Transitioning Your Wardrobe From West Coast to East Coast

Moving from one coast to another? Here’s how to update your wardrobe (either way!).

In my exploration of Ivy League style, I mentioned how I’ve transitioned from the West Coast to the East and back again—many times. 

I grew up in West LA, visiting Connecticut (where my parents are from) every year for camp and holidays.

I attended college in Boston, moved back to LA after graduation, went back to Boston for graduate school, went back to LA for work, and then to Boston again to finish my thesis, eventually landing in New York City. Whew.

en now, I go back to LA about once a month.Moreover, I grew up with staunch Yankee parents. My mother, a Yale legacy and DAR member, simply didn’t want to raise her family in Beverly Hills. So, I’ve always been mindful of different coastal mores.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Karlton Miko Tyack (@karltonmikotyack)

Here’s everything I learned about transitioning your wardrobe from one coast to another, practically and culturally.

First and Foremost: The Weather

This is obviously the biggest difference between the two coasts. The East Coast has definable seasons, while the West Coast isn’t as varied. 

But here’s something I learned early on, visiting New England and the Mid-Atlantic often, growing up: Not all winters are made alike. Boston winters are not the same as New York winters.

Since large swings in temperature have the most bearing when selecting your clothing, let’s start exploring your winter wardrobe. 

Winter Wardrobe

On both coasts, precipitation is more, let’s say, enthusiastic up north. For example, it rains more in Seattle than it does in LA, and it snows more in Boston than it does in NYC.

So, while you’ll likely be acquiring new jackets when transitioning from the West Coast to the East Coast, you’ll be using your heavy-duty coats and boots more in New England than in the Mid-Atlantic and even less as you get closer to the DC area.

If you’re going from east to west, you might be ditching your snow boots, but keep your rain jackets and any clothes made from water-resistant fabrics. They’ll sit closer to the back of your closet if you live in San Diego and nearer to the front if you’re in San Francisco. However, it rains everywhere.

Here’s a funny quirk about LA. We have something called May gray and June gloom. It’s our version of winter. On these days, you might need a light jacket or an extra layer on your person. A cardigan or pullover will do.

Here are some quick wardrobe tips when transitioning from coast to coast during the winter.

West Coast to East Coast:

• Invest in a heavy-duty winter jacket. Consider a performance-forward one, like a down stadium coat, for the coldest days, and a professional-looking one, like an insulated wool topcoat, for formal occasions.
  
• Buy gloves, scarves, and winter hats. Cashmere is a great material that insulates, doesn’t add weight, and looks elegant. Cashmere scarves and earmuffs pair beautifully with dressier outfits and won’t ruin your hair on those days you achieve the perfect coiffe.
  
• Start wearing base layers. Long thermal underwear is a must during Boston winters and even more of a necessity as you move further north. I don’t need them as often here in New York, but I’ll bust them out a good five to six days per year on average.
  
• Winter shoes mean two things: They have to be insulated, and they have to be able to handle wet or snowy terrain. Again, the further north you go, the brawnier you want your snow boots to be.

From East Coast to West Coast:

• Keep all of your rain gear: Umbrellas, rain boots, and water-resistant clothes and outerwear. This is especially important if you’re moving to the northwest.
  
• Keep your lighter outerwear like Harringtons, quilted vests, and trucker jackets. LA has hit the mid-40s a few times this year, and layers are your friend.
  
• Keep at least one set of winter outerwear: Jacket, gloves, hat, and scarf. Once you start making friends in a place like LA, you’ll notice many of us like to head to the mountains for skiing or just to get away.

Summer Wardrobe

The main difference between summers on both coasts is how incredibly hot it feels on the East Coast. Still, it’s not as consequential as the differences between the cold seasons since, well, there are only so many garments you can take off in polite society.

The two main things to remember are the extreme humidity on the East Coast and the aforementioned June gloom and May gray in LA.

This happens in LA because the air right above the ocean gets cool and then dissipates into the clouds. This makes it gray and cold (for SoCal standards).

Oh, the LA area also gets wildfires, but there’s nothing you can wear to protect you from that. Just run.

Now, if you’re moving from the West Coast to the East, it’s important to keep any UPF-rated clothes to protect you from the sun. Since there’s more humidity, you want looser-fit, quick-drying pieces with some performance quality.

So, while a nicely-fitting cotton shirt is great for a July day in San Diego, you’ll want something more like a flowy, light Merino short-sleeve button-up in DC. Airflow is key to comfort.Other moisture-wicking materials include nylon and polyester.

If you’re used to doing your morning run at Runyon Canyon but now have to do it in Central Park, look for workout clothes that promote airflow and evaporation and utilize mesh or vents.

For summer showers, buy a light, waterproof rain jacket. It should serve as a protective layer, not one that insulates. 

A baseball cap provides OK shade, but a sun hat with a brim that goes all the way around is even better.

And of course, you should shield yourself from the sun with sunglasses and hats on both coasts. On the East Coast, a light straw hat provides both protection from the rays, as well as ventilation. And it looks way more classic than a baseball cap.

Cultural Differences Between the Coasts (From a Fashion Perspective)

There’s a lot of nuance here, even within a single city itself. There are usually sartorial differences between, say, a guy who lives on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and is a VP at a big art auction house versus a guy who lives in Bushwick and is an artist himself. 

