Welcome to New England, where people dress like it’s nobody’s business … because it is nobody’s business. Fashion for Compliments Traditional fisherman’s garb is based on those ceramic figurines sold in every tourist shop from Biddeford to Bar Harbor. A pipe and beard are considered de rigueur accessories, although many female fisherfolk omit the pipe. […]
Welcome to New England, where people dress like it’s nobody’s business … because it is nobody’s business. Photo Credit : Mark BrewerFashion for Compliments
Traditional fisherman’s garb is based on those ceramic figurines sold in every tourist shop from Biddeford to Bar Harbor. A pipe and beard are considered de rigueur accessories, although many female fisherfolk omit the pipe.
Whole Lotta Flannel Going On
Flannel is to New England what the tomato is to Italy—we’ll use it with anything. As if to prove the point, witness this stunning outfit, worn by confirmed bachelor Albert Fleemish and guaranteed to fend off all but the most desperate of husband hunters.
From Away
This look combines a 100% organic-cotton turtleneck in earth tones, non-GMO-certified lined overalls, and a Fair Trade boiled-wool jacket, all made from environmentally conscious materials and purchased through chichi catalogues. Year-round Yankees will wait to pick them up at the thrift shop after the summer folks go home.
The Constant Gardener
Sarah Achenbach sports the classic gardener’s outfit with a few special touches: a straw hat the size of a manhole cover, No Pest Strip earrings, and knee pads made from the tires off her husband’s old tractor—his 50th-wedding-anniversary gift to her. This is the perfect outfit for New England’s growing season (roughly noon to 4 p.m. on July 17).
A Many- Layered Thing
Standard attire in winter, the foundation for this classic look is a pair of moisture-wicking high-tech longjohns that cost more than your first house. To that, add wool socks, a fleece top, sweatpants, snowmobile boots, two sweaters, a windbreaker, a wool overcoat, a knit cap, and a scarf to hold the whole thing together. A very practical outfit, though it can make mobility difficult, and you don’t want to drink a lot of coffee before suiting up.
Rummage Sale Regalia
This eclectic ensemble combines all the wearer’s favorite purchases from the annual rummage sale. Here we see a beaded blue cardigan sweater over an orange ruffled blouse, purple gaucho pants, and white patent-leather boots, topped off with a pink boa. The total cost for this outfit was less than the meatloaf special at the diner, a fact that the wearer is understandably proud of. (Note that in other parts of the country being cheap is not considered a virtue, if you can imagine.)
Swap Shop Collection
Here’s a casual look perfect for Saturday- morning scrounging at the dump: faded dungarees, a NASCAR hat, and a sweatshirt with a stunning bald-eagle appliqué. Add a camo jacket for extra versatility, not to mention a place to hold your bug spray, moose call, and other essentials. Available in men’s and women’s sizes.
The Mad Dash
Also known as the “I’m Just Running to the Mailbox and No One Will See Me,” this daring look builds upon a lovely floral-print housecoat, a classic chenille bathrobe— complete with those little nubs that indicate authenticity—and an army–navy parka coordinated with a matching pair of unlaced combat boots. For more formal affairs, such as going to the market, lace up the boots.
Fine Aged Fashion
Here’s Homer Smidley, wearing the one suit he has ever owned, the one he was married in, wears to church every Sunday, and plans to be buried in. A typical Yankee, Homer understands that clothes, like fine wine and gourmet cheese, become better with age, generally taking at least 20 years to achieve that timeless quality that outlives passing fashion trends. Note the worn spots, moth holes, and loose threads—sure signs of a well-aged garment and not a knock-off reproduction.
The Classic New Englander
Here’s the classic outfit for the man with delusions of farming, even if the closest he’s even been to a barnyard is a box of animal crackers: baseball cap (preferably with a truck-company logo), a plaid flannel or chamois shirt with suspenders, tan chinos, and well-worn L.L. Bean boots. (Only people from away wear new boots in public.) Top it off with a barn coat, the little black dress of New England fashion. Barn optional.
The layering! My husband and I moved out here during Winter two years ago from the wet Pac Northwest. My parents are both from New England and before I left my father,who is also a hunter, decided to take me to the most fashionable place he knows to get some warm Winter gear : Cabela’s.
