Thursday, June 24, 2010

southern fried style

each time we have moved i am always fascinated with regional style. my first thoughts upon arriving in provo in 1998 was that girls loved stripey blonde hair and t shirts with a logos. jackson hole, wyoming was full of strappy tank tops and north face jackets worn at the same time. it was fun to hear my friend natalie's opinion of kansas city style when she visited me back in november. "lots of stylized hoodies." i don't own a single one, interestingly enough. when thomas and i moved to tuscaloosa, alabama back in 2003, i was overwhelmed with two major trends.

1. short booty running shorts and big billowy t-shirts just around campus.
2. almost cocktail dresses and sometimes even high high heels at football games. even in the cold.

today at the mcwane science center, i asked these girls to pose for a picture and they all clamoured at the chance. prime suspects in the southern girl uniform:

sorority girls and frat boys at a virginia football game:

from cnn.com

two georgia girls pre georgia game:

from redandblack.com

so, my question for you is, what is the regional style where you live? i'd love to hear it. truly, i find it so interesting. do tell.

and on a completely unrelated note-
tonight, i had a relief society meeting and pulled this outfit together. mostly because i knew that the only time i wouldn't be in air conditioning was the walk from the car to the chapel. i thought i could brave the heat and i wore a layered top and real live jeans tonight. i am a brave woman.


8 comments:

Will and Natalie Giddens said...

And puffy vests! That was the other thing I noticed in KC.

I've never understood why sorority gals and fraternity boys dress up for football games. Especially in the South where it's hot and humid.

MissRochelle said...

When I was in high school the VERY IN thing was college athletic hooded sweatshirts and flip flops (in a Wisconsin winter). But the hottest sweatshirts the popular kids (me- lets be honest) had were from Jan Sport Outlet $5 mistake bin. Sexy? Classy? I think yes...

Nicole Bolinger said...

Sorority girls and frat boys dress up b/c they have to...especially pledges. :) Just thought I would fill you in there! :)

Emily C said...

love your boyfriend cuffed jeans with flowing light yellow blouse and wedges. perfect outfit in my opinion.

Angie said...

When we first moved to Northern California is was still Wintery. Every single high school girl wore a sweatshirt, fitted jeans and either Uggs or canvas sneakers. Everyone. It was like some sort of teenage uniform.

Will and Natalie Giddens said...

Hahaha - I'm laughing at Nicole's comment. I know the pledges HAVE to dress up. I guess my comment was more along the lines of "Why in the world did someone back in the day deem dressing up as appropriate fanwear for a football game? And then enforce it among the sororities and fraternities?" Chalk it up to yet another thing that baffles me about the college Greek culture!

Heidi - can't WAIT to see what you notice in SC. I wonder if it'll be similar to AL?

Elle Sees said...

good for you with the shopping!
and i actually know the girl in the UGA pic! Haha

Trish said...

I agree that regional styles are so interesting.

I've seen a lot of southern girls in gym shorts and t-shirts. I think in teenagers it is the competitive athleticism that they make such a big deal of in the south. A southern parent can be so proud if there kid is an athlete. When I see 20 or 30 somethings in the same attire, I wonder if it's not to try and convince us that they must be fit, because look at what they're wearing! Or maybe they just got comfortable in it as teenagers and can't let it go.

I find that tiny shorts and spaghetti strap tank tops are rather popular this time of year in my area. As well as club wear to events like graduation?

In Instyle magazine this month, they had a small blip on popular shoes across the country. The big deal in ATL were boat shoes. I think they're right on the button because I live only 2 hours from there and I've been dying to get a pair of sperry tops!

My sisters live in UT and I love some of their styles, but I'd feel like a bit of a dork wearing the same stuff here. While I am currently really into the whole boho style and fit right in in NC, my tie-dye peasant blouse got a lot of stares when I visited my family out west. Though I don't really mind because I simply try to wear things I feel pretty in, regardless, and I'm willing to try most styles. Now if I could just afford to buy more clothes!