When I left for my honeymoon two years ago, I remember looking at my husband and saying, “I can’t wait to see how people dress in Croatia!” The answer was—kind of to my disappointment—the same as us. As it turned out, people in Croatia were looking at the same internet as I was, and the personal style didn’t seem all that different to me. Once I realized it, it seemed so obvious that I felt a little silly for being so excited.
But! But but but. I think my assessment was too quick. In fact, I think I was wrong. There were subtle differences in what people were wearing, and they changed depending on where we traveled in the country. I just didn’t know exactly how to look for them. Like regional slang—if getting dressed is its own kind of language, maybe it took actually being from a place to understand the nuance of it all.
I thought of this recently when packing for a wedding weekend in Texas. We would be staying for a couple of extra days, with no concrete plans, so I couldn’t revert to my usual M.O.: planning every single outfit ahead of time. I would instead be packing with some flexibility in mind. And I would have to prepare for extreme heat, a lot of walking, and generally a lot of time outdoors in the Lone Star State.
As it happens, I am from Texas! It’s something I don’t advertise much, partially because I identify more with my heritage—which is pretty mixed, but majority Black and Creole, my family hailing from New Orleans and Baton Rouge by way of a million other places—than I do with the geography of my birthplace. But I am Texan, and, even after 16 years away, I still have my little tells: my specific barbecue order (baked potato, loaded, with brisket on top); the campfire songs I will happily sing you from my summer camp on the Guadalupe River; my genuine surprise when we manage to drive across an entire state on the East Coast in 4 hours (or less!); the one pair of 20-year-old riding boots still in our coat closet. So I started to wonder, as I was packing for our trip—was my (secret) inner Texas girl affecting how I would dress to return to the mothership?
In New York, I dress for versatility, comfort, and personal expression. I need my clothes (and my shoes!) to wear well all day, and I want whatever I am wearing to feel intentional and authentic enough to me that I will feel confident in a dance studio or a theater or a hip restaurant or an unplanned meeting. When I visit my husband’s family in California, I pack for chilly sunshine (Northern Cal, though beautiful, is always cold to me) and laid-back vibes—nothing too fussy or overworked.
As it turns out, my Texas suitcase has its own bent. It’s…a little sweeter? (This kind of makes me want to VOM, but I think it’s true.) A little simpler? Potentially a little brighter (I love color in any city, but I feel particularly unafraid to wear bright colors in Texas). And, importantly/as I mentioned above, specifically geared for extreme heat. But! The swing between a 97-degree day outside and a building air-conditioned to a chilly 65 would require at least one (light) layer.
Obviously I did some documentation of the contents of my suitcase *in action* for Costume Change, so you can decide for yourself if I was dressing differently, or if it’s all in my head. I added some thoughts on how New York me would normally wear these clothes in the captions, so that you can have all the data as we conduct this visual experiment. So! For your assessment—and, if I may, your viewing pleasure—here’s everything I wore for our long weekend away in Austin, TX:
For traveling:
Here I am, fresh off the plane! Don’t I look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed?! Key elements include this white oxford shirt, my one layer for the weekend (a bold move on my part?), and my sun hat, which I committed to wearing on the plane once I decided to bring it along. [Ed Note: my sister has had great success traveling with her hats via something along these lines; thanks for the rec Neens!] The shirt and hat are the only reason for me to include this photo in the lineup—you’ll be seeing them both again. Otherwise this look is not giving NY or TX. It is giving basic. (Lol. Still loving these pants though).
Day 1:
Look at me trying to take outfit pics in this cute lil’ wavy mirror?! Lol. We stayed with some family friends for our first night and full day in Austin, and this was essentially the vibe. An accidental color palette?! I threw the dress and my oxford shirt on to go to lunch. The shirt was completely unnecessary outside, but no one loves that AC more than TX!
Day 2:
Checked into our hotel this morning. I decided to keep this giant a$$ tote out of luggage storage (our room wasn’t ready yet), and I instantly regretted it. I then made it up to myself by eating three breakfasts. Also I got this skort (it has shorts inside!) on a trip to Italy in 2016, which means we will be celebrating our 8th summer together this year, which is almost as long as I have been dating my now-husband. Just to stress that I am in a serious, committed relationship with my skort. (And my husband.)
Later that night/at the rehearsal dinner:
Monochrome moment (such a nice warm brown!), plus the addition of a bright lip (and a margarita). The tree branch making an appearance in the left photo is 200+ years old!
Day 3/pre-festivities:
Here’s a picture of a girl overheating, followed by one of a girl about to remedy that situation! (No New York notes here, except for this is the equivalent of what I would wear to run across the street to the deli…potentially a topic for its own newsletter…)
The wedding look:
The invite said bright colors encouraged, and I said yes ma’am! Very fun dress = very fun wedding. And speaking of FUN, a brief pause in the Yancy-themed content to shout out these two—
—who tricked me into staying out until 3 AM at C Boys Heart & Soul, the location of our after-party hang. Sam and Rosie are serving some fashion inspiration of their own, says me!
Day 4:
I typically wear this as a dress-dress in summer (cheeky!), but on this day her main role was as pool coverup, because it was too hot to do anything besides stand in water. That being said, standing in water/sunshine is pretty great. (You are understanding though the necessity of traveling-with-hat?)
That eve:
So much purple on this trip! Who knew? But here I am, very sun-tired, and about to order an XL pizza on accident. Pizza math is hard after six hours in the sun.
And, le fin:
These were taken on the same day, but two hours apart. The photo on the left is from when we snuck out for a quick coffee before packing up and, IMO, this is giving New York Yance. But that girl on the right, packed and ready (and about to store ALL of her luggage this time; we are capable of growth!)—she could have a twang, I’d believe it. And that girl spent a-whole-nother day in Texas, so there you have it! (Shout out to our cousins Trish and Keeley for the final Austin hang-time <3.)
What do you think, is there a Texas bent, or am I making this up? The thing is, these are all my clothes! I didn’t buy anything new for this trip. Is it just the addition of a hat? And the occasional oxford shirt? Which would make a pretty strong argument for the power of accessories, pointing towards the literal infinite possibilities offered by a full closet, if swapping in a few pieces can make such a big difference. ANYHOO, maybe dress like you’re going on a trip this week? Channel your inner cowboy? Or camp counselor? Or tomato-growing grandma? Let me know how it goes xx.
Costume Change is a styling newsletter (vs. a shopping newsletter). There’s no spon-con above—any references to clothing/shoes/shops, etc. are purely honest-to-goodness recommendations. As always, I hope that Costume Change first and foremost provides you with inspiration to re-style inside of your own closet. Thanks for reading, and reminder to keep those comments kind!
Loved the looks and the letter!!!
texas (austin) is DEFINITELY preppier!!