distinct style too. It's everything from a cool nerd look to hipster to hip hop to rockstar to that Kevin smith wear what I want look. Its diverse but it's still in one category if that makes sense. It's be unique or youre just not trying hard enough to not trying hard enough, lol.
Tex, if a person that was not attractive tried to save your life (CPR, etc), would you say just let me die instead? There is your answer and that is what I thought. You would be OK with it. I will agree that we should encourage people to exercise. However, the idea that we should be in the beauty salon every week and try to be on the world's 100 best looking people list is definitely shallow.
I think the criticisms from the middle of the country are really leveled at the west LA/Beverly Hills scene (and perhaps La Jolla and Santa Barbara areas). I have seen plenty of overweight people in other southern California communities on my visits.
Heck, I've seen Los Angeles Dodgers games on TV (usually when the Giants are playing there) when they pan the camera to the Dodger Stadium audience I see plenty of overweight people...more than in San Francisco. It upsets me they will show Rob Reiner eating three hot dogs, but never show Pamela Anderson but I digress. Maybe she does not go to the games. So your premise is exaggerated in the first place.
Bottom line is you can care about appearance without being obsessed as many in Tinseltown are. The criticism is accurate. Own it and just admit it is a problem. You are not fooling anyone. People know shallow when they see it. Please don't be in denial about it. There are other things that are just as important as appearance and some things that are more important.
What with the denial on this forum? The prius driving, v neck wearing, thick rimmed glasses, fedora wearing, sleeve tattoo inked arm, guy or girl are LA/West Coast staples.
It's not just a generalization. It's as much a reality as the pick up truck driving, wrangler wearing, work boots rocking, cammo hat donning, guy in Texas.
There is nothing wrong with this. That's the local character. I am just saying that it's ridiculous so many people are complaining about generalizations or how they've never run into people like that or that there are a million more people who do not dress like that in LA.
I mean c'mon people!
That is the Westside/Hollywood look. You forgot Vans and Chucks. Those shoes are a staple of the "LA Look".
Round here. Dickies, Billabong, Sandals, and Tank Tops are common. ThebSouth Bay is a lot less trendy than the Westside/Hollywood. Its even more casual.
Specifically, the middle of the country (most of it) has no problem with the exercise regimen of those in west LA/Tinseltown, but frowns on the people who are going in to get various "surgical operations...facelift, tummy tuck, enhancement..every few months. BTW, it would be a false stereotype to believe that all communities in the middle of the country are just fat slobs. For example, the people in the Minneapolis area tend to be very active and always seem to be ranked in the top ten nationally for fitness. I think Madison, WI usually fares well, too.
Specifically, the middle of the country (most of it) has no problem with the exercise regimen of those in west LA/Tinseltown, but frowns on the people who are going in to get various "surgical operations...facelift, tummy tuck, enhancement..every few months. BTW, it would be a false stereotype to believe that all communities in the middle of the country are just fat slobs. For example, the people in the Minneapolis area tend to be very active and always seem to be ranked in the top ten nationally for fitness. I think Madison, WI usually fares well, too.
There's plenty of those type of people in Los Angeles. Well, not on the Westside.But a common sight throughout the basin.
While I don't approve of judging people based on money and looks, and I don't think its healthy to take things to an extreme that are self-destructive to their health or bank account,
it seems that when people (for example in the midwest, including Chicago) describe LA and southern California, they use words like shallow and superficial to desribe the vibe and culture,
when in reality I think it is just jealousy by those who don't want to put forth the effort by going to the gym regularly, eating healthy, and dressing stylishly, and spending a little more money on a stylish haircut.
What do you think?
Does it seem like people desribe those who try to look stylish and slim and in shape as being "conceited" "shallow" or "materialistic"
Well you are right & wrong. Some people are actractive on the outside, but say & do mean things to other. I say go where you are wanted. LA is not all glamour & glitz, There are places one can go to avoid that scene. Everyone doesn't have to be fit, stylish & perfect. Some people are content with being normal, average & regular. I gotta learn how to make money from insecurity.
What if I don't care for people who wear sweatpants in public? Does being bothered by someone else's lack of decorum make me a bad person? Because I have standards and expectations of those around me, and they don't?
Someone who is fat or dresses poorly is announcing to the world that they have little regard for their appearance, and thus for how others perceive them. So I return the favor by not perceiving them favorably, and avoiding their company as circumstances permit. I also don't find these people to be any kinder, or more interesting than decorous people, quite the opposite. These people have made a choice, but they don't want to pay the consequences for it.
By their very nature, they expect the world to bend to their will and embrace them with open arms, with whatever choice they make. That's why you hear fat girls crowing about "body image," "healthy at every size," and all that jazz. They can't stand the disapproval, and they can't stand walking away from the buffet table either, so they try and convince us that yes, Rosie O'Donnell and Kirstie Alley are the epitome of beauty. In vain.
Wow!.....that's very mean, but its a cold world I guess.
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