Sometimes it's just a little too easy to pick on certain cities by regurgitating stereotypes for how its residents behave.
The clothes they wear and the items they buy are simple, data-supported ways to see if certain populations actually conform to the public's impression of them. With Christmas coming up, we can see exactly how some of America's major cities stack up against their stereotypes. True, or not true?
With help from the data crunchers at fashion site Polyvore, we looked at eight metropolises: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Atlanta, Miami and Dallas. Polyvore's proprietary data highlights what its fashionista members searched for throughout 2014. You can see pretty clearly that these major towns fall into line.
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Polyvore's main demographic tends to be younger, often college-age females who are on the cutting edge of fashion and style. It's not the average crowd but the trendsetters leading the way.
"It was interesting for us to see how larger, national trends—like the '90s movement and festival-inspired outfits—were translated by the Polyvore community within local markets," said Kym Lino, a Polyvore spokeswoman. Below are the most searched items, by city, for 2014. The nicknames for each city's shopping trends were coined by Polyvore's internal staff.
New York City -- "Boho Chic"
Nike dunks
Flower-crown headband
Gladiator sandal
High-waisted bikini
Chelsea boot
Fur vest
Ear cuff
Long-sleeve maxi dress
Denim overalls
Bustier top
Los Angeles -- " '90s Glam"
Flower crown
Ear-cuff jewelry
Creeper shoes
Floral kimono
Tulle skirt
Closed-toe sandals
Jelly sandals
Thigh-high socks
Harem pants
Body chain jewelry
Chicago -- "Cold Weather Prep"
Anorak jacket
Camo pants
Chain belt
Denim dress
Down coats
Fur vest
Thigh-high boots
Smoking slipper
Canvas backpack
Combat boots
Philadelphia -- "Urban Trendsetter"
Jelly sandals
Red-plaid pants
Sequin romper
Denim jumpsuit
High-waisted jeans
Flower crown
Camo pants
White maxi dress
Platform sneakers
Cropped hoodie
San Francisco -- "Modern Hippie"
Tulle skirt
Flare jean
Gingham shirt
Fur vest
Nude wedges
Jelly sandals
Coral dress
Flower crown
Jeffrey Campbell wedges
Wide-brim hats
Atlanta -- "Southern Belle Quirky"
Palazzo pants
Shirt dress
White jumpsuit
Furla candy bag
Pushup bikini
Backless dress
Calf-hair shoes
Lace crop tops
Cowboy boots
Monokini
Miami -- "Spicy and Bold Fashion Statements"
Zebra handbags
Denim pencil skirt
Plunging neckline jumpsuit
Gold shoes
Striped one-piece swimsuit
Valentino Rockstud shoes
Wedge sneaker
Skull rings
Square-frame sunglasses
Neon dress
Dallas/Fort Worth -- "Down-South Fab"
High-waisted bikini
Trapeze dress
High-waisted jean-shorts
Bandage dress
Bustier dress
High-waisted jeans
Georgette dress
Sequin skirt
Oxford shoes
Peep toe booties
Remember that this information shows the most searched-for items, not necessarily the most-purchased.
Lino said that searches from Chicago and Atlanta "were particularly amusing." She said that "Atlanta is known to be a very fashion-forward town so seeing searches for more trendy items was to be expected—but Furla Candy Bags making the top 5 list was certainly a quirky addition." (For those who aren't fashion savvy, the Furla Candy Bag is a luxury Italian handbag made from extremely colorful PVC.)
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It was unexpected from Atlanta "because the rest of the items were really connected to national trends, without naming a specific designer or brand," but the Furla bag was "one of the only items searched by name across all our localized searches," and it did not show up in any other market outside Atlanta.
And the Windy City lived up to its name, "where the intense winter this year translated into two different coats making their top-searched list." Yes, Chicago is cold—the most obvious stereotype coming true and being proved by the data.
