Why are dc and nova women so basic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What other city has highly fashionable women walking around? NYC? Where else? I don't think DC is unique in this regard. Find me super fashion forward HOARDES of working women in another city please. Sure, the fashion magazines and art careers are most likely more fashion forward. Outside of those, show me a city where office drones dress fashion forward. I'll wait.

Tokyo, Copenhagen

Bullshit on Tokyo and Copenhagen. I grew up in Tokyo (although I'm German). Tokyo is the land of the uniform--first all through school, then the "uniform" of the workplace. Navy if you're middle management, grey for upper. The women adhere to it as well. I do a lot of business there, still. The difference is that Japanese women are almost all very slim and their suits are very tailored/slim cut. There is some street fashion, sure. But it's not the average person. Just look at the pics of the Metro, just a sea of suits on everyone.

I now work for a Danish company, so am in Copenhagen every other month. They aren't particularly fashionable in Copenhagen, either. How fashionable are you going to be when half of you are riding your bike to work in the grey drizzling rain? Most offices don't require very formal wear. I'm sure there are fashionable Danes walking around the higher end shopping streets and they are out in the evenings at nicer restaurants, but the same is true of most cities. The masses are not that fashionable there.

Also, the average young woman in NYC isn't that well-dressed, either.

[Anonymous]

IMO, I think it's the professional world where DC lags. DC is the only place that I've personally seen women wearing pantyhose (not black/thick tights.) DC also has so many workplaces where business professional is still the standard, when so many other companies other places have gotten away from that. There seems to be this stigma that if you don't wear a plain black suit with low pumps and a white shirt, you're not serious. God forbid you wear a colored dress or waste your time on something frivolous like makeup. There's a sick sense of pride in saying, "I don't have TIME to care about my appearance because I am so BUSY with my oh-so-important job."

[Anonymous]

IMO, I think it's the professional world where DC lags. DC is the only place that I've personally seen women wearing pantyhose (not black/thick tights.) DC also has so many workplaces where business professional is still the standard, when so many other companies other places have gotten away from that. There seems to be this stigma that if you don't wear a plain black suit with low pumps and a white shirt, you're not serious. God forbid you wear a colored dress or waste your time on something frivolous like makeup. There's a sick sense of pride in saying, "I don't have TIME to care about my appearance because I am so BUSY with my oh-so-important job."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You dress for your audience. Know your audience. If you are going to a government office to present, leave the Hermes at home. If you are going to Wall Street to present, take the Hermes.

You can wear Hermes to a government office. I do it all the time--have been asked a time or two if I was wearing Tommy Hilfiger.

LOL, and that's the point. If you looked like you were wearing Hermes (even if you weren't), you'd get the stink eye. Wear what you want, but don't look like they are overpaying you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just read through this thread, in my cube, wearing my loft sheath dress topped by a loft draped blazer and my couple of year old tory burch knee high two-toned boots.

Basic as charged.

Same here. I spend 8 hours a day in my office. I'll look professional, but I'm not pulling out all the stops just to stare at my computer.

[Anonymous]

I feel like I do okay - not totally basic, but not too uniform. Maybe I'm basic plus. But I feel like I couldn't really have fun with fashion in DC. throughout my 20s and 30s. It was very much fit in to demonstrate appropriateness to not outshine a boss, an elected, etc. etc. Now that I'm 40 and have my own business, I feel a bit more free to experiment. It's fun to say goodbye to appropriate sheaths, or at least wear them with something other than a matching blazer and black pumps.

[Anonymous]

I feel sorry for y'all. Am so glad I have never worked anywhere a black sheath with matching jacket and low heel shoes was the "uniform."

[Anonymous]

Op and anyone else who considers themselves stylish. What is an acceptable outfit for work? For weekends?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone I know who dresses well is financially well off. Unless they are young! Everyone I know who looks shlumpy or blah just doesn’t have the budget for knock out clothes. Fabrics are crap these days. It costs a fortune to buy well tailored pieces. So I hold no judgement. As long as you are neat and have good hygiene.

