November 6, 2008
NY Times: D.C. Residents Haven't Worn Jeans for 8 Years
Sigh. The New York Times has taken the occasion of Barack Obama's election to run another inane Washington, DC "style" story about how they think a tiny sliver of our city's population - namely the handful of very old, well-monied white people with deep connections to national politics - is in charge of setting the tone of the District of Columbia. The entire article is breathtaking in its silliness, but the lede is the most ridiculous:
Bill Clinton brought jazz, Rhodes scholars, a slice of Arkansas and all-night pizza policy sessions. When George W. Bush arrived, Texans took over the town. Blue jeans were out; coats and ties and cowboy boots were in.Really, NYTimes? Do you honestly, after all this time, not understand that the be-jeweled old ladies and collar-popped young Georgetown crew who appear in the pages of Capitol File magazine have almost nothing to do with how the rest of the city lives, regardless of who is in the White House? The idea that George W. Bush changed the wardrobes of Washingtonians is at least less offensive than the one that Bill Clinton "brought" jazz to D.C.
We're as curious as anyone about what sort of cultural changes the Obama administration might bring to our city, but whatever they are, they are probably going to be rather small. If Tuesday night's street celebrations were proof of anything, it's that D.C. stays pretty constant in its left-leaning, culturally-diverse, non-cowboy boot wearing ways. The people who move here to work for Obama are going to blend in easily with the people who are already here; the well-monied folks in Georgetown will continue to have lots of money; everyone will continue dressing just like they always have.
We will give Times reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg credit for getting one thing right: it would totally be sweet if Andray Blatche and Obama had a one-on-one pick up game at the White House. Fingers crossed the president-elect decides to put a b-ball hoop in at 1600 Pennsylvania.
Photo by Terecico
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"Fingers crossed the president-elect decides to put a b-ball hoop in at 1600 Pennsylvania."
It's already got one.
(Link doesn't seem to be working right now)
http://www.whitehousemuseum.org/grounds/basketball-court.htm
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I think she should check out the NYT archives before she writes about stuff that she has no idea what she's talking about (http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/04/14/travel/escapes/14washi.html).
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i knew my cowboy boots were in!!!
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Ah the good ol' times when Clinton gave DC Jazz and Blues
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sorry link didn't work...
Clinton and his Sax
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It always amuses me when people act like DC is some magical kingdom whose culture/style/taste is dictated by whoever happens to be living in the White House - like when they move in they get to decorate the city along with the oval office. I'm betting most of the authors of these pieces have never even been to DC, and probably couldn't correctly locate it on a US map.
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I sent her an angry email, questioning whether she had ever been to DC, or knew how to work the google.
Tripe.
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The rest of my family lives in NYC and sadly, they believe this. No matter what I say. I guess it doesn't help that the paper they read every day perpetuates this stereotype...
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It *is* the paper of record, BklyninDC.
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Obama would probably beat Blatche in a one on one
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I do remember walking into the Rayburn building during Dubya's inauguration week and being overcome by fur. Fur coats. nothing about that in here
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I thought it was going to say, "DC Residents Haven't Worn Jeans in 8 Years Because Their Closets Are Too Full of Dockers® and Navy Blue Blazers at the Moment, And All Their Jeans Are Sealed Up in Space Bags®."
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"A big night out on the town for the Bushes is dinner at Karl Rove’s house"
Now I could be wrong, but last I heard, Rove lives in Palisades. I lived there the past 6 years and never heard W's motorcade coming through. dummy
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This is yet another article that shows its authors ignorance. DC has never really been a jeans kind of city; it's cheap and/or conservative suits on the bureaucrats and chinos & blue blazers for the young staffers.
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You know, I considered wearing my cowboy boots on Tuesday night, but a) I didn't want to be confused for a Republican cowboy-boot wearer, and b) in the event of a loss by Obama, I knew I couldn't run fast enough in my boots to get away from any craziness.
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Sheryl Stolberg is a DC-based NY Times reporter. Therefore, she should know better about DC style. But I have seen her many times, and know her own personal style is lacking.
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it's time that we sit these people down, clockwork orange style, and beat it into their thick skulls that "white house washington" is not the same as "washington, dc"
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Maybe someone should send her a Duke Ellington CD.
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Ahem. Just saying.
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I sent her an email too, asking her if she changes how she dresses depending on who's mayor of NYC.
Interesting to hear that she's DC-based, I guess she's just writing what her editors tell her to.
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I was talking to an executive producer from 60 Minutes on the phone
and when I told him that I lived in N.W. DC he replied: "Oh! You live in a war zone. All that gang activity." I was dumbstruck.
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I would wear jeans to work, but the people I work for won't let me. OBAMA! Bring CHANGE to mwy workplace and let me dress CASUAL!!!!!
