Is Philly a "dark" city? (wedding, high school)

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by rotodome

East coast city thing.
Fashion marketing thing.
Not so much a Philly thing.

In NY the Tuesday after labor day(the 'official' end of summer colors) is a somewhat hilarious black wave.

There's a cool store( it's some kind of Urban Outfitters hybrid) next to Macy's on Broadway. Was there yesterday. 99% of the shoes in their shoe dept were black. lol.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by rotodome

Also, southern businessmen walking around with their hands in the pockets of their khakis.

This actually made me laugh outloud. Seriously.

[branh0913]

Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugsmang

Agreed. London, Paris, Montreal, Chicago etc. basically anywhere that is business oriented you'll find that "sophisticated look" which is really just dark blazers & coats.
+ bright colors don't look very well in gloomy winter weather

Funny you mention gloomy weather. Seattle is a city known for a lot of glommy weather, but seeing people in black was pretty rare there. But I found Seattle to be a lot more casual than Philly. Philadelphia is a casual city, but formality is still very important to people here it seems. For events I noticed black is almost the goto color for women's dresses or male attired.

[southbound_295]

Over the years, black has come & gone in favor in Philadelphia. When it's not in, browns are in. When the browns are in, it invites more colors to coordinate with the browns. That said, Philadelphia has a reputation for being conservative. That extends to fashion.

When the May Company bought Wanamakers they thought that it was a good idea to kill the Wanamaker name, & use the Hecht name. They stocked the stores with stock bought by Baltimore buyers, then they ran a barage of ads saying "Philadelphia, we're going to teach you how to shop." Really? How well did that work out for them?

[pugsnotdrugsmang]

Originally Posted by branh0913

Funny you mention gloomy weather. Seattle is a city known for a lot of glommy weather, but seeing people in black was pretty rare there. But I found Seattle to be a lot more casual than Philly. Philadelphia is a casual city, but formality is still very important to people here it seems. For events I noticed black is almost the goto color for women's dresses or male attired.

Well historically Philadelphia is quite different than Seattle, as far as architecture, immigration & overall vibe goes. You don't get the colonial row houses & brownstones over in the Pacific Northwest...remember Seattle is culturally influenced by San Francisco & LA in the same way fashion on the east coast is influenced by NYC.

[Lenses & Lights.]

Originally Posted by kyb01

What strikes about going to places like Birmingham, AL, where I have family, are
the young women in dresses and heels just walking around. It definitely made me do a mental, "WTF??".

In Philly I can count on one hand the number of women I see not wearing pants/jeans.

What's wrong with females wearing dresses and heels?

[Better Than You]

Originally Posted by branh0913

I love a lot of things about Philly. And I think this is more of a compliment than a criticism. But have you ever noticed that people in Philly wear a lot of black? Anywhere you go, you will see a sea of blackness. It's not abnormal to see men and women dressed from head to toes in full black. Or to see people's wardrobe consist of 90% black. I'm actually a big black wearer myself, and it's easily my favorite color. But I kind of wonder what is the deal with people in Philly and a lot of black. Even my mother visited me in Philly last month and noticed that Philadelphians sport a lot of black. I would say that people in Philly culturally are fairly reserved people. And maybe the blackness play into that in some way. I really like it, as I think black makes things look very sleek and refined. Giving everyone a more "classic" look. But i find it strange that black is worn so much here.

Anyone care to clue me in?

We wear black to hide our fat bodies.

[cattusbabe]

Yeah I noticed that about Philly also. Seems like after it starts getting cold out comes the black clothes. I also think folks go to the dark colors since they stay cleaner looking longer while going about in wintery weather. Maybe its a money saving thing. Or a lack of imagination thing. Either way it just adds to the drab atmosphere that winter presents.

That is not me so I do the opposite. I love color. It gives me a life of cold dreary days. In fact the older I get the brighter colors I wear. If people don't what to go to the extreme that I do maybe just punch up a dark outfit with a touch of color by means of accessories.

[Blinx]

Originally Posted by Lenses & Lights.

What's wrong with females wearing dresses and heels?

Nothing wrong with it… but it stands out if everyone else is wearing black pants with comfy shoes (I think that combo is for commuters -- they might have heels in their bags).

A few years ago, in the summertime, I noticed a lot of women wearing pretty sun dresses and skirts to work, with heels. It was like it was finally "OK" to be feminine again in an office environment. Can't remember what they wore in winter. I know wear black pants and comfy shoes year round.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Lenses & Lights.

What's wrong with females wearing dresses and heels?

Nothing. Heels are very common with women in Philly. It's the dresses I saw in the South that threw me. Dresses are just not as common with women here anymore.