Fashion in Your Environment - YouLookFab Forum (2024)

• Dressing

April

Definite outlier. I live in a town of Lilly Pulitzer summer dresses and Vineyard Vines gear (both stores are actually in this town). I'm more of a faux leather dress with fingerless gloves type.

Also, lots of tanned skin on view here. I'm a sun-protection fiend.

Echo

Ha! I live in a rural area of one of the least fahsionable states in the US. "Fashion" here is unknown. Denim, sweatshirts, and sneakers, cowboy boots or flip-flops (or Hey Dudes) are staples here.

I knew when we moved here that I would never fit in, so I never tried. I wear dresses, unusual clothing, stand-out shoes and boots, and accessorize (people here rarely wear any jewelry whatsoever). It is what it is, but they aren't going to change, and neither am I!

Dee

Happy that you both are staying authentic to your own style.

April- I had to google Vineyard Vines, and ha, there doesn’t appear to be any faux- leather in their collection, seems very sailboat preppy.
Echo- Again I was unfamiliar with the term Hey Dudes, kinda like the name though, they remind of Skechers a bit.

Runcarla

I make my home in a small (pop. < than 17,000) town on the north shore of Lake Ontario 1 hour east of Canada's biggest city - Toronto. It’s a quaint historic town with a vibrant year round cultural scene. It’s become a haven for retirees - especially folks escaping the Big City.

The young’uns are mostly in school uniforms or ‘uniforms’ of their generation. Flannel PJ bottoms seem to have been upgraded to baggy grey sweatpants, white tank tops, and zippered hoodies styled so they slip off one shoulder. As summer heats up, I’m seeing v. short cut off jeans, tank tops, slides or crocks with white athletic ankle socks. Long hair. French braiding seems to be making a comeback.

MOTG are clinging to their Lululemon leggings and oversized sweatshirts. Hair in a pineapple bun or ball cap. Skinny jeans are more popular than any other type, and women in their 30’s and 40’s wear a lot of Blundstones and Birkenstocks. Also, those thick v-neck cardigans that were a ‘thing’ a year or two ago.

Women of my age seem to be more eclectic. There are artistic types with long natural grey and white hair and interesting artisanal layers and unusual footwear - linens and cottons in hot weather, wool, corduroy, etc. in cold weather. There is a set of women with really good, but older closets wearing the heck out of their classic and designer clothes and accessories. They do good make-up, and hair, too.There are the active types with short, but well cut hair, spendy tech gear including sandals and hiking shoes doing their pole walking along the trails that run through town and into the countryside or along the waterfront. There are also those with mannish short cuts, t-shirts over cropped capris busy about their homes and involved in the care of their grandkids whilst mom and dad are at work.

I don’t believe I stand out with my classic style, though I do get comments (generally good) when I wear trendier items like my wide leg jeans or green pleather pants, or when I dress more colourfully - anything red, for example. I also don’t ‘see’ myself in other women here so much. On the other hand, I just spent 3 days in Ottawa, and ‘saw’ other women who looked like me out and about. I probably dress a little more urban than my town’s norm, but certainly not as sharp as down-town Big City folks.

Roberta

Like Dee, I live in a suburb of a big American city. However, my suburb is incredibly diverse, so I see hijab, saris, American casual style, and very elegant, well-groomed Eastern European style. My huge generalization is that Russian and Polish women never leave the house without lipstick and earrings.

The question made me think of what I see in my micro environments - the theater, museums, downtown restaurants. That's where I spend a fair amount of my time, and there you see a lot of handmade textiles, lots of black, very stylish older women in expensive but subdued jewelry. Ha ha, I'm not in any of that! The flipside is students wearing you name it.

I love my quiet, peaceful suburb, but I really appreciate being so close to a big city.

Dee

Suz

My situation sounds similar to yours, Dee. I live in the suburbs of a smaller, less cosmopolitan Canadian city. And it's really hard to know how people dress here, because you usually see them in one of three situations:

• In their cars. Where you can't really see them.
• Walking their dogs in the neighbourhood.or on the hiking trails nearby, or on their bikes on the trail.
• In their gardens.

In none of those places are you really seeing them in regular clothes.

Downtown, it's a mix. Mostly, the scene is very casual. But how many of those very casually dressed humans are locals, and how many are tourists? It's not always easy to judge!

The types of outfits I see sound a lot like the ones Carla describes. Slouchy oversized with shoulders, midriffs, or legs showing on the young. Pale tones. Mix of classic and schlumpy on the older women, with the odd artistic type in the mix.

I dress more casually than my aspirational style, not to fit in -- but for reasons of practicality. Because I get around on my bike, on foot, and by transit, I need weather-ready clothes and footwear that goes the distance. It's a constant balancing act, trying to figure out how to look like "myself" and also be dressed practically for my real, work-from-home, chores in garden, walking, biking life. My compromise really does sound like yours, Dee -- I'm in smart casual rather than gear for those bike journeys, which is a step away from the environmental norm but not quite as dressy as I might like.

For instance, my thinking might go as follows: "I'd rather be in a blazer with my jeans instead of a sweater, but the reality is, i need to squash my outerwear into my panier at my destination. So I'm wearing the sweater."

