This sculpture in downtown DC goes with my dress!
My dear friend Meg and I were sitting in an open-air Spanish restaurant in Washington DC earlier this month when we noticed it.
“Women here in DC dress well,” declared Meg as she chomped into a garlic shrimp and gazed onto the street. My friend was feeling particularly fashion-conscious that week, as an article had just come out declaring her native San Francisco one of the sloppiest-dressed cities in the U.S.
“I mean, look at that!” Meg exclaimed, pointing toward a gaggle of ladies gliding by in the hot sun. “Every DC woman has on a cute sundress. Sundress there! Sundress there! And another sundress there!”
“You’re so wrong,” I scoffed as I covertly stole the last bacon-wrapped sausage. “Look at that pack of schlubs over there with their baggy khaki shorts and cheesy old T-shirts. They’re not fashionable at all.”
Meg cackled triumphantly. “But that only proves my point that DC dresses well! Look at the cameras and maps those people are clutching… they’re tourists! And that’s why they look like slobs. DC dresses well. Tourists don’t.”
Fancy Meg, the White House, and a sloppy tourist.
Ahh, yes! I flashed back to my nine months traveling around the world. It is painfully true that when you are navigating a new place, fashion is frequently the last thing on your mind. Moreover, if you’ve packed light, you only have a handful of clothes with you, anyway! During my time in Southeast Asia and West Africa, especially, I heard a boatload of complaints from locals about how disrespectful they found tourist clothing to be.
At that moment, Meg and I realized that WE, too, were slobby tourists in a fashionable city. And so, we decided to try an experiment: tourism in formal wear!
We were in DC for a wedding anyway, so it worked perfectly. The next morning, I donned my sleek cobalt blue dress and heels, and Meg slipped into a fancy ruffled orange number. Between wedding events, we would hit the DC sights in our full finery, and check out the difference fancy clothing made on the sight-seeing experience!
The results of our Tourism in Formal-Wear experiment were extraordinary. Here are the reasons why you, too, should try this sometime:
The Washington Monument and fashionable Meg.
1. Our photos turned out abnormally well, given that we were dressed up! Indeed, the regal sights of Washington DC truly call for dresses next to them, not khaki shorts.
2. People were stunningly nice to us all day, thanks to our outfits. One of the solemn-looking guards at the White House took the time to tell us facts about the President’s home, using a far kinder tone to us than he did for the grubby other sight-seers.
3. Our fancy clothes made us feel an air of festivity and excitement the whole tourism-filled day.
4. A lot of folks we passed mistook us for important people on the way to something important, given our elite look, and so they sort of cleared a reverential path for us.
5. We fit in with all those sundress-wearing DC ladies.
As polished tourists outside DC's historic Decatur House.
Some downsides to Tourism Whilst Fancy:
1. Blisters and crippling pain from trudging miles in heels, duh.
2. Lots of walking-in-sun-induced sweat glooping up our nice duds.
3. Catcalls.
4. No pockets in fancy dresses.
So there you have it. Our experiments hereby prove that if you want to spice up your tourism for a day or two during travel, throw on a fancy outfit! You’ll feel special, your photos will look good, and others may treat you as special, too! Just make sure to also pack some sneakers and shorts for the rest of your trip. 
Readers, chime in: what are YOUR experiences of the effects fashion choices have on how your travel day goes?
I once wore my crocs in Paris… what was I thinking!
Hehe
I’m sure I’ve done something similar, many times. Sometimes you gotta be comfy!
That’s a really good idea. I remember when I was in Florida… Everybody was dressed well and I was in some old clothes. Oh! And did you visit the Nando’s there? It’s one of the only ones in America.
What’s Nandos??
This was so much fun to read!
I try to combine bringing something comfy with something fancy. When I travel, I explore the dining scene and am bound to end up at a restaurant where shorts and sandals are probably not encouraged… Now, it doesn’t always have to mean dresses, but I am not a flip flop or gym shoes kinda gal. You can be comfy and stylish and that’s what I try to do on the road. 
