Why is Dallas so flashy? (Orange: big house, school, college)

[940]

I have heard this discussed before and read something in the local newspaper...many attributed it to having Neiman-Marcus set up shop here 100 years ago when the city of Dallas was still quite small. Having upscale retail back then involved visits from retailers/suppliers/dressmakers/movers & shakers and so on who hailed from the big cities of NY, Chicago, Philadelphia, etc. which in turn had an effect on the area. Even Adolphus Busch from the Budweiser Beer family was impressed enough with the young city back then to build and run one of the first luxury hotels in the entire southwest and which still endures today...the Adolphus Hotel. Dallas Hotels - The Adolphus - Luxury Historic Hotel in Downtown Dallas, Texas (TX) (http://www.hoteladolphus.com/adolphus_home.aspx - broken link)

The influence of oil and the money made off of that also contributed to the newly rich "splurging" on the expensive wares of the local Neiman-Marcus flagship store downtown. No self respecting oil man or his wife would have chanced not being seen out on the town in the very latest fashions shipped down from the Northeast or Midwest back then.

[MaryS80]

Again it all goes back to shopping. Dallas has more malls, more restaurants, and more supermarkets per capita.

Look at malls like NorthPark, of the Galleria. Many high end stores have a Dallas location. It's funny to see Paris, Milan, NY, LA, and then Dallas for many of the luxury brands.

I read somewhere too that Dallas has a rather high concentration of millionaires.

Quite a few big name corporations are HQ'd in Dallas and FW. There's probably still old oil money floating around as well.

[aceplace]

Dallas has flash and glamour because it is so populous (6 million) and because it is the de-facto capital city of its region. Ambitious people leave smaller cities to seek their fortune in Dallas, and flaunt their success (assuming they achieve it, of course).

[DFWMike]

Originally Posted by alexius

I mean how everyone drives a Lexus with chrome wheels and the gold package. I mean how women have Kate Spade, Louis Vuitton bags, dress to the 9's all the time. How men are generally in shape, and very well dressed.

How it's all about being seen and image conscious. My question is HOW it became that way. LA is that way naturally because it's Hollywood. Dallas has no such connections, and I'm wondering what factors contributed to it early in its development.

Well, It probably has something to do with the fact that our homes are much cheaper so we tend to have more money to spend on other things. Dallas being compared to Orange County is unfair however, Comparing Collin County to Orange COunty would be more accurate because both are suburbs with little blight.

Of course the Dallas metro has some slummy areas just as L.A. does, the whole metro is not what you speak of, but there is just a lot of wealth here with a large disposable income. Collin County ranks 17th as the richest(by median household income) county in the United States and it is by far the cheapest on average housing costs. Aceplace is right, too, Dallas attracts people who want to make money and that can be done relatively easy here as opposed to other locales.

However, you're assertion of people being in shape is a small segment of the population. Dallas was, until recently, designated as the fattest city in America.

[momof2dfw]

Very true. Dallas is an easy place for someone looking to start up a business of their own to flourish (if they know how). There are many that fail too. The environment in this area for locally owned businesses is very good. With that comes an employee base that is stable (no transfers across the country). The dollars stay locally so more people get a piece of the pie. Before the new Firewheel Mall was built the studies all indicated a huge amount of disposable income in the immediate area. This is the case in the majority of the metroplex.

I also don't consider a 7 Series flashy. Seeing a couple of Porsche, Lexus, BMW, MB's, Ferrari's a day is not a big deal so I don't consider those "flashy". The "gold package" you refered to I consider more the person that buys their once every 4-5 year Cadillac purchase w/ the gold package (read my mil ) and wants the "gold package". I think it is garish. This is typically going to be the older crowd. The OTHER "gold package" that is "flashy" are the people that have any car and throw the spinners on, fancy rims, suicide doors (saw some on a Suburban awhile back - LOL), etc. This is not going to be your average suburban moms go-getter.

[TrueDat]

I think some of this has less to do with Dallas per se than the larger region known as the Sunbelt which would obvious include other such areas as Los Angeles, Orange County, Las Vegas, Phoenix/Scottsdale, and Miami, all of which exhibit similar tendencies. There are a lot of nouveau riche in each of these places and, stereotypically, much of the nouveau riche likes to show off its wealth compared to old money. (Being neither nouveau or old riche, I don't know first-hand but that's what I've read.)

Secondly, there's the climate. It's much more pleasant to be out and about in a covertible and showing off your body in those Sunbelt cities than in, say, Minneapolis or Bangor for much of the year. It's no surprise that those sunbelt cities always top the list of plastic surgeries, too. I think the sunny weather encourages an emphasis (many would say an over-emphasis) on appearance.

[aeh]

Once again, as I've said in other posts, I am a native Dallasite who has lived all over the US and now out of the country but is possibly moving back. I never realized that Dallas was flashy until I moved away. Then, I was absolutely amazed at what I had grown up with--it really is so integral to the Dallas life. My perception of why this is (and I completely agree that it is like L.A. in that regard) is the amount of disposable income there in Dallas (and Texas in general) and also that it is something that is passed down from generation to generation. Definitely that whole "never go to the grocery store without putting on your makeup" type of attitude (not that that makes you flashy but it's just one small piece of the puzzle--image is everything in Dallas...and I'm also not saying I'm above it...I was just as into it as some of the best of them) It's kind of an everyone else is doing it mentality and even though, part of me is thrilled that my kids aren't growing up around all that superficiality there are some good things that come with it--presenting yourself well, etc but there are many inherent problems with it, too. I currently live among ultra-wealthy people and most of them you would never know it. Dallas is full of "wanna-be"s--.. We're in a much different income bracket than when we left, but I must say that if/when we return to Dallas, I hope I don't return to that mentality. The thing about Dallas is that no matter how pretty, rich, thin or smart your kids are, it's never enough (or maybe that's just me and how it sucks me in!

Regardless, it's having the disposable income and having that mentality passed down from generation to generation...Even the media encourages it...how many places would list the most expensive homes, their owners, etc. Dallas thrives on it.....regardless, I still love Dallas and you just have to be happy in your own skin.......

[kt2le]

I don't know about the "flashy" part but Dallas has always been a "dressy" city. My grandmother (born in Dallas in 1906) used to talk about how, even way back then, no self-respecting woman would leave her home without fixing herself up and dressing appropriately. To her (and many, many others), there was NO excuse for not taking care of one's self. And that's still the case today for many, our family included.

We have a friend who, like us, grew up in Dallas. She married a guy from up north and, after a few years of marriage, he took a job in Michigan and they moved up there. She was horrified - HORRIFIED - and the sloppiness she witnessed everywhere she went. To her, most of the women looked like they'd just rolled out of bed and slipped on the first thing they found. She was raised to always wear make-up and look nice (not necessarily dressy - just appropriately dressed) wherever she went. She said the first day she took her kids to their new school (after moving up there) she couldn't believe her eyes. She laughed and said the women were probably looking at her like she was some sort of drag queen but she didn't care. There's no way she would ever leave her house looking so tacky. They've lived up there 10 years now and she says that's one of the things she can't get used to - all the "naturalness" - LOL.

[aeh]

i agree with the dressy part, most definitely!!

[saadrajabali]

Dallas is not flashy.....is it? all i know is Fort Worth NEEDS to get flashy