What's the dress code like in your city?

[Deleted]

This post is prompted by the baby shower I just attended. All guests but two were wearing jeans. I live in a very casual city. Nice Jeans are acceptable almost everywhere, including every restaurant I've been to, clubs, my church, etc. In addition, the vast majority of offices are 'business casual'. I think almost only law firms and bankers have to wear suits. 

[Here]

Dirty tshirts from Walmart and sweat pants.

[Deleted]

Jan 27, 2013 18:24:22 GMT -5 Here said:

Dirty tshirts from Walmart and sweat pants.

Lol.  I live in an affluent area of town. >50% of the women at the gym are wearing lulu lemon. No sweat pants ever. 

[Deleted]

New York is a pretty casual city. Very, very, very few restaurants and such require more than jeans. Most offices (including many law firms but, sadly, not mine) in businessy areas (midtown, Financial District) seem to be business casual, though I swear that half of the people leaving my building in the morning are in jeans (I think we have a lot of residents in fashion and other creative fields).

But I would not wear jeans to a shower. And I have no idea what people wear to church.

[kwynn]

Here in Florida, almost every lady at bridal showers, etc, has been in a dress, myself included.

In Pittsburgh, it depends on the time of year, but I see more slacks.

[Deleted]

Jan 27, 2013 18:27:26 GMT -5 v said:

New York is a pretty casual city. Very, very, very few restaurants and such require more than jeans. Most offices (including many law firms but, sadly, not mine) in businessy areas (midtown, Financial District) seem to be business casual, though I swear that half of the people leaving my building in the morning are in jeans (I think we have a lot of residents in fashion and other creative fields).

But I would not wear jeans to a shower. And I have no idea what people wear to church.

I find this interesting. i always thought east = dressy, west = casual. So maybe my city is not casual, just average. I totally expected NYC to be dressier than average. 

[cowboyjoe]

Dirty jeans seems to be the norm around here.

We recently attended our first wedding in the area, which was "beach casual" according to the invite. I wore a sundress and DH wore khaki pants with a button up shirt. We were only 1 of 3 couples (including the bride/groom) that were not in ripped jeans and old shirts. I felt very out of place.

[heygrey]

very casual. i've worn a nice dress exactly once in three years since moving here. occasionally (like for Easter) i'll wear a skirt to church, but mostly just nice jeans. we just had to make a rule at work that sweatpants are unacceptable even for overnight hostel staff

summers are even more casual... our whole city is oriented around a huge lake so i'm happy when the majority of people i see are actually covering up their little bikinis (or throwing on a t-shirt for guys) before running in the grocery store.

eta: in my experience of growing up on the east coast and moving west, the east is more dressy, even if you're wearing jeans. there just seems to be more layers and accessories to outfits. my bff (from the west coast) feels the same way visiting her in-laws in the east. she always feels super underdressed in a nice shirt and jeans because she doesn't have a scarf and coordinating jewelry and fancy shoes and a matching bag. 

[Deleted]

Jan 27, 2013 18:30:16 GMT -5 @gingersb said:

Jan 27, 2013 18:27:26 GMT -5 v said:

New York is a pretty casual city. Very, very, very few restaurants and such require more than jeans. Most offices (including many law firms but, sadly, not mine) in businessy areas (midtown, Financial District) seem to be business casual, though I swear that half of the people leaving my building in the morning are in jeans (I think we have a lot of residents in fashion and other creative fields).

But I would not wear jeans to a shower. And I have no idea what people wear to church.

I find this interesting. i always thought east = dressy, west = casual. So maybe my city is not casual, just average. I totally expected NYC to be dressier than average. 

For business it is probably dressier than elsewhere (and I think our idea of business casual is dressier than elsewhere), but for social things it tends to be pretty casual pretty much everywhere.  Not sloppy, and generally very fashionable, but casual.

The older set gets more dressed for dinner and such, but now that I no longer live on the Upper East Side I rarely see that crowd

I think places like DC are WAY dressier.

[goaskalice]

I hang out with opposite ends of the spectrum. Half of my friends are lawyers so whenever we meet up we're all dressed up. The other half are hipster/casual dressers. Tonight I'm going out with group 2 so I've got legging, boots, and a cute top picked out.