In LA, the entertainment lawyer living in West Hollywood might dress differently than the screenwriter in Echo Park. 

Heck, the finance guy on Wall Street might have different fashion leanings than the finance guy in Beverly Hills.

But, in general, West Coast fashion is more casual than East Coast fashion. Part of this has to do with history, and partly, it’s because of the weather.

This is most overtly manifested in the fact there are more restaurants with jacket requirements in New York and Boston compared to LA or San Francisco. And I’m not just talking about the fancy joints, either.

Since East Coast cities are older, they have more historical establishments that, despite not flaunting several dollar signs on Yelp, have maintained a more formal air.

And, of course, warmer climates call for looser clothes. Relatedly, seasons create more need for order and thoughtful schedules throughout the year. So, you’ll see people on the East Coast just naturally sticking to seasonal palettes throughout the year.

I’m sure part of this also has to do with the fact that fashion designers often make practical seasonal pieces in these very color palettes.Autumnal colors are darker with hints of bright, warm hues, while winter colors are starkly dark with occasional winter whites.

Summer colors are brighter, and spring incorporates floral colors.

If you live in a place with no seasons, you’re not always naturally, mindlessly incorporating these palettes seasonally because you aren’t making dramatic changes to your wardrobe throughout the year anyway.

Accommodating Your Personal Style Per Coast

Something you might want to ask yourself is how much do you want to fit in generally? 

In the age of Fashion Tok, style influencers, and Pinterest boards, a lot of people are clued into different personal styles, even if they don’t see it that often where they live. As long as you’re abiding by dress codes, you’ll never really shock anyone with how other-coastal your look is.

But, if you were a t-shirt-and-jeans guy in LA, maybe you just want to reformat that look into a t-shirt and chinos in New York. Or perhaps a collared button-down and jeans. Or not. 

Especially in a place like New York, you see all sorts, from the highly traditional, New-England-esque uptowners to the experimental fashion-with-a-capital-F industry guys — exaggerated comparison for effect.

What’s more important is if you’re moving from one coast to another and also switching industries. Again, for effect, here’s a black-and-white hypothetical: Let’s say you worked in a tech company in Silicon Valley but are moving to New York to work on Wall Street.

On the West Coast, you probably got away with t-shirts and jeans at the office. Maybe you wore a tieless broken suit for important client meetings. 

On the East Coast, in this extreme example, you’ll likely be wearing a full suit. Even in the most casual finance companies in New York, you’ll likely be wearing some variation of a suit, whether it’s broken, tieless, or even with leather sneakers on casual Friday. 

Different Social Calendars

Another way climate creates cultural differences between the two coasts is how different the social calendars end up being because of the weather.

On the East Coast, there are better times to travel. Perhaps you’re trying to get away from negative temperatures during February. Maybe the sweltering city heat in August prompts you to spend the rest of summer renting a house closer to the ocean.

Something I noticed that’s really unique to New York is how the social calendars in all represented industries accommodate this reality. Boston is similar to a lesser extent.

It’s almost like a school year. Autumn is when the city kicks up again. People are coming back from holiday, so the fashion industry hosts NY Fashion Week during this period. 

The art world wakes up again, too, with all of the marquee auctions happening. Football is back, so agents and marketers are hosting their events, too.

It’s a generally more formal time, fashion-wise. Suits in navy, black, gray, and even brown, quilted vests over button-ups, darker jeans, and boots — you get the idea.

Then, in December, people flee to warmer places (after admiring New York during Christmas time because it’s incomparable, of course). This is why Art Basel Miami happens during this time.

Then, everything starts back up again in spring, a brighter, more floral-friendly version of the fashion formality seen during the fall. Lighter suits, loafers, and, if you’re so inclined, pastel accessories in the form of ties, socks, or pocket squares are all common.

Then, people head to the Hamptons, or Europe, or wherever they holiday in summer. It’s a more casual time for fashion, even for those who stay in the city, because there are so few people left to dress up for.

Again, this is New York-specific, but it certainly reverberates throughout the coast. New York is just the most obvious, high-energy version of it.

The West Coast doesn’t necessarily have to create such a formatted social schedule and, therefore, doesn’t necessarily have a formal dress code based on seasons.

Final Thoughts: Coastal Style

One thing both coasts have in common is their proximity to water. This is where we start to see more similarities in fashion than differences. But there are still nuances. 

Men on both coasts can sport a nautical-inspired look (even if subtly, like when I wear a dive watch with my suit or when I wear my button-down with a pattern of small boat anchors on it). We both can pull off a fisherman’s sweater and who doesn’t love any piece of outerwear made from waxed sailcloth?

Sure, you might see an Angeleno laying on a beach towel soaking rays, while a New Yorker might be paddle-boarding on the ocean —  flip-flops on the former; leather boat shoes on the latter, and graphic swim shorts with a palm motif versus form-fitting madras.

But ultimately, weather aside, you don’t have to change who you are sartorially when you move coasts. However, moving is a good opportunity to try new things. No style is fully exclusive to one coast or the other!

Have you transitioned from one coast to another? Do you have a preference? Let me know in the comments!