Why is baltimore so poorly dressed?

I had the pleasure of visiting both Washington and Baltimore over the past week. Firstly, Washington is absolutely beautiful (the people and the city) and if I did decide to move to the US it would have to be there. While there I saw various civil servants and professionals alike in good fitting attire. The last two days i spent in baltimore and I was surprised that for a major city, with so many professionals, the people there seemed to have the most ill fitting clothing of all time. In addition, the selections of stores seemed pretty bad too. Has anybody else experienced this? or was I just being overly fashion conscious?

Originally Posted by GucciMonster

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was I just being overly fashion conscious?

Probably.

The glory that is Washington tends to outshine other cities.

The Kevlar vest kind of ruins the silhouette.

I would assume it could have something to do with the cost of living in both cities? I think DC has some of the highest cost of living in the US, and I'd think with that comes higher paying jobs, and perhaps people who pay more attention to their clothes.

I dunno. Just complete guess with that one.

Originally Posted by GucciMonster

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I had the pleasure of visiting both Washington and Baltimore over the past week. Firstly, Washington is absolutely beautiful (the people and the city) and if I did decide to move to the US it would have to be there. While there I saw various civil servants and professionals alike in good fitting attire. The last two days i spent in baltimore and I was surprised that for a major city, with so many professionals, the people there seemed to have the most ill fitting clothing of all time. In addition, the selections of stores seemed pretty bad too. Has anybody else experienced this? or was I just being overly fashion conscious?

The same reason Milwaukee, St Louis, Cleveland, Pittsburgh are so poorly dressed.
Compared to New York, Washington is poorly dressed.

you must not have seen HBO's The Wire.

Originally Posted by GucciMonster

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I had the pleasure of visiting both Washington and Baltimore over the past week. Firstly, Washington is absolutely beautiful (the people and the city) and if I did decide to move to the US it would have to be there. While there I saw various civil servants and professionals alike in good fitting attire. The last two days i spent in baltimore and I was surprised that for a major city, with so many professionals, the people there seemed to have the most ill fitting clothing of all time. In addition, the selections of stores seemed pretty bad too. Has anybody else experienced this? or was I just being overly fashion conscious?

What professionals are you talking about? Baltimore is still by and large a blue collar city.

DC is probably the most transient city in the nation. If you come across someone who was born here, it's rare; if you come across someone with family stretching back more than a couple of generations -- that's nearly unfathomable. The majority of the population is here for lobbying, government, military, or any of dozens of reasons why a young buck fresh from high school or college would make his or her way to the capital of the free world.

They tend to be pretty type-A folks.

Baltimore, while only 40 minutes away, is in another state. The difference can be traced back centuries. This illustrates it nicely: the Federal Hill neighborhood in Baltimore is called such because during the Civil War, the feds had cannon mounted there pointing towards the city in an effort to prevent Maryland from joining the South.

Aside from geography and climate, the two cities are really nothing alike.

Originally Posted by GucciMonster

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I had the pleasure of visiting both Washington and Baltimore over the past week. Firstly, Washington is absolutely beautiful (the people and the city) and if I did decide to move to the US it would have to be there. While there I saw various civil servants and professionals alike in good fitting attire.

Are you sure you're talking about Washington, DC?

^^^^It's not that I don't like DC or anything like that, but the comment surprised me too.

I used to live in DC (grew up there, went to law school there) and now live in Baltimore and can say that they two cities are miles apart not only geographically but in so many other ways including the way in which men dress. I have gotten the impression that Baltimore is a much more casual city. Most of the lawyers in my firm wear khakis and polos during the warmer months. You won't see this in DC area law firms. Likewise, when going out for the night, most younger men wear cargo shorts, flip flops and tee shirts (often ridiculous Ed Hardyesque shirts). That kind of dress generally doesn't fly in DC, where men tend to skew more preppy.

I agree with @Jay687; DC jobs, on average, pay more than similar jobs in Baltimore. While the cost of living in Baltimore is also lower, in my opinion, the cost of living differential is less than the salary differential, thus leaving people in Baltimore with less discretionary income to spend on $2,000 suits and $200 dress shirts (myself included!!). Another factor might be the fact that there do not appear to be any decent men's tailors in Baltimore, whereas there are several quality tailors in DC. There is one custom tailor here, but I've not been too impressed with the product, at least not for the price. The last factor, in my opinion, is the lack of quality retail in Baltimore. Most men buy business attire at JAB or BB and, for whatever reason, still have the "bigger is better" mentality when buying clothes.

Originally Posted by w.o.e.is.me.

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you must not have seen HBO's The Wire.

Originally Posted by GucciMonster

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I had the pleasure of visiting both Washington and Baltimore over the past week. Firstly, Washington is absolutely beautiful (the people and the city) and if I did decide to move to the US it would have to be there. While there I saw various civil servants and professionals alike in good fitting attire. The last two days i spent in baltimore and I was surprised that for a major city, with so many professionals, the people there seemed to have the most ill fitting clothing of all time. In addition, the selections of stores seemed pretty bad too. Has anybody else experienced this? or was I just being overly fashion conscious?

You have got to be kidding...

Grew up in Annapolis, equi-distant from both. My old man was chief of staff to a Congresswoman who represented large portions of Baltimore, meaning his life was essentially 50/50 Baltimore/DC. I spent my whole childhood traveling to both places frequently and now live immediately outside of DC. Here's my take:

- DC is expensive and very Type-A, both of which tend to bring nice clothes along with them.
- Baltimore is much less expensive and largely blue collar (or Type-B professional), both of which tend to bring less interest in clothes
- While lots of people like to say that Washingtonians dress horribly, this is really only true when compared to New York IMO. There aren't a ton of people with SF-grade tastes here, but there is a very prevalent culture of superficiality and high living. There are also plenty of high-end retailers and clothiers doing a brisk business outfitting the town's professionals. Many of these folks work in jobs like lobbying and consulting, which almost require a degree high dress
- The money that it is Baltimore tends to be old money. These folks dress that way, too, which doesn't really smack of the slickness that Washingtonians impart. Baltimore folks that care about clothes tend to be very preppy (not trad) in appearance and wear a blue blazer/flannels/tassels/khakis/button-down/AA frames uniform. Those professionals that wear suits in Baltimore are usually financial planner-types. They don't get too slick b/c their clients aren't slick and b/c they aren't used to seeing people on the street slicked-up. If you're a professional that isn't in finance, you just wear pleated khakis and a polo shirt to work.

I know I just farted all over my key-board, but that's my take.