The Bloggomist: Why I Love D.C.
Fashion Opinion

Has the stigma about DC’s bland sense of style gone away since Michelle Obama moved to the White House or Robin Givhan’s return to Washington give rise to a focus on DC fashion?

I’ve always felt that style has existed in Washington for decades but there were moments that had the entire country and world keeping a close watch on DC style.  It goes back to the days of Jackie Kennedy and currently, the Obama era in Washington with the First Lady Michelle Obama.

DC’s fashion is generally associated to dark two-piece suits with a complimenting black trench coat as a reference to Government employees. In a scene from Reese Witherspoon’s “Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde”, Elle Woods (played by Witherspoon) was filmed in a pink outfit marching up the steps of the U.S. Capitol surrounded by an army of “boring” DC Hill staffers decked in black suits. That particular scene is a misrepresentation of DC from an outsider’s perspective. Fortunately, style has changed in the District since “Legally Blonde 2″.

The city’s fashion is still under the radar, however, with the emergence of fashion blogs, a few bloggers in DC were able to present a style savvy city in the late 2000′s before Michelle Obama arrived in town.  Since then, newspapers, fashion magazines and blogs are covering more DC fashion related content.

Photo Source: Blogger Brooke Kao (the fashion void that is DC) by Josh Yospyn

Before, no one praised the city’s style, wrote about fashion related events and few photographers captured photos of fashionably conscious men and women on the streets of DC. Websites like ReadysetDC, Project Beltway, the President Wears Prada and PandaMag emerged on to DC’s blogosphere to spotlight the city’s fashion.  This provided an opportunity to write about stylish Washingtonians while documenting the stories behind the people involved in retail or had an interest in fashion.

Journalist and blogger, Betsy Lowther from the WaPo was interviewed on Elle and addressed a question regarding Michelle Obama’s influence, “D.C.’s always going to be a city where looking classic and understated reigns supreme, but I do see more people stepping up their fashion sense. I lived here briefly about seven years ago, and the city felt absolutely devoid of fashion. Now there are small but strong pockets of personal style”.

The Washington Post also took notice of fashion in their revamped Style section with more focus on the local scene.  “Scene In” was launched in summer of 2009 with short videos and clips of different neighborhoods around the city’s four segments.  Various locations and events in Dupont Circle, Capitol Hill, the Duke Ellington School, Jazz in the Garden and U Street are just some of DC’s prime locations to highlight the city’s style.

“Scene In” also takes street style on the internet up another notch by incorporating local photographers and music produced by local jazz bands. Every two weeks, I look forward to visiting the WaPo’s website for the latest episode. We may not have a Sartorialist but we have many great references to DC’s fashion at the moment.

***
To see more from Allicia, visit: http://evilmonito.com/author/atek/