Dressing "styles'' in Seattle (Vancouver, Bellevue: weddings, buy, theater)

[randevan]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

It is. It's a combination of home-grown grunge and the Eddie Bauer/REI weekend hiker chic, plus Berkeley and San Francisco hip. There are a LOT of people from northern CA in Seattle.

Count me as one of 'em I know nothing about fashion, so I may be dressing in an offensive manner. Do I care?

[Hemlock140]

People in this area just don't feel like they have to compete with others to wear the latest styles, and also, in our climates really nice clothes are going to get ruined from walking even a few blocks in the rain. By the way, Eddie Bauer is out, it's Columbia now. On my bus from Sammamish to Westlake, people are typically dressed like me, inexpensive slacks/Dockers and dress shirt, no tie, Columbia jacket with hood. Jeans on Fridays. Of the 50+ people only one wears a tie regularly and he's a lawyer. The women dress in a similar manner, nice slacks and blouse and jacket. Occasionally even one or two of the women will have a hole in the jeans. I NEVER see sandals with socks, anywhere in this area, and the "puffy" jackets are rare. Maybe the OP hangs out in touristy areas and is describing the way the tourists dress.

[DutchessCottonPuff]

I've been dressing in the same Stevie Nicks/ San Francisco Hip since 1977 . MY scarves even boast sequins and various sparkles ! YAY! along with 15 different colors of Uggs and flip flops,NO SOCKS with the flip flops for heavens sake ! .( I do admit to the one pair of velvet platform boots )

[Seacove]

Eddie Bauer used to be really popular but locally North Face is what I see the most. They were having a sale at Bellevue Square yesterday and it was comically busy. Someone mentioned Patagonia but I see North Face much more. As for the hippy look, eh, honestly you'll see plenty of tattoos, t-shirts, plaid shirts and torn jeans in Seattle but I've seen that in plenty of other cities, certainly San Francisco is full of that.

Locally I see casual business wear, cargo shorts/fleece and an assortment of designer wear. Nordstrom began here, Neiman Marcus, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, they're all here. The thing is, the way people dress here is no reflection of their financial status and it could be a professional mistake to be dismissive of someone dressed casually. A lot of the local wealth seldom make a show of it. As for pearls and such, you could still wear them such as long and knotted with jeans or chinos and a cardigan - in other words dressed up/dressed down. That's more the Seattle and Eastside style I see.

[Drake744]

I prefer to wear t-shirts and shorts with sandals. All the time if possible. I don't even like to wear long pants and actual shoes....I just have no choice a lot of the time. Of course, I'm not in Seattle yet, so I'm bracing myself and hoping I'm not always cold or wet, especially since my biggest pet peeve in life is being wet with clothes on. I fact I get goosebumps just thinking of how uncomfortable that is haha.....hmm...I feel like I'm going to be fighting a lost cause.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Seacove

, Neiman Marcus, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, they're all here.

??
Where is "here"? Neiman Marcus, etc., in Seattle?!

[Seacove]

Neiman Marcus is in Bellevue. Chanel is in Seattle (Nordstrom) and Bellevue (Neiman Marcus). Louis Vuitton is in Seattle and Bellevue. Barneys is in Seattle.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by Drake744

I prefer to wear t-shirts and shorts with sandals. All the time if possible. I don't even like to wear long pants and actual shoes....I just have no choice a lot of the time. Of course, I'm not in Seattle yet, so I'm bracing myself and hoping I'm not always cold or wet, especially since my biggest pet peeve in life is being wet with clothes on. I fact I get goosebumps just thinking of how uncomfortable that is haha.....hmm...I feel like I'm going to be fighting a lost cause.

I start wearing shorts after work and on weekends as soon as it gets up to about 50, usually some time in May or June. We can always tell the tourists and newcomers by the heavy coats after we start wearing shorts. You just have to get used to it. Most of the spring rain is just a fine mist, you can walk in it and not hardly get wet.

[Drake744]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

I start wearing shorts after work and on weekends as soon as it gets up to about 50, usually some time in May or June. We can always tell the tourists and newcomers by the heavy coats after we start wearing shorts. You just have to get used to it. Most of the spring rain is just a fine mist, you can walk in it and not hardly get wet.

Oh I'm sure I'll get used to it. I usually don't wear sandals until it's in the 60s or so, anything in the 50s and lower (if it's cloudy) is usually what I judge as cool to cold, but I've only lived in basically warmer places so hopefully I'll get rid of that sooner than later. And hey it's like I say now, at least I won't have to sweat anymore. So...that's good right?

One thing that does bother me a lot is driving in the rain. It's always kinda freaked me out. I feel like you can't stop suddenly or you might lose traction with your tires (especially on a freeway) or someone may not see you and come into your lane, (or vice versa) etc. I've gotten in a wreck before on wet roads and I find myself getting a lot of anxiety when I drive in rain. That's an actual concern I do have. The rain/clothes thing is just a major preference but I know I'll deal with it. The driving part does legitimately make me a bit nervous, but I hope that too is something I get used to pretty quickly.

[Hemlock140]

You will have to get used to driving in the rain. There are actually a lot of accidents from the sun, because it's rare and especially bright. Wet roads are not that much of a hazard due to the traffic keeping the speeds down. Not to scare you, but the last few weeks we have had freezing fog, that and the more rare freezing rain are the real hazards.