why do we love to hate on bay area fashion?
addressing the athleisure allegations.
Sometimes I get asked where’s the best thrifting in NYC, or if I want to meet up for coffee (they live along the L line, what about me?). I know the stranger means well, they just incorrectly assumed I live in New York. It’s an awkward answer: hi, sorry, i don’t live in new york actually! (idk why I say sorry, I should probably stop doing that).
I live in the Bay Area, California. I don’t really publicize this much because feels irrelevant for an online community. I don’t have photos online of me in New York, so the reasonable assumption is that the person thought I lived there because I post outfit content and fashion writing and appear to be in the “fashion space.” After all, New York is the center of the American fashion industry. It’s the place you’re supposed to go if you’re really *serious* about pursuing a fashion career, right? If you want to write for a big magazine, if you want to go to Margiela and Eckhaus Latta sample sales, if you want to invited to fashion week! I have been told that in order to really get “good opportunities” in my line of work, I need to move out to New York. But no, I don’t live in a fashion capital. I live in the Bay Area.
The Bay Area (especially San Francisco) has a reputation for being unstylish.
The cultural stereotype of how we dress here is dominated by the tech bro.
He wears the gray Patagonia jacket, company-branded logo tees and bland athleisure. He is a transplant and rich enough to buy property amidst a housing crisis and extreme economic inequality. The tech bro is one archetype of Bay Area’s sartorial faux pas, but there are more. Social media is quick to call out the neighborhoods that have a reputation for its casual (but expensive!) athleisure, which tend to be racially homogeneous white enclaves like the Marina. But even then, it’s not just about the athleisure. Even dressy outfits—like a wool camel coat, straight leg jeans and block heel ankle boots—are classified as basic bitch uniforms. They have no drip or true style, as defined by the self-labeled fashion enthusiast crowd.
I don’t think the core issue is the proliferation of On Cloud sneakers and Lululemon pants, it’s who wears them and what they symbolize. The way I see it,