The Fashion Capital vs. THE Capitol

Amidst Fashion Week 2009 in New York City, I had an unexpected personal fashion experience of my own. I’ll say off the top, when it comes to style and fashion, I am challenged. Clothes shopping andTuesday in Cannes, France dressing for events are painful processes for me. I would much rather shop for cookware, blenders and sandwich griddles. Over the years, my best friends typically dress me for special occasions.

I was heading to the State Department in Washington DC, not having ever been there before I couldn’t decide if I should wear a dark colored suit/dress or a CK red dress that I fell in love with. Being the “crazy” that I am , I decided to poll those closest to me, close to DC or close to knowing proper fashion protocol. I was conflicted because after all, I don’t work at the State Dept. so why should I have to dress like them? Plus, this is an arts and culture event where people tend to be more expressive in their dress. My question was “what should I wear to this lunchtime event at the State Department?”

Here’s who I surveyed and where they currently live in my very unscientific experiment:

Male – Banker – New York

Male – Gov’t Contractor – Virginia

Male – Pharmaceutical Sales – Maryland

Female – Pharmaceutical Sales – New York

Female – Stay at home mom – New York

Female – Educator/Seamstress – New York

Female – Entertainment Executive – New York

Female – Flight Attendant – New York

Female – Sales Manager – Maryland

This was a fun process especially because the results came back in an interesting way. Surprisingly it wasn’t divided by gender, age or by profession. It was divided by the old Mason-Dixon Line! North against the South. LOL.  All of those residing in New York unequivocally said “go for the red” (although a few wanted to be sure the red dress was conservative). Yet, the three from the MD/VA/DC metropolis all said, unquestionably for me to wear a conservative dark color.

So what does this mean? Are New Yorkers more fashion savvy than those in the (albeit not-so-deep) South? I believe this definitely speaks to us being a product of our environment. Those closest to the political hub tend to think more conservatively then those of us in New York (even if they are NY transplants). Whereas, New Yorkers (even if transplants from the South) tend to be more “style” conscious. Yes--New York City, the place where you will see some wearing flip-flops and others wearing boots in the same day.

Naturally, I went with the red dress. It was not unfit for the event or the venue, but I did feel a little over-dressed. As a matter of fact, there seemed to be no real “dress code” at the State Department. The staff was dressed in some of everything and most of it wasn’t very stylish or interesting. Really.

So I guess everybody got it right. Had I wore something dark, I would not have stood out or felt over-dressed, but wearing red made me unique and stylish (and makes great photos   ). It’s not fair. Men get away with wearing a nice suit that will fit in just about any occasion. The way women dress is what really sets the tone, look, feel of an event. 

So now I know. I know that this fashion thing just really isn’t me. And now you know not to be surprised if you get a phone call from me one day asking what should I wear. Oh and I heard New York has been bumped as the fashion capital of the world.