You're wrong. I know TONS of people with tons of disposable cash that dress blah. They just don't care. And I know tons of people who have way less money that dress great.

What does that tell you? Different priorities. Once people have money, they don't have to answer to anyone, they give less f*cks about the every day schlubs like you and me. Yet, the young people or the people pleasers have to have the latest, to please their minions. It's all very straight forward, yet sad. I guess the U.S. has a caste system, after all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In DC, we prioritize elegance over stylish. Simple, basic, clean, effecient. Depending on your job, overly stylized can be seen as frivolous. People who are mission focused are attracted to this city. It’s about the power, less about what you look like and how much you make. Also, so many of the jobs in town center around politics...I’m not going to go visit government staff in an Armani suit. I’d look like an out of touch ass.

Come on, now. We recently heard from a DC transplant that was concerned about wearing lipstick to work, because the women in her office are so incredibly basic. This isn't about wearing Armani suits. This is about women feeling pressured to cease taking pride in their appearance.

This is true. DC has it's own fashion, which is fashion oppression. This is very different from a provincial city where everyone is behind the times, or everyone is oblivious to what anyone else is wearing. To fit in in DC requires adoption and enforcement of the frump code. That said, I think OP didn't describe DC frump at all well, that version of basic--balayage hair in loose waves--does just sounds like suburbia.

What people in D.C. consider "provincial" - are much more stylish and much more educated cities, on the whole, than D.C.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IDGAF, OP, that's why. And honestly, why do you? When I moved here almost 30 years ago for college I was surprised at the dowdiness of Washington women. That was still the age of the power suit and wearing socks and sneakers on Metro. You changed into your heels at work. And now, after all this time, I just feel like who cares? This is DC, you know there's always gonna be someone in the room who looks worse than you. It's oddly comforting. And frankly, if everyone here was chic and wearing couture, you'd have no one to look down on, OP.

This is so spot on.

+1

"But, but, but.....I carry a Never Full! Look at meeeeeeee!!!!!!!" LOL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IMO, I think it's the professional world where DC lags. DC is the only place that I've personally seen women wearing pantyhose (not black/thick tights.) DC also has so many workplaces where business professional is still the standard, when so many other companies other places have gotten away from that. There seems to be this stigma that if you don't wear a plain black suit with low pumps and a white shirt, you're not serious. God forbid you wear a colored dress or waste your time on something frivolous like makeup. There's a sick sense of pride in saying, "I don't have TIME to care about my appearance because I am so BUSY with my oh-so-important job."

Nailed it!

[Anonymous]

Recently I’ve been in Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Atlanta, and Denver for work - I’ll take dc pilled together over Denver / Seattle / Chicago outdoors frump, Boston’s collar shift under a crew neck sweater, and Atlanta’s country club pastels any day. Dc is a mid sized city that style wise does much better than most mid sized cities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IMO, I think it's the professional world where DC lags. DC is the only place that I've personally seen women wearing pantyhose (not black/thick tights.) DC also has so many workplaces where business professional is still the standard, when so many other companies other places have gotten away from that. There seems to be this stigma that if you don't wear a plain black suit with low pumps and a white shirt, you're not serious. God forbid you wear a colored dress or waste your time on something frivolous like makeup. There's a sick sense of pride in saying, "I don't have TIME to care about my appearance because I am so BUSY with my oh-so-important job."

Nailed it!

mic drop

[Anonymous]

There is this bizarre notion if a woman cares about her appearance then she is frivolous, selfish, her priorities are misplaced or they can't be taken seriously in other areas of her life.
A woman can't possible have a fantastic wardrobe, love makeup AND be good at her job, serious about her education, dedicated to her children or be intelligent and for women who are when she does slip up, regardless of the reason, it is automatically assumed that if she didn't spend so much time on her hair/ clothes/ makeup/ handbags than maybe she would not have made a mistake.
For women who embrace all or nothing philosophy something has to be sacrificed.

It is a lot easier to quit brushing your hair or wear a dress that flatters than it is to quit a job so the appearance is usually the first to go.