[RoxMonster]

Overall it's fairly casual. We only have a few fancier restaurants where you see people getting dressed up and most places don't have dress codes, save for country clubs. When out in public, it really runs the gamut from sweats or PJ pants to people getting dressed up for errands, etc. For office type jobs especially downtown, people do dress up and many wear suits (that I've seen).

ETA: Depending on the church, people will wear nice clothes for church and typically everyone wears dress clothes/dresses to weddings here.

[ESF]

Really, as long as you are not going to work, you will be considered appropriately dressed for about 95% of things in town if your crotch is covered. And for the other 5%, you could probably show up naked, and nobody would bat an eye.

I would wear jeans to a shower, and to nearly everything I do.

[chessie]

Depends, dickies, cartharts and any work gear, is what most people walk around with

As for bridal showers, clean jeans, nice tops seem to be the usual.

[Nonny]

Very casual.  I think this comic from The Oatmeal sums it up best:

[ESF]

LMAO at that cartoon, Nonny. It is so true. My husband (who typically wears jeans and a button down shirt to work) is often the only man in the room wearing a shirt that needs to be ironed. And once I had to go to court, and the partner from the big firm representing the opposing side wasn't even wearing a suit.

[fuddyduddy]

In New Hampshire, function is a much greater priority than fashion for most people. It's pretty casual here.

It is close to the opposite within my social circle in Los Angeles, where I grew up.

[magdala]

In my experience (New England), people dress up for bridal showers. Not necessarily a dress but definitely not jeans.

[agnes]

Pretty casual.

[Deleted]

Jan 27, 2013 18:49:09 GMT -5 ESF said:

LMAO at that cartoon, Nonny. It is so true. My husband (who typically wears jeans and a button down shirt to work) is often the only man in the room wearing a shirt that needs to be ironed. And once I had to go to court, and the partner from the big firm representing the opposing side wasn't even wearing a suit.

My opposing counsel was once wearing RED PLAID CROPPED PANTS at a hearing for a motion to dismiss.

That said, for routine conferences, I often saw male attorneys in Milwaukee pants and a sport coat but not a matching suit.  Heck, once I gained weight and most of my suits stopped fitting, I often wore a dress and a jacket to court.

In D.C., I feel like I just see a lot of douchebags in blue blazers.  I think a blue blazer and a smug expression is the required uniform for male interns.

[Pom]

Rhinestone belts, on the asses of your jeans, on your flip flops. Sorry, I just saw an "overload" outfit yesterday. It is really an odd mix of citywear, cowboy, rhinestone cowgirl and soccer moms.

[Deleted]

I don't feel like I live in an especially dressy area, but around here if you wore jeans to a bridal or baby shower the other ladies there might clutch their pearls and then use the phrase "bless her heart" when talking about your outfit afterward.

[rubytue]

I went to a retirement party at a nice restaurant in downtown DC yesterday. I was the only one in a skirt. Most everyone was wearing jeans. It kind of surprised me, although I expected it to be casual enough that I didn't say anything when H put on jeans (and a nice shirt).

On the other hand, I wouldn't go to a bridal or baby shower in jeans. Especially after the last one I went to when the host caught me in the kitchen and was totally tsking the one girl who did wear jeans.

[smiley]

We live in a casual area. Jeans are excepted pretty much everywhere.

[KaraOrNot]

Very casual.

[steph96]

Very casual. I can't think of any restaurants that jeans wouldn't be common to wear to. I frequently see people wearing sweatpants or gym shorts to nice restaurants.

I wore jeans to every single bridal and baby shower I ave been to. Most people were actually wearing jeans. Up until very recently, it never occurred to me that these were dressy events.

