Dress code in Portland? (living in, beach, barber)

[thequeen1]

Portlanders dress like the dust bowl folks of the 30s depression era.

[Bluesmama]

I think the census about casual and even frumpiness is all accurate. But if you want to dress better, please do not feel that you shouldn't.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Come on folks.
This isn't the 90's, or the 2000's, or the 2010's.


With so many transplants moving to Portland it's now become an amalgam of styles from folks all over the country interpreting their own version of "Portland Style".


You are looking at what America does when it "dresses down".


Portland is not "unique" anymore.

[neguy99]

Originally Posted by John Shaft

As frumpy as possible. Any shirts with buttons (not counting flannel) and chances are you will be overdressed.

From the NW here, but lived in old-school Northeast cities for years. Every time I visit Oregon, I try to pack casual enough to fit in, and every time I end up feeling too formal. As in a polo shirt, Dockers, and shoes Rockport or Bostonian list under 'casual' is way too dressy for pretty much anything you'd do in Portland.

pdxMIKEpdx is right that the gap has narrowed, though. 20 years ago in Boston if you worked at a bank you'd be in a suit and tie unless you were a custodian, and the nameplates at the bank teller windows only said "Mr. Cabot" or "Ms. Lodge", not "Darlene! "

[eric351982]

Frumpy. Socks and sandals. Wear hiking boots or hiking shoes everywhere you go including out to dinner, to the theater, to a wedding, etc.

[jamary1]

Originally Posted by wholoveskitty

Haha, is it possible to go nude and not arouse someone?

You've obviously never seen me in the nude. I couldn't budge a hermit ten feet off a rock ledge.

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

Come on folks.
This isn't the 90's, or the 2000's, or the 2010's.


With so many transplants moving to Portland it's now become an amalgam of styles from folks all over the country interpreting their own version of "Portland Style".


You are looking at what America does when it "dresses down".


Portland is not "unique" anymore.

Yes. This is so accurate!

[VelouriaPDX]

In a cafe today I saw a man wearing a kilt (at least I think it was a kilt otherwise let's just call it a fairly short skirt), some sort of sports jersey, those Vibram Five toe shoes, and a super greasy very long beard. The only thing he was missing was a man bun.

I can't shed my east coast prep but I've gotten a little edgier over the decade I've lived here.

[CanuckInPortland]

It might be hard to believe for some on here, but among a population of over 600,000 there's actually a wide range of fashion choices and styles. Overall Portland is pretty casual--as is much of the West Coast(where East Coast preppie style has laughed at for decades), but if you went to a tony Pearl District bar or restaurant or trendier bar on the east side, you'd look out of place wearing hiking boots instead of fairly nice clothes, though no one would really care for the most part. If you wear a suit (or even smart casual) to a dive bar or some hippie cafe, you're going to possibly look out of place. Likewise people who aren't working 9-5 jobs, don't have much reason to dress up here.

People at my office dress pretty average, though it's much more casual than what I'd see in Boston. But all the same, if I dressed in raggedy clothes or sweatpants to work, I'd be looked at as nutcase or even sent home. People among certain groups are going to dress better than others as is the case everywhere, so people on my early bus to work tend to be dressed professionally and much better than the people on the bus a couple hours later(who often look a little disheveled).

In general though you'll see Portland dressing a little more "smart" as it sort of becomes a more average city and gets even more concentrated wealth in the city center. The same thing happened in Seattle and Vancouver over the years.

[jhnp]

Dress code is none existent here. They all look like there going to chop some trees down in the woods.