Moving to DC and need advice?

[719frontier719]

Hi all,
I will be moving to Washington DC in the fall to go to school, and I need some advice in what to wear. I live on a cattle ranch in eastern Colorado, and have lived here my whole life, so style is a bit different here than in DC and I'm getting confused!
Here, jeans, a T-shirt, boots and a hat are normal, but I would feel awkward going to DC looking like that. I recently went out to visit and wore just jeans and a T-shirt (minus the boots and cap) but I still felt out of place. I'm pretty open to all suggestions, but prefer something masculine when it comes to clothing. I greatly appreciate any advice you have to offer, and pictures are good too!

 

[okdc]

Coming out here for college (I am assuming that is what you meant by school), you should be fine with a relatively casual wardrobe. Jeans will suffice mostly for pants, but you might want to look at some cotton pants from somewhere like J. Crew. For shirts, I would venture to guess polos and oxford cloth button downs. J Crew is still a pretty good choice, but you can also look at Rugby, Club Monaco, Gap/Banana Republic, H&M, Zara, or higher end like Ralph Lauren. DC is pretty diverse, so if you decided that jeans, t-shirts, and boots are your thing, than roll with it (I am originally from OK).

If you end up getting an internship here, you will most likely need suits and ties.

 

[random-adam]

^ good advice. It all depends entirely on what you're going to be doing. As mentioned above, the DC area is home to literally millions of people who weren't born here -- so on any given day you're likely to see hijabs, cowboy boots, fedoras, three-piece suits, soccer jerseys... very few will look askance at you if whatever you're wearing fits well and is reasonably appropriate for the activity at hand.

 

[Essjay]

I go to Georgetown and I can vouch for what Okdc said. JCrew will be your best bet but definitely look toward RL and even Brooks Brothers. That said many students dress casual and you would be fine with jeans and a T-shirt if that is what you are used to.

 

[prozach1576]

People in DC generally dress poorly. I wouldn't worry too much about it. New York it is not.

 

[Fred H.]

Advice - Go to school with a SMALL wardrobe. Check out the competition. Check back here in mid-September. We'll help you out!

 

[Troilus]

Putting the DC question aside for a second (and as one of the city's four native sons I assure you that J. Crew polos, while common, are optional), let my advice be about buying stuff before you get to college.

When I was a freshman, I had an impressive collection of Timberland boots, Nautica jeans, and white T's (it was typical clothing for DC at the time). By sophomore year, I had moved to polos and khakis.

Point being: you're at a point in your life where your identity is about to be molded in significant and fairly unexpected ways. It's not a time to put a ton of cash down on something so identity-specific as clothing.

And, for the record, most women (and men) in this city love a cowboy. One of my closest friends in the city is from Kansas, and he sports boots to every bar we frequent. I myself have a pair of Frye's, which I bought during my single years.

 

[andrew96]

No offence, but, you don't get around much do you? College kids dress like crap, at least anywhere I've been in the USA they do. I live with three of them and they don't even know what Brooks Brothers is, so I wouldn't worry.

I live in Richmond, just south of DC and usually go to DC every month or so, and I wouldn't say it's any special place, different than any other University campus in the US at least. Do yourself a favor and get some skate shoes, cheap ass jeans and a few t shirts. And frankly, this forum isn't probably where you want to be, most people here think that any shoe that costs less than $400 is crap.

Visit the campus and all your worries will disappear, you'll realize they probably dress worse than you. I work on the VCU campus, and the only students who dress well are the fashion students, and, well they're a breed their own.

 

[andrew96]

Originally Posted by Troilus

Putting the DC question aside for a second (and as one of the city's four native sons I assure you that J. Crew polos, while common, are optional), let my advice be about buying stuff before you get to college.

When I was a freshman, I had an impressive collection of Timberland boots, Nautica jeans, and white T's (it was typical clothing for DC at the time). By sophomore year, I had moved to polos and khakis.

Point being: you're at a point in your life where your identity is about to be molded in significant and fairly unexpected ways. It's not a time to put a ton of cash down on something so identity-specific as clothing.

And, for the record, most women (and men) in this city love a cowboy. One of my closest friends in the city is from Kansas, and he sports boots to every bar we frequent. I myself have a pair of Frye's, which I bought during my single years.





I can vouch for this, when I dress like a Cowboy(which is often, I think I have a right too because I actually am a Southerner) I get an absolutely absurd amount of attention, usually good and respectful from women and fearful from men. I don't know why this is, but it's great. When I was in Baltimore last week I got the same reaction X50, so I'd assume the same for DC.