When people think of New York and L.A. fashion, distinct styles immediately come to mind. Walk the streets of Manhattan and you’re bound to run into super skinny dark wash jeans, flats, and oversized bags. On Sunset Boulevard, you’re going to find brighter colors, more shorts, and flip flops galore instead. Unfortunately, the District’s most memorably contribution to the fashion world is probably still Monica Lewinsky’s little blue dress.
As far as the D.C. fashion scene is concerned, “it is definitely lacking,” according to Robin Levine, a co-buyer at We One You Two.
“ Fashion here is a lot more corporate, you can’t get away with much here. What you’ll find is a lot more classic work wear than the trends,” Levine said.
While there is no doubt that one can find an army of suits on Capitol Hill, eventually even interns have to change. Molly Hildebrand, a sales associate at Urban Chic boutique, doubts that there are graphic tees hiding underneath the collared shirts.
“People get more dressed up here, they’re going to be more quaffed and have more scruples about grooming, so you won’t see a lot of messy hair,” Hildebrand said.
However, Sarah Cannova, Sassanova boutique owner and former New Yorker, is more optimistic about D.C. fashion.
“D.C. fashion is always half a season behind New York City, but in the four and half years since I’ve moved here, D.C. fashion has amped up a lot more, [there are] a lot more design elements. D.C.’s look will never really get defined because there’s a big college population and a transient population from the rest of the country. Plus most of those in DC are older, and [the type] who find that one look and ride it out. So D.C. fashion is always an amalgamation of all the major looks and trends…[I’d describe it as having] a traditional East Coast style with a fashion flair,” Cannova said.
“I have faith that D.C. is going to be a fashion city,” Katie Curtin, Assistant Manager at Urban Chic Boutique said emphatically, “designers are increasingly coming in and trying to set up shop in Georgetown.”
But all interviewed agreed that for D.C. style, what you get depends on where you are.
“While Georgetown is definitely the trendiest area…Chevy Chase is now Chevy Chic! Everything thing there is getting more high fashion,” Levine said.
“In the U street and downtown area you’ll see more vintage inspired looks, super penciled gray wash jeans, a look that is really urban,” Cannova said.
Hoyas should take a cue from the rest of D.C. and take the new spring season as an opportunity to step outside their fashion comfort zones into the newest trends.
“For shoes, go for the extremes—either a high wedge sandal with a lot of fun details or a really clean and extremely flat gladiator sandal,” Cannova advised.
“Definitely ethnic prints and high waisted pants,” Curtin said. “I love the aggressive floral prints, [like] not your grandma’s floral print!”
