What to Wear?

[Comfit]

I'll be visiting Seattle tomorrow. The weather forecast is showing partly cloudy with low temperature. Will it be appropriate to wear a light trench coat with "Socal hi-heel sandals"?

[allforcats]

Originally Posted by Comfit

I'll be visiting Seattle tomorrow. The weather forecast is showing partly cloudy with low temperature. Will it be appropriate to wear a light trench coat with "Socal hi-heel sandals"?

Yes. But bring a sweater for under the coat for after sundown.
You might be more comfortable in no-heel shoes. Shoes like Easy Spirit walking shoes are normal here. Anything that's not suede, and that's flat and very comfortable, is perfect.
And don't assume the weather forecast is correct; it usually isn't because our weather comes from so many directions that anything's possible.
Unless you're here for a job interview, or you plan on eating in the most expensive restaurant, no one cares at all what you wear.

[jwb123]

with "Socal hi-heel sandals"?

Sure but you will be the only one dressed wearing something like that.

[Raymont]

It must be the time I spent in Oregon, but I wouldn't live in OR or WA without a Columbia Sportswear jacket/coat and boots. The Titanium brand can't be beat but they're pricey.

[pwright1]

When I first came to Seattle a few years ago it was the gortex, fleece, clogs, woman wearing flat unattractive shoes and so on. Someone on City-Data even referred to Seattleites as looking like they take their clothes out of the dirty clothes hamper and wear them everyday.

Don't ever think Seattleites don't like fashion. With new transplants moving in from all over comes style. Seattle is not all about Columbia Sportswear, REI, American Eagle and Pendleton. We also cater to the fashionable. The truth is we have stores like St. John, Barney's New York, Escada, Louis Vuitton, two of the top Nordstrom stores in the chain, Mario's which sells Armani, Canali, Hugo Boss, Zegna and Zanella brands and many others. Also coming to the Seattle area in the near future are Burberry, Neiman Marcus, Jimmy Choo Shoes, and Ferragamo.

[hotshawt]

Ah, Gore-Tex....the cotton of the Northwest. I tells my friends when they come to visit to leave the umbrella at home. First off, the rain is more of an inconvenience, and usually intermittent. Occasionaly we get a downpour. And secondly, if they bring an umbrella, I will have to write TOURIST in permanent marker across their back!

[Deep_Vee]

While everyone on this thread is posting about the official Seattle uniform...don't let them scare you - plenty of folks actually dress in clothes other than clogs and gor-tex. My wife, most women I work with, and a ton of the women I see working downtown wear heels, designerish clothes, and fashionable coats every day. Just find what works for you and you'll be fine.

[CFiona]

Originally Posted by Jenbar

They aren't. At all.

See..I disagree? To each his own I suppose, but the long underwear, jeans, black powerstretch fleece, 3/4 length black wool coat, scarf, and boots outfit sounded perfect to me. I have a few REI-type coats, but I save them for skiing because they never seem to go with my work clothes or nice jeans and heels!!!

I have two peacoats, one thigh length and one short to the waist. And lots of scarfs. Except I do get frustrated my peacoats dont have hoods!! my next one WILL have a hood!!! Trenches never seem warm enough for here....

And I wear heels - even social hi-heel sandles. But I have lots of CLOSED TOE heels too cause rain is COLD!!!

[CFiona]

Originally Posted by jojo7

I try to stock up on long sleeve t-shirts!

me too!!!!

[haggardhouseelf]

I'm in Eugene now, but spent a year in Redmond, WA and we visit the Seattle area a few times a year... we also lived in California and I was born and raised in Texas... anyway - Oregon and Washington people are WAY casual. It's more about dressing clean and comfortable to stay warm and dry than it is about dressing according to the latest fashions. The fact that Nordstroms came out of Seattle really boggles my mind. I don't get it? REI I totally get, PNW people love the outdoors... Starbuck's I get, they love their coffee and you need hot drinks to keep the SAD and the cold hands away... Amazon.com and Microsoft I get - lots of computer geeks who don't like to leave their houses (perhaps because of the weather?).... but Nordstroms? I don't get it.

Anyway - I'm a Dansko mama, too... love them... and last year they finally came out with boots! I wasn't really crazy about the style... too much like a pirate boot or something... but it's a good sign...

The UGG boots you only see on younger girls or women who follow trends. They are really not suitable for the wet weather we have here... unless you treat them so that they are waterproof or only wear them on sunny days.

Flip Flops and trendy sandals, too, you don't see very often except on the younger trend-following girls and women. Most people seem to prefer sensible shoes over trendy shoes here... you're fashionable if you wear the North Face jackets and coats as opposed to the Columbia or more generic brand ones.

You see a lot of women here (myself included) who do not wear makeup. Perhaps it's the rain... I didn't wear makeup when we lived in California or Texas and people would say things to me about it... it seemed to even bother some women that I "didn't put my face on"... But in Oregon and Washington lots of us don't wear makeup and no one has ever said anything or seemed to notice or care. It's really nice!

Also as far as coats - peacoats are great for dry, cold weather... but if they are a true wool they often take on a strange smell after they've been rained on. It might not bother some people but it bothers me for some reason. A waterproof outer jacket is nice to wear over your sweaters and stuff while you're outdoors, then inside you can pull it off and be comfortable in your cozy clothes. Some places also have a washable suede (fake suede) coats with really warm linings in them. They are great... L.L. Bean had some last year and they sold out very quickly.