fashion in san francisco is such an interesting beast that i felt that i must dedicate a blog post to pointing out a few observations i have made over my brief stay here. first of all, the definition of "fashionable" in san francisco is very broad. you can be completely caaj and laid-back and not own a single pair of heels here, and be considered fashionable. on the other hand, you can also be a tryhard who wears pencil skirts and 4-inch heels everyday, and you too will be considered fashionable. i always thought san francisco-fashionable meant that you absolutely had to dress caaj - meaning no heels - or else you'd be looked at like a tryhard alien - but it ain't so. oh trust me, i was as shocked as you are. i mean, i'm the one who only packed ONE pair of heels for a whole month here thinking that i would be uber-caaj and appreciated here with my low key stylings. i mean, don't get me wrong - my uber-caaj low key stylings are obvi appreciated, but alas, i mourn the missed fashion opportunities that throwing some tryhard pieces into the mix would have helped me achieve. so first takeaway? san francisco is NOT all caaj - pack accordingly.
onto the second groundbreaking takeaway...
the other interesting thing about san francisco fashion is that not only is there no set standard of how caaj a san franciscan must dress, but there is also no set weather-appropriate dressing standard. since the weather ranges from about 45 to 70 degrees year around, winter dressing, as a concept, does not seem to exist. it is all by a person's personal cold weather tolerance. in san francisco, you can be freezing your a** off, bundled up in a winter coat, scarf, and boots, barely surviving the walk to work, while the person next to you will be wearing teva sandals and a half-sleeved tshirt with shorts. both looks are perfectly acceptable in terms of what is appropriate to wear to brave a san francisco winter (whether the teva look is acceptable in terms of what is appropriate to wear to simply live in this world is an entirely separate issue).
in new york, however, everyone seems to adhere to the same winter dressing standard. if you wear ballet flats with bare feet on even a brisk fall day, you feel like kind of an idiot because everyone knows that you are freezing your little footsies off just so you can wear the ballet flats that complete your outfit. and if everyone knows that you are going through such pains for the sake of fashion, what does that make you? A TRYHARD. very good, you're learning. so again, being truly caaj is trying hard, but not looking like you're trying hard. so greatest takeaway of all? in all other locations that are not san francisco, you must wear winter-appropriate clothing that keeps you warm unless you want the world to know you for the tryhard that you truly are.