When I go to a larger city -- Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Seattle, anywhere else -- I tend to dress more as I would like, which is a slightly elevated version of what I usually wear.

Note: I do get comments on my appearance, whether I'm in the suburbs or in town. I sometimes think people feel freer to compliment or at least comment because I am on the smaller side. I seem non-threatening? Young women often compliment specific (trendier) items, like my jeans or footwear. Middle aged and older women usually comment on my hair, or some bright element of the outfit. I get a lot of comments on my Pom Pom London bags. Even in London, I had people on the tube asking me where I got my bag!

Joy

Dee

Sal

Interesting topic.

I live an inner city suburb in a provincial city. I work at our business which is at the airport (domestic, cargo, medical and recreational aircraft).

At work there are a couple of us that like clothes but mostly the engineers wear corporate polo shirts - it is not a very fashion forward environment. I have to keep practicality in mind with colours and footwear.

Socially I catch up with my friends either exercising or maybe dinners or drinks in or out. We all have different styles but are a similar dressiness level. When I was a MOTG I was probably a bit dressier than most on the sport sideline and at school pickups and dropoffs.

Jaime

Dee

Sal- Sounds like you’ve got your style sorted out for your work environment, and socially, I do like it when everyone is similarly dressy even if styles are completely different.
Jaime- Great to learn about what people are wearing where you are, and I too see plenty of skinny jeans being worn around my city as well and agree that the more eclectic the fashion, the less likely you’ll be an outlier.

I appreciate you all for taking the time to share, I hope we’ll hear more from some others as well.

cat2

Cee

Angie

This was a fun read! Thanks, Dee!

And thanks for sharing, everyone. I am nodding along at the similarities

I live in the city of Seattle, and by the water. Not in the suburbs. Here's my rundown:

Gen Z - SHORT crop tops, sweats, short shorts, big open shirts over cropped tops, big tees, sweatshirts, short baggy puffers, wide jeans, pj pants, Birkies, sneakers, socks. Dainty jewellery. Nail Art. Short dresses for going out. Make-up. Lots of makeup.

Grown-ups across all ages is this:

• Athleisure with designer bags and nail polish.

• Major Seattle rocker all-black goths with lots and lots of tattoos and body piercings. Often with rainbow hair. HUGE look in my neigbourhood.

• Polar fleece, jeans, hoodies, sweatshirts, sneakers, puffers, for the tech world. Gear. Seattle is a tech hub.

• Bits of everything else!

Hair is long across the genders. Far fewer people with short hair. Lots and lots of beanies.

No heels. I soooooo seldom see anyone in heels! Only at Nordstrom.

I'm the colourful, dressy person who often wears white in these crowds

Runcarla

EuroTomGirl

A small town in the UK.

Skinny jeans or leggings. Young’uns wear them high-waisted and with cropped tops; older’uns wear them with hoodies or t-shirts/tops (as opposed to blouses or shirts). Footwear is trainers, sandals or boots (rather than shoes), and flat.

This is women, and daytime. I’m not sure if there’s a difference in what people wear in the evening. Pretty much the same to go to the pub or a casual restaurant, I would guess.

Dee

Cat2- thanks for chiming in with the fashion environment of the techy burbs. Seems a very sensible strategy to wear out clothing that you already own with no necessity for any tan chinos lol.

Angie- The Seattle urban city prospective sounds very alternative and artsy, cool casual or sporty tech. Seems a safe bet to assume that you’re a very stylish outlier in this particular environment.

Sal

Such an interesting thread.

Coming back to say Gen Z here is similar to Angie - currently US casual influence (college hoodies, baseball caps etc) and the US take on hot Euro summer.

And yes skinnies are still popular here - they have become a classic.

Helena

I love these threads ... it's so fun to read what people are wearing irl, and I think there is something to be appreciated in everyone's choices!

I'm in another suburb of Toronto, which is weighted towards commuters and work from home folks. There are lots of families around, with a substantial minority having a stay home parent (at least for a time) if I was estimating. So what people wear around here is reflective of home life, I think. It's pretty eclectic as suburbs go, which I think reflects different ages, lifestyles, diverse background cultures, etc.

- some moms are quite dressy, while many opt for comfy athleisure a la Lululemon (I do this a lot as do many of my friends in their home and close-to-home life) or jeans. Neutrals rule with colour tending to be more understated.
- retirees range from Lululemon-esque to smart casual and not overly dressy I wouldn't say
- young women tend towards comfier, baggier styles for casual wear, and dress up in jeans and cute tops with a 90s or 00s influence (cropped or otherwise belly-baring, ribbed, ruching, ruffles).
- with proms just taking place recently, I did notice that the young women were wearing an array of brighter pastels and jewel tones, which is a change from the softer colours I've seen in years past.
- Skinny pants seem to have filtered out for the most part - the exception being leggings worn in an athleisure look - even at that though, there's a lot of baggier athletic pants or flared leggings
- sneakers, sneakers, and more sneakers yay! But dressier women might wear wedges or heels of some sort.
- there are definitely some people who like a designer/logo-heavy look. Designers handbags on chain straps abound!
- I am drawing a blank on what men tends to wear! I think it's athleisure or jeans for the most part ... casual, and I don't notice a lot of fashiony looks on the men around here.

Joy

Dee

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