Dressing nicely generally puts me in a good mood – combine that with travelling and I’m one super-happy person.
Love it!
I love your dress Ms. Marshall! it is so blue!
This is one reason I lug around jeans in my backpack. They can instantly pull you together. You never know when you might get invited somewhere nice. I am a firm believer that every backpacker should have one nice dress and a pair of jeans. They can get you into an exclusive club or help you crash that wedding. Also, I hate looking like a slob in airports.
Hah! Yes!
Jeans are perfect – you can dress them up or down. And I so agree about airports.
A very good post ! I always like to dress well when I travel,more casual smart than formal.I’ve noticed too that folks are a lot nicer too. While traveling in Slovenia I wore a dress with flat boots and it felt great.Heels are not for walking all day,they would be OK for dinner out on the town. It’s always a good idea to dress well without sacrificing comfort.Love dresses!
Have fun with the wedding planning,hope the both of you will continue to travel the world.
Sometimes, I see this as an east coast/west coast thing. Out west, the norm seems to be more comfortable & more casual. That seems to be the case no matter which US city west of the Mississippi I see. The east coast, on the other hand, seems more formal and proper. I noticed this mostly in Philadelphia, New York, and DC. I noticed it a little bit in Boston, but not quite as much as the previous cities. I also noticed it in parts of the south. When I went to a football game in Georgia, some of the men and most, if not all of the women were dressed up and proper at the tailgate parties AND at the game. Throughout our country’s history, these trends seem to have evolved in each region. Very interesting.
I am a judger. I am happy to admit it. I don’t believe Broadway shows are an appropriate time to be wearing the dirty, sweaty clothes you have been sight-seeing in all day (not to say I dress in formal gear, but I do wear a dress, or nice jeans and a pretty top).
I find for me I try and blend in at least a little with what the locals are wearing. Carrying a backpack and wearing running shoes is only going to make me stand out all the more. At the end of the day, people form opinions of you based on how you look, be that right or wrong, and if I can get treated nicer by dressing up just a tad, you can bet I will be doing just that!
I for one wish jazz clubs had a dress code. As much as I like wearing baseball hats when I go to a ballgame, there is no place for them at elegant music venues.
This post cracks me up! It is so, so true. When I was living out of a backpack I felt disorganized, not particularly well presented and, essentially, just like every backpacker on the planet. But I did pack one awesome dress and, yes, those photos came out the best. And every time I put it on I felt so much better. I may have been a hostel-dwelling bum but when I put one my one dress and my one pair of earrings it became just a little bit more bearable
Nice job telling it like it is!
Fashion emergency! I really liked this article haha. You guys were dressed really nice! Instead of heels, I would’ve worn a pair of comfy flats or gladiator shoes
. My mom told me to buy lots of sun dresses for Florida, I can see why now!
Weird!
I never knew people could judge you so much. Here in Boston most of the time people don’t care about the way I dress. Being the stuBborn person I am, I don’t think I would change my clothes for D.C.
See ya next year,
Mr. Griffin
Whether you’re traveling or not, I think that you should always dress to impress. When you look GOOD, you feel GOOD and that exudes a confidence that many people are attracted to.
Well, I try my best to dress nicely everyday. Whether you travel or are walking around your own city, when you look good, you feel good! You walk around with an air of confidence that everyone is attracted to, and even if your not the prettiest girl, all eyes are still on YOU. Haha, but I like the idea of exploring in formal wear. After junior prom, maybe I’ll take a stroll down the street…….
People shouldn’t judge others by the way they dress. Some people just dress sloppy because they don’t feel like putting effort into their day and besides they’re TOURIST on a VACATION. They dress sloppy to make them feel comfortable.
First–I love the blue dress!
