The streets of San Francisco
March 31st, 2008Whenever I visit San Francisco I’m impressed with the high style quotient. This weekend was no different. Daytime street fashion was a uniform of jeans, trench coats, ballet flats or fashion sneakers, and funky accessories.
- Denim was either boot cut, straight or skinny.
- Trenches were short or just above the knee.
- Trapeze jackets and tailored blazers were a popular alternative to trenches.
- Ballet flats and Converse sneakers were everywhere.
- Large flat totes ruled supreme.
- Trendy specs were in abundance.
- The colours were black, white, cream, tan, grey, red, brown.
There were no heels or wide-legged pants, and very few T-shirts to be seen. I only spotted three people wearing their pants too short.
Things slipped once I was back at the airport. Velour sweats, oversized-T-shirts, clingy cropped hoodies, yoga pants, pajama pants, crocs, hiking boots, polar fleece, fanny packs, flip-flops, thick white athletic socks and big athletic sneakers were everywhere. And I stopped counting how many men and women were wearing their pant lengths too short.
March 31st, 2008 at 8:12 am
Interesting you did not see much green… It seems like all the retailers are pushing green this season and I am seeing a lot of it on Seattle streets.
March 31st, 2008 at 8:21 am
Airport fashion is an ugly sight but I also feel the airport is a dirty place and want to wear a wash and wear outfit. The pink velour sweat pants and matching cropped hoodie with pink Uggs I saw at the airport recently was beyond unattractive.
The style in San Francisco sounds cute and comortable.
March 31st, 2008 at 9:02 am
ha! I’m so amused that you were counting people that violated perfect pants length at the airport. I did the exact same thing at Penn Station the other day. I always enter through the 7th ave entrance and walk to the 8th ave concourse, so within the distance of roughly one NYC block, I counted 24 people with incorrect pants length. This was during rush hour, so there was no way I was able to keep up with every single person, but I was still quite alarmed. I also saw a lot of athletic shoes with business casual/formal. I imagine that once these women are in the office and in heels, their pants must be too short. I understand the need for comfort when commuting, but sneakers and a suit are just wrong.
March 31st, 2008 at 9:09 am
I have a question. . . .if you wear a bootcut jean with ballet flats, wouldn’t they make your legs look short and stocky? (if you are a short-legged person, lol). I usually wear my high-heeled boots with my bootcut jeans and it gives me a more slender look. Also, I am assuming the hem of the jean should skim the ground (with flats). I love your website and look forward to your articles every day! Keep up the super job!!
March 31st, 2008 at 9:09 am
No wide legged pants! I’m disappointed. I have three pair I plan to wear through the spring and summer and I want more! I just love the look and hope that this doesn’t mean it’s not catching on or is already on the way out.
March 31st, 2008 at 9:33 am
Thanks, Angie. Sounds like SFO has style. Denim and trenches sound very appropriate…and walking shoes! Trendy glasses and totes for SFO also make sense for some unexplainable reason–just seems like what I’d expect to see there. The color palette sounds right as do the pant types for SFO–even though bright colors and wide legs are the trendy.
I have to concur–the “outfits” I’ve seen at the airport have to be the worst! The airport is like an ugly magnet for fashion. Uggs, crocs, sweat pants, tshirts, velor, short pants and sweatshirts rein supreme. It’s like people think they are in a fashion-free zone. When I was young, people actually dressed up (not down) to travel. Today with lycra and other great inventions (you mentioned recently)–it’s so easy to look good and be comfortable. There seems no excuse to me to run around looking like one just rolled out of bed. I wonder what must the people receiving these visting guests think when they arrive bedecked in a rumpled mess. Yuck!
March 31st, 2008 at 9:44 am
I agree with airport fashion being awful.. but they’re comfortable.. *embarassed* LOL
I wouldn’t wear sweatpants out myself, but I can see why people would, especially UGGs…. and being on a 24-hour plane flight
March 31st, 2008 at 12:07 pm
I have a question about pants length. I love ballet flats and jeans and I typically wear my jeans so that the bottoms reach the ground. However as a college student I walk constantly and get really frustrated with wear and tear on the bottom of my jeans. I like a trendy but polished look. Any suggestions?
March 31st, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Ha! Yesterday, I returned from the grocery store and started to pen a post to the forum about the hideousness of grocery store outfits. I decided not to post it because it made me sound catty. (reeow). I have to admit that I do notice too short (and too long) pant lengths much more now, and I am far more aware of my own pant length. Yesterday’s grocery store winner was a woman in her late 30’s–maybe 40’s. She had on stone washed jeans that were either too short, or capri’s on crack. As if the pants weren’t bad enough–she wore them with white ankle socks and this weird shoe/boot/sneaker combination thing–that had an open back and lots and lots of black fleece spilling out of the foot hole. Oh, and the red and black plaid lumberjack style workshirt that came down almost to her knees, was the icing on the cake.
I have been to San Francisco once–it was a great casual city. I went in October, and it would be cloudy and rainy and cold every morning, then it would clear up at noon and be warm and sunny. It must be very difficult to dress for such changes in weather in one day!
March 31st, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Denise, heels look wonderful with boot cuts, especially if you are shorter in the leg. This has a fabulous elongating effect. Flats are also great if you sport the right pants length ( as you astutely pointed out), and the only option if you can’t wear heels.
Don’t worry Shannon. Wide-legged pants are here to stay. They tend to look better with heels (unless you are tall and slim limbed) which is probably why I didn’t see them on the Streets of SF. Urbanites tend to wear flats which look better with sleeker pant widths. It’s interesting how the wide-legged pant is an American trend. The look has been non-existent in Euro stores. It continues to be all about the skinny on the Continent.
March 31st, 2008 at 2:00 pm
To your point, Joey. There is no excuse to look slovenly and badly dressed when we travel. Now more than ever, technological breakthroughs allow us to be comfortable AND stylish at any time. I therefore continue to have no empathy for sweats as a form of outerwear.
March 31st, 2008 at 2:58 pm
San Francisco sounds fab! I like the style.
So while I was reading about the airport fashion I was thinking that alot of people just dont care how they look when they travel cause they want to be comfortable [planes are way to cramped these days]. While this is true…as soon as you said fanny pack…hello???? I’m never dressing airport comfy again if I am being put into fanny pack territory!
March 31st, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Rach, hem your pants so that they’re an eighth of an inch above the ground. Alternatively, skinny and straight legs automatically pull up shorter whether they scrunch.
April 1st, 2008 at 9:03 am
Angie, can you talk more about those large flat totes you saw in SFO? I’m intrigued (still looking for a big stylish bag to replace my “3-bag-mess”), and would love to see examples. Thanks!!
April 1st, 2008 at 12:17 pm
I shall devote a blog entry to flat totes Antje. These are the only types of totes I carry so stay tuned!
April 4th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
I am surprised you haven’t seen more bright colors in the street.
I am just back from Europe and did not really paid attention to what people wear in the street (Jet Lag:-) ) But I will.:-)However as Jennifer said, retailers (included Nousha) are promoting very bright colors for spring yellow , orange, green, pink! Black and white, ‘Bright ombre”, art-print clothes and shoes are some other trends we should be seeing soon on people in SF!! :-)))
April 7th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
You are so right about San Francisco! I love people watching in Cole Valley where 8 out of 10 people look effortlessly fashionable.