The Closet Coach

This week for Fashion Beauty Friend Friday, we’re talking about locational influences–does where you live affect the way you dress? To put it another way, do you wear where you live?

(And can you tell where someone’s from by the way they dress?)

1. What part of the world do you blog from?

I am in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC. You know when people talk about “inside the Beltway” and “outside the Beltway”? I’m outside it, but sometimes at night, I can hear it from my house. :) When our post-war neighborhood was built in 1948, the Beltway didn’t exist, and now it’s just a quarter of a mile away.

To be very precise, I am usually blogging from my couch in my front room with my MacBook.

2. If you had to describe the overall mode of dress for where you live what would you say?

It has famously been said that Washington is Hollywood for ugly people. And New York regularly looks down its nose at DC as being a bastion of fashion-free, conservative dressing.

Like all stereotypes, that’s a little unfair. And like all stereotypes, it also contains a grain of truth.

Yes, the DC dress code is fairly traditional and conservative. Ride the Metro any rush hour and you will see a lot of khaki and suits and dresses from Ann Taylor.

But you know what? Most workplaces are pretty traditional and conservative. So is New York itself, outside the fashion world. The average Manhattan office worker is not striding around in Armani and Manolos.

And yet, even though DC is not populated with enclaves of black-clad fashionistas, there is a thriving style and fashion community. Just ask the ladies from last week’s DC Fashion & Beauty Bloggers meet-up–held at Carbon, a boutique that primarily stocks DC-based designers. Or check out the DC street style blog Curator of DC Style.

3. Do you fit in with the status quo around you or do you break the mold?

It depends on the day. I have my share of Ann Taylor and LOFT wear. The likes of McQueen don’t grace my closet.

But I mix it up when I can, incorporating trends or color or accessories, or donning the mostly black fashionista’s uniform. You may not mistake me for a New Yorker, but you probably won’t mistake me for a government lawyer, either!

4. If you have lived or traveled to another part of the country/world did your clothing choices evolve?

I spent my Junior Year Abroad in Birmingham, England and I quickly learned how to blend in with the locals, especially on the Tube in London. For the most part, my clothes were already non-touristy (this is where my life-long penchant for black helped out).

My biggest change was my shoes and accessories. Black leather lace-up shoes, yes; white chunky sneakers, no. Nothing says “American tourist” louder than wearing a pair of “trainers” more suited for running a marathon than walking ordinary city streets. (Well, except for actually being loud.)

And under no circumstances should you wear a fanny pack around your waist. In fact, don’t even use the word “fanny” in England. (Google it.)

5. If you had to describe your style by naming a specific city, what would you be?

Now that’s a tricky question. I’m not conservative enough to be “typical DC.” I’m not cutting edge enough to be identified with New York. What’s a city that’s somewhere in between–San Francisco, perhaps?

• Help me out, readers: Based on my style, where would you guess that I live?

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[Photo credit: Flickr user Horia Varlan]

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