Regional fashion is a topic I rather fancy. I like how what we wear can be influenced by where we live, the climate, the terrain, the history, and other cultural and geographical factors.
And I don't buy the idea that everything is becoming homogeneous. Cities still have certain styles, and some neighborhoods within cities rock their own vibe, too. (Yeah, I just said "rock their own vibe," like I'm all hip or something.) (Yeah, I just said "like I'm all hip or something," too.)
New York City and Portland, Oregon, two towns I'm wild about, boast very distinct fashion lives (although Portland may have a bit in common with Brooklyn; both dig knee socks, elaborate mustaches, and suspenders and/or bowlers).
And LA? How people dress in Venice -- a water-close city that leans to board shorts, tanks, and sandy beach feet -- differs from Beverly Hills. I stopped in the B.H. for exactly five minutes today and saw two separate gentlemen in very crisp white linen suits. Total resort wear.
Vintage LA is seen in all parts, though Silver Lake and Los Feliz seem to rule that school. If I don't see a lady sporting Bettie Page bangs, a pencil skirt, and a pert blouse complete with Peter Pan collar while in the area, I get a little blue. Same goes for those handsome guys with the tall pompadours, heavy boots, and bowling shirts. People into vintage bring it and bring it fabulously.
This is all to say that The Wilfair's own Fair Finley is not nearly as twee as she seems (and likely sometimes feels) when she dons her retro styles. Los Angeles is both very casual and very costume-y. Casual because we have a lot of sunshine and an ocean to our immediate west and costume-y because we are home base for the movie industry. Surely other factors play into both, and I don't mean to be pat, and fashion scholars might take me to task, and perhaps rightly so, but let's call the ocean and entertainment two driving forces in our local fashion.
And there are many other local sartorial styles in LA Land, of course. Many. It's a city that has a bit of the whole world to it. Love.
The upshot? A dressy young hotelier sounds fanciful, and even fictional, but Ms. Finley's ruffled frocks and snoods are just on this side of realistic, at least for her location and position.
What's your regional wear? Does the place you call home have various fashions depending on the district or neighborhood? And if I sport knee socks around LA, which I sometimes do, will people think I'm Portland Funky?
I met this dapper mannequin on Robertson Boulevard in Beverly Hills today. Yeah, this look works in Fair Finley's hometown. In fact, is he a touch Thurs Mathers?
