The closer to downtown/Capitol Hill/K Street, the stronger the effect is. The suburbs are more relaxed by comparison, but still probably a bit more dressy than most of the rest of the country.
To the extent that the suburbs are more relaxed, a strong factor is that that’s where the suit-wearers go when they’re not working.
At my kids’ school’s open house every summer, I can tell the new transplants from NYC. They always wear black. It usually takes a year for people to realize that black clothes in the south equals sweating your rear end off.
Jesus. That “style” needs to be killed with napalm, hacked into pieces and buried deep beneath salted earth so that nothing shall ever grow there again.
And I say that as someone who’s ambivalent, at best, about fashion.
Ha! That’s hilarious! I would consider that a welcome sight in Washington, D.C. It’s so freaking dreary here, fashion wise.
When I was a teenager in North Carolina we had a transfer student from Maine. I had never seen those rubber bottom leather top LL Bean shoes before. They looked totally bizarre.
Texas: Cowboy boots look stupid with shorts, hence jeans are the default.
I just got back from Vancouver last week. Now hipsterism has cross pollinated with west coast grunge, leaving a bizarre tattooed hybrid in dork glasses with a lumberjack shirt, a Snidely Whiplash mustache, skintight skinny jeans, no socks and boots. They look like someone the village people would mock.
Why do I get the feeling the OP is an extra-terrestrial doing pre-infiltration research on how to convincingly blend in with the humons in various US cities? 
I live in a college town, where I also attend college, and not only does everyone dress like they’ve just rolled out of bed, I’ve heard girls say catty things about other girls for wearing things like heels or skirts or any pants less casual than jeans to class.
Personally, I would also never wear yoga pants, sweatpants, or spandex outside of the house or the gym, but those aren’t as bad as actual sleepwear. I know that clothes are just clothes, but every time I see someone out in their actual pajama pants, it makes me irrationally irritated.
It’s no wonder people have this stereotype of my generation as lazy and entitled when most of us can’t even be bothered to put on pants.
Even if I would ever consider going out in public wearing pajama pants I wouldn’t. I carry too much stuff around in my pockets. 
Pajamas I can almost forgive, but bunny slippers. :eek: JebusfuckingkEERIST.
Out here we see few ties, except on older guys in suits. Women wear a lot of really high heels, which look nice if they can walk in them. But they are a huge improvement on flipflops.
During work hours I wear chinos and dress shirt. Have a few ties in the desk. Sportcoat sometimes.
If the weather permits I wear cargo shorts and polo shirts when not at work.
Yeah, when I was in college, I wore blue jeans 365 days a year the entire time I was there. So did all the other kids, and it was so normal and pervasive no one gave it any thought. Except there was one girl in my French class who was all about fashion. She actually wore full makeup and pretty blouses and skirts in the then-fashionable length and heels. We all thought she was weird that way. Now I dress that way too and if I could see her again would like to apologize to her for all the catty talk behind her back. She was very pretty too (although she was afflicted with acne scars, which might explain the full makeup, which in turn would lead to dressing up nice) and could carry off the look excellently. This was in the fall of 1978, when the fashionable skirts were calf-length, which looked so strange to us college kids. Now, 35 years down the road, it’s all so ancient history when I look back on my life.
Edit: Since the subject is regional styles, this was in St. Louis, FWIW.
Hackettstown NJ. Yesterday AM (rush hour) McDonald’s on Mountain Avenue
Couple in front of me in full pajama regalia, including fuzzy socks on the woman, who was also wearing a pair of flip flops. 
I work in the Morristown area of NJ, which is the county seat. I cannot honestly remember a time in recent memory that I have not seen someone in some piece of nightwear in a retail establishment. WalMart, CVS (maybe they should get a pass…they might be ill), Michael’s (craft store), Home Depot, Target.
I live in the Lehigh Valley/Slate Belt area of PA. I have yet to meet a man in the course of online and offline dating that owns a dress suit.
UT~
I would hate to see dressing up become something only stuffy or frivolous people do, but it really does look like it’s taking on that meaning in society. I enjoy good clothes, but nowadays I have to be careful where I show it.
Yeah… I hate having to force myself not to look too pretty. Every time I get dressed, I have to remind myself to tone it down a notch or two from what I’d like. This is why I like professional office work environments, where although I have to maintain a subdued, conservative look (this is DC), at least I can be dressed well. Besides, on the bright side, nothing is easier to put together than all-black outfits.
I’m of two minds on this subject. When I dress for every day it’s jeans(winter) or capri pants all other times, Birkenstocks with toe socks (winter), no socks all other times,tee shirts or cami with a shirt or sweater over it. When I go to the theater, symphony or trendy restaurant I put on my best dress, shoes, jewelry and even makeup. I grew up in Stamford, Ct so dressing up to go out is the norm, now I live in Portland,Or thus the two minds. I will be comfy during the day and glamorous during the evening.
Question #1: L.A is a huge city, so ultimately you’ll find all sorts of fashion, but most people out in weekend wear either t-shirts, short sleeved or long sleeved button down shirts, with shorts and all type of pants in abundance. I do notice many who visit the city, come dressed in t shirts and shorts, which is fine during the summer but not in December. Women have even greater variety of dressing styles than men. One as to take into consideration, social class and job type.
Question #2: Well Hispanics can be American also, but I know what you are trying to say, while there are some stylish Latinos around, (just like any other raccial/ethnic group), as a whole group in general-most certainly not. This goes for all ages, whether a teen or 65 and older, they are not more stylish than the average American population. I’m talking about day to day,not going out to a wedding, party or club.
Thinking back to my high school, Latino students were on average very poorly dressed. The women tend to be better, but still not fashionable.
Can’t answer your last one, but I’ll guess yes generally.
I don’t why I have been reviving fashion themed threads today. I need to stop.
George Clooney pegged it in The Descendants (2011) when he said that in Hawaii, even the millionaires dress like bums. Wear a suit and you’ll stick out like a sore thumb. It’s Hawaiian shirts, aka Aloha shirts, all the way including for funerals, with Reyn Spooner the choice for the discerning businessman. (I have a small collection of Reyn Spooners myself.)
The Rocky Mountains are very casual and practical. Lot’s of layers/fleece often some sort of hiking shoe. Plenty of people in shorts and Tevas too. But it’s true, it gets cold real fast when the sun goes down. So ya got to plan.
Suits/ties are right out. No point in it and makes no sense anyway. At least we have that figured out.
A great suit and tie IS the point.
Americans in general could stand to take their fashion tips from well dressed Londoners.
“Sweatpants are a sign of defeat. You lost control of your life so you bought some sweatpants.”
- Karl Lagerfeld
That is simply not going to fly in Hawaii.