We went into the store and my father pulled out a list and just started directing me as to what to get and he and my mother explained to me why I’d need each piece and how to layer and wear them properly to keep warm. My mom, the New England penny pincher, after awhile kept asking “Are you sure she needs all this?” and my Dad kept saying “Yes! She has no idea what she’s getting into!”. The FIRST THING he grabbed for me was a very pricey pair of Under Armor moisture wicking long john type layering pieces! My mother was shocked at the price but my Dad kept saying I would need it. He also purchased for me a down vest, down layering coat, a down hooded coat,thermal heat dot hat and gloves and then once I was living out here another down coat that was long.
Per the fancy Under Armor: they ended up being,and are, one of the BEST things I’ve ever worn to keep warm! They are ultra thin and don’t add any bulk to my frame ,meaning I don’t look like Ralphie’s little brother in the movie “A Christmas Story”,and they wick away moisture perfectly. I have thanked my parents for these gifts, especially my father, many times since we’ve been out here. The past two winters out here were brutal (Polar Vortex and NH Power Outage 2014!) and I had to learn quickly about how to keep warm, driving in harsh weather, having pack an appropriate New England cold emergency kit for both house and car,etc..
So,yes, I can agree and now say from experience New Englanders might not be the most on point fashion wise but they are the most warm. My New England parents taught me that fashion goes out the window when the weather gets severe and I’ve learned it’s true!
Hi, my dad was from New England but was from frugal Swedish immigrant parents, as was my mom. So that meant that you didn’t throw anything away till the holes get big enough for the wind to blow through. We went to CT every summer for a visit with the cousins and to the beach. Saw a lot of these folks in the cartoon. My aunt, dad’s sister was a yard sale junkie, but had a good eye for a bargain in cut glass and china being thrown out by unknowing surviving children.
Now I live in MN and the outfitting described by the previous writer – Stacy – fits a MN winter just fine. Minnesotan’s go out, no matter the weather. So if you are at a fine church concert or other venue on a Sunday afternoon, no one is ‘dressed up’ like we did in New York when I was a kid. They are all in the ‘Many layered thing’ style. Because, of course, they are also going ‘to the cabin, up north’ after the concert for a day or two to get real MN weather and fish through the ice.
LOL… I have been dressed like every one of these “models” at one time or another over the years!
The layering! My husband and I moved out here during Winter two years ago from the wet Pac Northwest. My parents are both from New England and before I left my father,who is also a hunter, decided to take me to the most fashionable place he knows to get some warm Winter gear : Cabela’s.
We went into the store and my father pulled out a list and just started directing me as to what to get and he and my mother explained to me why I’d need each piece and how to layer and wear them properly to keep warm. My mom, the New England penny pincher, after awhile kept asking “Are you sure she needs all this?” and my Dad kept saying “Yes! She has no idea what she’s getting into!”. The FIRST THING he grabbed for me was a very pricey pair of Under Armor moisture wicking long john type layering pieces! My mother was shocked at the price but my Dad kept saying I would need it. He also purchased for me a down vest, down layering coat, a down hooded coat,thermal heat dot hat and gloves and then once I was living out here another down coat that was long.
Per the fancy Under Armor: they ended up being,and are, one of the BEST things I’ve ever worn to keep warm! They are ultra thin and don’t add any bulk to my frame ,meaning I don’t look like Ralphie’s little brother in the movie “A Christmas Story”,and they wick away moisture perfectly. I have thanked my parents for these gifts, especially my father, many times since we’ve been out here. The past two winters out here were brutal (Polar Vortex and NH Power Outage 2014!) and I had to learn quickly about how to keep warm, driving in harsh weather, having pack an appropriate New England cold emergency kit for both house and car,etc..
So,yes, I can agree and now say from experience New Englanders might not be the most on point fashion wise but they are the most warm. My New England parents taught me that fashion goes out the window when the weather gets severe and I’ve learned it’s true!
Hi, my dad was from New England but was from frugal Swedish immigrant parents, as was my mom. So that meant that you didn’t throw anything away till the holes get big enough for the wind to blow through. We went to CT every summer for a visit with the cousins and to the beach. Saw a lot of these folks in the cartoon. My aunt, dad’s sister was a yard sale junkie, but had a good eye for a bargain in cut glass and china being thrown out by unknowing surviving children.
Now I live in MN and the outfitting described by the previous writer – Stacy – fits a MN winter just fine. Minnesotan’s go out, no matter the weather. So if you are at a fine church concert or other venue on a Sunday afternoon, no one is ‘dressed up’ like we did in New York when I was a kid. They are all in the ‘Many layered thing’ style. Because, of course, they are also going ‘to the cabin, up north’ after the concert for a day or two to get real MN weather and fish through the ice.