Fashion Through Personality: East vs. West

When Anna Bassman, junior at Pace University, wakes up in the morning, she says she chooses random clothes and rolls with it. This is a big shift from when she lived in California and would plan her outfit for each activity she was doing that day. She goes for muted tones today, with a lot of her pieces being in shades of green and brown. Bassman finishes her outfit with a 70’s coat that she found while thrifting in Brooklyn before heading out the door to New York City.

Bassman moved to the East Coast around five months ago, after spending 18 years in California and two years in Oregon. She said the biggest change she’s seen has been with the people.

“Everyone on the West Coast is much more relaxed and they’re not rushing to get to places,” Bassman said. “On the East Coast, everyone is always in a hurry, everyone is very upfront and blunt.”

With the difference in personality also comes a difference in style, according to Bassman. On the West Coast, she said she noticed a lot of warmer colors and flowy pants whereas the East Coast has a more vintage style. Leah O’Brien, a UO sophomore who lived in Connecticut for 18 years before moving to Oregon a year and a half ago, also believes that people on the West Coast dress more for the activities they are doing. Whereas on the East Coast, they dress for fashion.

“Hobbies impact each person with their fashion,” O’Brien said. “I

can always tell when someone is into ILLUSTRATED BY KYLIE BULCAO-MOORE WRITTEN BY ELLA NORTON 37 ALIGN

climbing because they’re going to wear climbing gear. On the East Coast, it’s much less practical.”

According to O’Brien, people on the East Coast tend to dress preppy. Especially in suburbs and beach towns, which is where she’s from. She describes it as a conservative look: one that doesn’t show too much skin and uses dated fashion trends.

“In Connecticut, you have to be wearing clothes if you’re seeing people, you’re not going to hang out in sweatpants,” O’Brien said. “It’s not for comfort, it’s definitely to show off.”

Isabella Cirillo, a UO junior who grew up in Georgia before moving to Oregon

DESIGNER ALLY WOODRING three years ago, also said there’s a conservative look on the Southeastern Coast. She thinks a lot of people get inspiration from political leaders.

“I’m thinking of Jackie Kennedy and all those preppy, very clean cut, very put together outfits,” Cirillo said. “I know a lot of (my) friends, and even my mom, were taught that every time you go out, you should have makeup on and look put together, because you never know who you might meet.”

Cirillo said that since moving to Oregon, she’s been able to expand her style, incorporating overalls and androgynous pieces into her wardrobe. She said she thinks of the Oregon fashion as much more unique, which she believes is due to the heavy presence of thrift culture.

“I feel like people here can have their own unique style because there are cheaper and more affordable options to curate their closet the way they want to,” Cirillo said.

Similarly, O’Brien said that she found the styles in the West Coast have much more variation.

“Everyone has a much more unique sense of fashion to the individual, they don’t really follow trends, I’ve found,” O’Brien said. “Things that would maybe not be so acceptable in Connecticut are very acceptable here.”

However, even with the differences, Cirllo, Bassman and O’Brien all mentioned seeing crossover between the coasts. Basman said she notices it the most in summer and Cirllo said the college students borrow the same trends on the coast.

Whatever the trends are, I would say it hits both coasts,” O’Brien said. “When I was growing up, I would assume skinny jeans were popular here like they were there, and now they’re out of style. I would say more than ever, people just want to be unique in their pieces.” 38 ALIGN