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Nobody. I mean nobody dictates on what I wear.
Besides, I dress in the dark.
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Meow, blittle. But point definitely taken. Why are the comments turned off on the NYT article? We all seem to have a thing or two to say...
Although, is that how the NYT rolls? The only time I've felt compelled to comment is on Bruni's ridiculous Georgetown Cupcake piece.
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Oh good Lord, where did she get that matching lime-green evil, Chadwicks? Dress Barn? Now I want to riot in the streets!
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For the sake of fairness, this is what I look like in the mornings. And what I look like after a couple of shots. Why yes, I do believe I might be wearing denim in those pics.
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"they think a tiny sliver of our city's population - namely the handful of very old, well-monied white people with deep connections to national politics - is in charge of setting the tone of the District of Columbia"
To be fair, that's not dissimilar from their approach to NY fashion. Who actually buys single items of clothing that cost thousands of dollars? Sheesh.
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Who actually buys single items of clothing that cost thousands of dollars? Sheesh.
Cindy McCain
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This begs the question: if McCain were elected, would Ben-Gay and early bird specials have come into fashion? Would the 14th Street corridor hipsters start wearing suspenders and fedoras? Would people start eating canned sardines again?
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Canned sardines again? I guess I missed the part where that went out of fashion, shucks.
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This begs the question: if McCain were elected, would Ben-Gay and early bird specials have come into fashion? Would the 14th Street corridor hipsters start wearing suspenders and fedoras? Would people start eating canned sardines again?
and, barbershop quartets on every corner.
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Well to be fair, dc is far from being a fashion capital. The adults who dress stylishly just look like brooklyn. but yeah that article was dumb.
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The New York Times is stupid and so is anyone who reads it and treats it as the Bible.
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Bill Clinton brought jazz...
Though I didn't like it at first, I've now seen the light about putting Duke Ellington on the DC quarter.
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Please, Obama - change the dress code at my work, too. I'm so tired of trying to figure out what "business cowboy" means every morning.
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I haven't worn pants in 8 years. Does that count?
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Why do you get so worked up about a style piece that (accurately) reflects the lack of style in this shit-town? I'm a proud New Yorker and I'm constantly appalled at the stuff people wear in DC. Not to mention the lack of a good Irish bar, bagels, mid-priced restaurants, diverse music venues, (until recently) Google street view, diverse private art galleries... et cetera.
Get over it; this city sucks and I'm glad to say I'll be heading back home soon.
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The thing that sucks the most about DC are the transplants. If DC could just get rid of all them, it'd be a lot cooler town, with fewer complaints about how there's no NY slices or 24-hour subways.
We do dress ugly, no doubt, but at least our mayors know how to party, by which I mean with crack and hookers.
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DC is always more fun with a Dem in the house.
And sucky when there's not.
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I do find fault with dc quite often (those crazy tax ladies, the education system, delivery options etc.) but let me be the first to say sper09 don't let the door hit you on your way out.
Tootles!
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Slate, who should know better, has an article claiming to understand the two Washingtons...but they still bifurcate the city into power brokers who live on the Mall and crack dealers who don't know where the White House is.
The editors note that this was written fifteen years ago, but "it's still remarkable how little of the city's character has changed." Really?
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Um, tagging issues with the link there. Let's try this the old-fashioned way:
http://www.slate.com/id/2204096/
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have fun back in NYC, sper09, we won't miss you!
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So what do non-New Yorkers complain about when they're trapped in NYC? How good looking everyone is? How they can't get a decent Chicago pizza? How polite and friendly everyone is?
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I do remember walking into the Rayburn building during Dubya's inauguration week and being overcome by fur. Fur coats. nothing about that in here
I went to the Mall during Bush's first inauguration because, hey, I'd just moved to DC and never witnessed one before. I felt like I was in a petting zoo. I'd never seen so many fur coats in my life. Women were standing in the mud in their high heeled shoes, wearing pantyhose, teased hair and fur coats.
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The hoops court at the White House was in pretty bad shape during the second half of Clinton administration if I remember correctly ... I believe that the hoops were eventually pulled. Not sure if they were replaced, but I remember some of the CEA staff use to go down for pickup games before the whole thing went to grass. In brighter news the OEOB still has the bowling alley!
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I remember the fur at the Bush inauguration too - absolutely surreal (almost as surreal as how National, BWI and Dulles had become virtual parking lots for private planes). Personally, I was really glad the fur went home after the parties.
I do love these faux style articles about DC - and generally I find it humorous how they are repeated with every transistion. Bless these little reporters and their efforts to do no work for a deadline (although to give them their due, most of them are probably pretty exhausted still).
Part of the wonderful quirky quality to this city is how everyone outside the city sees something very different than those of us living here - like some carnival mirror.