How Southern Women Really Dress: Not All Southern Women Wear Plaid

Southern Style

Project Runway is one of my favorite shows. I love watching the different designers compete against one another, and most of all, I love to see the beautiful fashions that they design for the runway. One of the season 12 episodes, they hosted a competition where they had to design a look for the modern southern woman. Ken Laurence, one of the competitors who was from Alabama, tried to tell the other competitors and the world that Southern women don’t just wear plaid. He stated that this was a stereotype. They did not listen. He did not win the competition. Other designers who cast us Southern gals in plaid won. Ken Laurence eventually lost and life moved on. End of story. Not so!

Ken Laurence was right. We don’t live in plaid. We are not the country hicks that people think we are. Yes, we enjoy beautiful fashions. No, we don’t wear a lot of couture outfits. It is true. We are somewhat conservative as a whole. But, we do like to wear modern styles and flaunt our stuff. So, for those of you who really want to know what southern style is, here it goes.

 

We like to wear our white dresses and skirts in the summer. We love bold colors just like everyone else. And, we do appreciate designer clothes and accessories.

I confess. I love classy designers like Isaac Mizrahi and Joan Rivers. I am a sucker for Dooney and Bourke purses. I confess. I do shop Avon and consignment shops. I don’t wear the big straw hats during the summer, but I do love to throw on a big, hat for Sundays. I love leather. This includes leather jackets, leather pants, and skirts. And, trust me. I melt when I can find it on sale.

My mother is definitely a fashionsista. You can’t beat her dressing. It doesn’t matter whether she is dressing for church, going to a quick brunch, or heading off to work in a pair of scrubs.

Okay, so I have thrown on a plaid shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and some cowboy boots. But, this is not an everyday occurrence. So, for those of you who do fashion or who make reality shows about fashion, don’t think just because we live in the South that we only like plaid. We don’t. We love a wide variety of styles and colors. No, we may not dress like Olivia Pope from ABC’s Scandal or walk like Naomi Campbell. Take a look at Kim from Kim of Queens. She is from Georgia, and she dresses like a modern southern woman.