Second–I love this post! When I travel I only wear dresses, and I wouldn’t do it any other way. On our Europe trip last summer, I packed five dresses (and a pair of bike shorts should I need to ride anything!) Zero pairs of pants. Plus, packing only dresses makes packing easier–no need to make sure everything coordinates, as a dress is an entire outfit! I just bought three more dresses today (VERY on sale) for our upcoming road trip.
I think it is important to look nice when out and about in the world. The only thing I don’t do is wear uncomfortable shoes. Dresses and sandals or comfortable boots–it’s the way to go. Though not having pockets is a bummer!
So true about not having pockets! In this case, the oversized purse came in handy. I was able to wear comfortable flats as we walked all over the city, but I had a pair of heels stashed in my purse to slip into for the wedding festivities.
Ever since I studied abroad my junior year in college in Europe, I am very aware of the clothes I wear every day! We Americans tend to favor comfort over fashion which I definitely noticed when I returned to New York after a year away. I now live in Spain and people here for the most part dress well (and mostly conservatively, you get gawked at if you wear shorts even though it’s over 100 degrees outside) I always try to pack cute clothes (not necessarily formal wear but nice casual wear) when I travel because I seriously don’t want just pictures of me in an ugly T-shirt and sneakers and jean shorts! That’s actually half the fun of planning to travel for me!
I agree with you. When you are travelling, what you wear is not as imporatant as knowing where to go!
WOW! That actually is a very smart idea! I think that when I go out of state I should dress fancy so that I will be treated better! I might even get discounts on things! But the downside is that if you dress fancy in Vietnam. People there will know that you aren’t from there and will make the prices higher than they usually are. That has happened to me before when I was over in Vietnam in 2008. People these days!
You’re so right about if you dress better you get treated better. Everyone’s nicer to you if you don’t look like a bum. (I’m not saying you ever look like a bum Ms.Marshall.
) Although, catcalls would be a deal breaker for this, but hey, you can have catcalls shouted at you by creepers in whatever your wearing.
In response to a number of queries coming in, the sculpture in the first photo is part of the New York Avenue Sculpture Project coordinated by the National Museum of Women in the Arts: http://www.nmwa.org/sculptureproject/ . Thanks, artists, for bringing color and fun to that street!
Washington DC sounds like a lot of fun:) My parents wanted to take me there for a family vaction, but i didn’t think it would be as fun as you make it seem ! Maybe i’ll go sometime.
We are going back to DC in July, and somehow I just don’t think I’ll be able to convince my wife to do this:) Then again, she might go for it which means I’d have to wear a suit in July! No way…
Wow! The picture of the white house seems alot smaller than what I thought would be. I thought that the front lawn would be alot bigger and the white house would be in the distance.
Good eye, Harry! In fact, that White House photo was taken on the back side of the White House. The rounded front and big lawn are on the other side, but the day we took a photo of that, we were wearing ratty clothing, so it wouldn’t fit with this article!
Lillie was clearly not listening to the security guard when he was telling us about the White House – we asked which side was the front, and he said there is no “front” or “back” to the White House but instead they are called the “North Entrance” and “South Entrance” because they wouldn’t want anyone important to think they were being taken in through the “back” entrance.
That is so true, because when you go somewhere new, the people over there dress differently! Whenever I travel, I usually do try to fit in and wear what the local people would wear such as fancy dresses that make a big fashion statement! Meg and you, look so gorgeous in DC.
Haha I LOVE this. I am a DC native (and owner of many, many sundresses) and despite our reputation of being “hollywood for ugly people” people really ARE quite fashionable, and it is definitely really easy to pick out the tourists. DC is one city where you could be wandering around in formal wear and people would absolutely assume you were headed to some lobbyist cocktail party or whatever- totally normal.
I am definitely going to try the dressed up travel idea somewhere this summer- maybe Boston. Can you imagine what would happen if you tried this somewhere on the backpacker trail in SE Asia?