[fuddyduddy]

I just found this article that ranks the supposed 40 worst-dressed cities in America (meaning, it includes practically all major U.S. cities). Boston, the closest metropolitan area to me, is ranked number one. The description is amusing: 

"Boston is like America's Bad-Taste Storm Sewer: all the worst fashion ideas from across the country flow there, stagnate, and putrefy. To be fair, it's hard to be a fashion capital when half of your population is made up of undergraduate hoodie monsters, including those unfortunate coeds who don't realize that leggings-as-pants were supposed to be paired with tops large enough to conceal their cameltoes. Yet when they graduate, they can wear their Uggs and still fit in at the country's largest frat party on Lansdowne behind Fenway, where they can take breaks between body shots to admire just how long boot-cut jeans can stay in style in one place. And any classy lady from Beantown is bound to be impressed by formal sportswear. "But Boston is the epicenter of prep style!," you say? That's true, but it's with a little extra that ends up ruining everything: Khakis!—with pleats. Boat shoes!—with socks. Knit ties!—actually, no one in Boston seems to have ever seen one of these. For the more proletarian-minded, there are the modest little burgs of Cambridge and Somerville, where everyone dresses like the proprietor of his or her very own meth lab. If you wonder how a people can live like this, well, it's Jurassic Park for fashion troglodytes: life finds a way."

www.gq.com/style/fashion/201107/worst-dressed-cities-america#slide=40

[rikki]

Jan 27, 2013 19:31:28 GMT -5 fuddyduddy said:

I just found this article that ranks the supposed 40 worst-dressed cities in America (meaning, it includes practically all major U.S. cities). Boston, the closest metropolitan area to me, is ranked number one. The description is amusing: 

"Boston is like America's Bad-Taste Storm Sewer: all the worst fashion ideas from across the country flow there, stagnate, and putrefy. To be fair, it's hard to be a fashion capital when half of your population is made up of undergraduate hoodie monsters, including those unfortunate coeds who don't realize that leggings-as-pants were supposed to be paired with tops large enough to conceal their cameltoes. Yet when they graduate, they can wear their Uggs and still fit in at the country's largest frat party on Lansdowne behind Fenway, where they can take breaks between body shots to admire just how long boot-cut jeans can stay in style in one place. And any classy lady from Beantown is bound to be impressed by formal sportswear. "But Boston is the epicenter of prep style!," you say? That's true, but it's with a little extra that ends up ruining everything: Khakis!—with pleats. Boat shoes!—with socks. Knit ties!—actually, no one in Boston seems to have ever seen one of these. For the more proletarian-minded, there are the modest little burgs of Cambridge and Somerville, where everyone dresses like the proprietor of his or her very own meth lab. If you wonder how a people can live like this, well, it's Jurassic Park for fashion troglodytes: life finds a way."

www.gq.com/style/fashion/201107/worst-dressed-cities-america#slide=40

SOOOOOO true!  People in Boston really do not have any idea how to dress, which in some ways I like, since I am almost always one of the best dressed wherever I go. 

[Deleted]

Baltimore is pretty casual. There are only a handful of restaurants where I would not feel comfortable in jeans, even dressy ones. At a lot of places I can dress up a bit more and not feel out of place, and in the summer it can be a free for all, but overall pretty casual. And a year or two behind DC and NYC fashion wise :-)

[explorer2001]

Phoenix is super casual. It isn't uncommon to see the professionals in my office in jeans/shorts, hoodies, t-shirts and sandals. I was once told I was too dressed up wearing a sundress I had worn to the beach. It was not formal. My Old Navy maxi dress guarantees I'll get comments on why I'm dressed up too. Part of my issue is that I can't bring myself to wear yoga pants to work, part of it is I have clothes from before moving to a all casual all the time (like I don't think they would care if I showed up in yoga pants and a t-shirt) I worked in a least business casual and so that's what most of my clothes are.

Church here really depends on the church - Mormon church = men in suits, women in skirts/dresses Catholic church is depends on the congregation same for other Christian demoniminations = everything from formal to jeans and shorts.

[Deleted]

Wow, the GQ thing has Manhattan as one of the 5 worst dressed? ^o)

5. Manhattan
Yes, it is home to some of the greatest and most vital minds in the fashion universe. And yes, on any given day, the people walking Madison Ave. or Soho or Harlem can appear as if they've leapt off the pages of GQ. But for every strike of greatness, there is an equal force of evil at work. Consider the Nine-Bro. You know, the pack of nine guys who walk down the street in unison, should-to-shoulder, outfitted in tacky black "Go Out" button-downs, embroidered denim, and product-inspired conflagrations on their head. These are the men that are sapping one of fashion's capitals, stride by douchey stride. This island is only so big.—Sean Fennessey

BUT THOSE PEOPLE DON'T LIVE HERE! THEY CAME IN FROM THE SUBURBS!