What exactly is the "California look"? (Los Angeles, San Diego: land, area)

[Fontucky]

Anyone looking for "the California look" is immediately pegged as a tourist or transplant from the hinterlands.

Want the directions to Pink's?

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

I am a native, so what ever I am wearing is the California look. (Currently geans, pull over shirt, and flip flops.)

[Aliciac]

14 years in New Mexico and people still say I have "the California look" LOL must be the blonde hair. They peg me right away as being from there.

I miss the beach!

[1AngryTaxPayer]

I either wear shorts or a business suit. The only time I wear jeans is to stuff at night where it's too cold to wear shorts Like 5 times a year.

[Wisteria]

I'm going to add a few things, however, like many people said, it's more eclectic. People wear what they feel comfortable with. I'm from the eastcoast, originally, and I remember (I'm not a teen or twenty-something anymore) when there were dress codes. Even at work you had to dress up. Then it loosened up more, but it's still pretty staid back there.

In California, it really is up to the individual. I'm not into fashion, so I'm a thrift store person. My daughter, though, adores fashion. But then again, I wouldn't necessarily call her fashion "Californian" either. She's more into an European look, and often orders clothing from online sites. She also likes (as someone mentioned) Korean clothes (she also has a friend in Korea who tells her what the latest fashions are and where to get them), and she loves those looks. Koreans can be quite trendy. She' very good about mixing and matching her clothes, too.

Now, I happen to work in a very disciplined department -- law enforcement. But....it's California. Sometimes I'm still taken aback when I see one of the guys or gals take a break at lunch and put on their running shorts, tee-shirts and sneakers and go off for a jog. Others frequently arrive to work with their surf boards in the back of their trucks! -- they have been to a morning surfing session! Of course, for important meetings and all, people dress up. But generally, "comfortable" seems to be more the rule.

I live on the Central Coast -- south of San Francisco and north of L.A. -- so we kind of mix and match those areas together, too.

My opinion of the California "style," is that whatever you want to wear goes. And because most people wear what they want to wear, others don't gawk at you, or make fun of you. I guess individuality is more the norm here, and it can be very interesting to observe what people wear. I have a friend who only wears shorts and cotton short-sleeve shirts and sandals -- even in winter. My own kid will wear long boots, cashmere sweaters, tendy looking jeans (but cheap, as she knows how to shop and look great but save lots of money). She is very stylish but in a "not like everyone else" look, and oddly, she is often asked if she is from Europe....

Maybe that's the difference between the California "look" and other places -- here, the weather is generally good year-round, so you're not stuck into "winter" clothes or "spring" wear, or anything else. You're free to just find something you like, adapt it if you want, and wear it when you want. Here in this town, I see everything from trendy to dreadlocks to surfwear, to gothic, to Asians with cool-looking spiked hair with colored tips, to businessmen who often dress down. In fact, I remarked to a friend the other day at the Farmers' Market that you never know who is in the crowd because people are so casually-dressed -- it was the D.A.'s wife who had come over to give me a big hug, and she definitely had that comfortably-dressed look, but you'd never know to look at her. Everyone seems to happily mix in well.

Maybe in L.A. they dress more for show, but here, it's whatever you like goes.

[Huckleberry3911948]

240 lbs stuffed into raybans shorts hawaiian shirt, tennis shoes, sittin in an SUV.

[Lycanmaster]

bleach-blonde tan, air-headed...

[King0fthehill]

On a typical day, most people I know would wear something like the following:

- "Plain" t-shirts that are usually devoid of any content or advertisements; typically American Apparel or similar. Also popular are t-shirts from thrift stores; cardigans, plain, uniform colored hoodies and lightweight leather jackets are worn when it's cold.
- Skinny(-ish) jeans; Levis, APC, Nudies, etc
- Ray Ban wayfarer, and to a lesser extent, aviator shades
- Vans Classics/Authentics, Converse Chuck Taylors or a vintage pair of boots/moccasins

[jacktravern]

The california look is a bunch of grown men walking around in shorts and sandals looking like Jesus. Don't think I'll ever get used to it

[RatherBeInCabo]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry3911948

240 lbs stuffed into raybans shorts hawaiian shirt, tennis shoes, sittin in an SUV.

Now that's the Cali look!!!