This week I will be blogging about fashion from cities across the United States. I chose 5 cities- New York, San Diego, Philadelphia, Austin, and Portland. Each city is very distinct in their tastes. For each city, I scoped through lookbook.nu, obviously, and sorted by city so that I could see bloggers from each city and then picked looks from those that were the most cohesive to an overall theme.
First, we’re going to look at New York City, one of the most prevalent fashion capitals in the world next to Paris, Milan, London, and Tokyo. Below are some looks that I found. If you click on the each photo, it will direct you to that blogger’s website so you can see more of their looks and maybe get some inspiration.
One of the common threads throughout these photos (besides the fact that all three outfits are ridiculously adorable) is the fact that neutral colors dominate all of the clothes. Besides a coral bag, mauve skirt, and denim jacket, almost every color in these outfits is either black, cream, beige, or camel. New York fashion is probably most well-known for it’s consistently neutral color choices, giving it a very modern, European, and somber look as opposed to some other cities. Another interesting thing about NYC fashion is that there are fashion subcultures throughout the city, depending on what district you’re in. If you’re in the Village, you’re going to look much more urban and edgy than someone that lives in the Upper East Side, who would look very polished and classic. In the pictures above, these girls are most likely from the Village, or maybe Mid-town, though that’s less likely. I can tell this because they, first off, are far too young to be able to afford to live anywhere else in Manhattan. They are also dressed much more indie and edgy than someone that would live in Kipp’s Bay, the Upper East or Upper West. A final common thread for NYC fashion is that layering is a huge part of a New York girl’s fashion identity. In the first photo, the girl is wearing a sheer sort of blouse under a heavy sweater. In the second photo, the girl is wearing a t-shirt under a cardigan, under a leather jacket, as well as opaque tights under jean shorts. And in the last picture, the girl is wearing a flouncy blouse under a denim jacket, as well as opaque black tights under a skirt. One of the reasons for doing this is that NYC weather can get pretty cold and pretty warm all within the span of one day, so layering is essential to adapt to the frequently changing climate.
Next, we’re going to look at San Diego styles.
One of the first things that I noticed about these styles is obviously that there is much less clothing than the NYC fashions. There is also a lot more color in these fashion choices than a lot of other cities. California is a very bright colorful place, besides San Francisco when it’s foggy. There is also a lot of floral pattern throughout the garments, like in the girls’ shirts in the second and third photos. In addition, in these San Diego fashions, there tends to be much more accessorizing, noticeably the plethora of bangles on all 3 of the girls. They’re also not strong proponents of layering, unlike cities like Philly and NYC in the North East. Cali weather is much more temperate than the NE, so they don’t have to worry about sudden weather changes throughout the day.
In the next photos, we’re going to look at Philly fashion, which is near and dear to my heart since I live about 45 minutes outside of the city.
In Philly, there is a common thread that our fashion is very relaxed and laid back. We tend to have an affinity for looser fitting garments, like the pants in the first photo, the cardigan and men’s t-shirt in the second, and the loose tank top in the third picture. For the most part, Philly girls hold being comfortable at a higher priority than looking as polished or as glam as girls from other cities. We’re in general a bit more down to earth than other girls, more willing to throw on a pair of leggings and a cute cardigan to go out than a blouse and pants. However, there are parts of Philly and the suburbs that are a bit more polished, like Lower Merion, Bala Cynwyd, and Haverford, since that’s where most of the wealth of the suburbs resides. We, like NYC girls, also dress with a strong consciousness of what the weather is going to be like, since there’s few things worse to us than being too hot or too cold. For that reason also, we wear a lot of layers.
Next, we’re going to look at Austin, Texas.
In these photos, we see a few common threads. Firstly, there is a trend for the most part of neutrals (browns and creams in particular) that appear in almost every garment. In the first photo, the main color of the dress is a rich cream. In the second photo, the girl’s blouse is cream and her saddle bag and belt are a rich mahogany, while her pants are a taupe-y grey. In the last photo, the girl wears a chestnut brown suede jacket, cream pants, and rich brown ankle booties with a cherry-mahogany stacked wood heel. Another characteristic of Austin fashion is that there is a general affinity for woven accessories, like the straw hat and wedges in the first photo and the ballet flats in the second photo. There are two general types of Texas fashions: girly and western. The first photo is clearly an example of the sort of debutante, girly Texas fashion that is prevalent amongst those who are old-money Texans. These girly fashions are also more prevalent in cities like Dallas, where being glam is more common than western-inspired apparel. However, the second and third photos clearly illustrate a much more western-inspired fashion sensibility. The prevalence of rich leathers, especially in shoes and accessories permeates this type of Austin fashion. And suedes and hides are also a greater part of southwestern fashions, so it’s no surprise that girls in Austin have these fabrics in their wardrobes.
Lastly, we’re going to look at fashions from Portland, Oregon, the home of the “hipster.”
There are also several connecting themes throughout these photos that pretty accurately depict Portland/hipster style. First off, in the first and third photos, there is clearly a theme of plaid flannel that generally can be used to epitomize northwestern US style. When we think of Oregon or Washington, generally people think of the dense forest and lumberjacks, and Portland style certainly has this lumberjack influence, even more-so than across the rest of the U.S., which is also a fan of the trend. In addition, due to the consistently inclement weather in the northwest, layers and warmth are a big part of the fashion culture. In the first photo, the girl is wearing a parka, sweater, and giant knit shawl, while the girl in the bottom photo is wearing a flannel shirt over a sweatshirt over a long sleeve t-shirt, as well as a skirt over pants. Another trend is crazy hair, which further emphasizes the “hipster” mentality of Portland. The girl in the top photo has her hair in a giant top-knot, which wasn’t really a trend until much later after this photo was put on lookbook.nu. In the second photo, the girl has very retro straight-across bangs and her hair is dyed a bright cherry red. And in the last photo, the girl’s hair almost looks natural, until you look closely and see that part of it is dyed a bright blue hue. Lastly, another common thread amongst Portland-dwelling fashionistas is that they tend to look to the past and older generations for fashion inspirations. For example, in the first photo, the girl is wearing tortoiseshell cat-eye sunglasses and a 1920’s-esque women’s overcoat. In the second photo, the girl is wearing a very vintage-y, victorian-inspired lace top and shorts, pairing it with a 1960’s-inspired fringe bag and loads of vintage faded brass rings and wood bangles. Finally, in the last photo, the girl has paired her relatively-modern clothing with 1980’s inspired Doc Marten shoes.
I hope that you enjoyed my blog this week! Let me know what you think of these fashions, including what city you think you most personally can relate to!
xo
