Stayin' Sexy in the City

Ok, I'll admit it. I'm a country girl. I grew up in a small town with a population of 1,007, I have a southern accent (Aye thank that it sounds goo-ud!), and I have sung many renditions of "I'll Fly Away" from the top of a hay bale. I'm country and proud.

However, I now live near a major city, and I love it. I love riding the BART (although last time I did this, I hurt my ankle) and emerging on the other side of the bay, amongst the big buildings and the bustle. Every time I'm there, I wonder why I don't move and stay there forever. I hope that I never lose that country girl inside myself who finds it all so terribly interesting. Recently, however, I was talking with a friend about going over to the city, and she mentioned that she feels intimidated by it, and always wonders if the SF residents look down on her style. I hadn't really thought of this recently, but as soon as she said it, I remembered the first time I went to New York when I was a junior in high school. I was scared out of my mind, not about the typical big city worries that a smalltown girl might have ("Will I get mugged? Will I see someone unlike those people I normally see everyday?), but rather about what I was going to wear. I bought so many things for the trip, and then the whole time I was there, I was self-conscious about what I was wearing. Did I look like a bumpkin? Could they tell where I was from? Even after the trip, on the plane ride home, I was conscious of it--I remember making a list of what I would wear next time I visited the city, deciding that I would then opt for more black pants and a pair of black city boots (which is a staple of mine to this day).

So, in an attempt to keep others from suffering this sad fate, and forcing legions of unhappy suburban/country girls to feel unwelcome within the big buildings and bright lights of the city, I give you The Cult's Guide to Bein' Hot in the City. If you are a city dweller, you can stop reading now. Go eat some street meat, city chick. This is a guide for those of us who grew up around more cows than people, but who still want to spend some days getting our culture on (did I really just type that?).

1. Invest in a good pair of boots. They call em "city boots" for a reason. These boots are comfortable and durable, yet they look nice poking out of the bottom of your jeans. The best thing about these? You can invest now, and in five years, these will still look damn good. I had a great pair of black J.Crew boots, which actually looked a lot like these my freshman year in college. I wore them until they literally started falling apart. Now, I have a pointy toed pair with a thinner heel. Whatever the style, black city boots are the perfect choice because they protect your feet from whatever is lurking on the city streets, whether it be rain, sleet, snow or bum urine.

2. Stick with structured, crisp fabrics. You may love linen, but leave it at your organic farm. Nothing looks worse than someone getting off the BART in something that has wrinkled itself on the way over. A perfect outfit would a structured pair of jeans (ones with a bit of stretch made of a nice, thick denim), a top made of a substantial knit, and a structured jacket. Make sure that you're wearing things that will wear well throughout the day, and better yet can transition from a museum during the day to a restaurant at night (it helps to keep a bit of sparkly jewelry in your bag for this very reason). Also, this is probably not the time to wear white. Cities are dirty, and you don't want the remains of your burrito and the splashes of a puddle on your pants.

3. Make sure your bag is a neutral color, is large enough to carry all your shit, and doesn't weigh you down. A woman steps off of the bus--she's wearing nice black trousers, a jewel toned v-neck knit shirt, and a denim blazer. She looks great. Until you notice that she's caring a stained canvas bag in last season's colors from the Target clearance rack. Seriously, if you're going to be schlepping your stuff around all day, find something decent to put it in. You're going to go into restaurants, museums, shops, and that bag is going to be there. Don't let it give away that you're not a bonafide stylish woman from wherever, be it the city, the country, the East Bay, whatever.

4. Be comfortable in your clothes. If you're going to be pulling on your shirt all day, you're going to look the opposite of stylish, no matter how much your stuff cost or what pricey city boutique you bought it in. Make sure everything fits, and nothing chafes or imprints your skin with the red mark of illfitting death. Further, if it gives you a muffin top, don't wear it to the country, don't wear it to the city, don't wear it. I don't care if you're paying city rent and can't afford anything else, IT DON'T MATTER--get thine self to a Target or an H&M immediately. Bitch, please.

5. Turn on your Ipod when you walk, and honey, stomp it out like you're walking through hell in gasoline soaked pajamas. If you walk like a confident city dweller, you could be wearing a trash bag on your body and condoms on your feet (is it sad that that's the first thing that came to my mind?). I have a stripper mix on my Ipod (hey, bitches, I do strippercise...what of it?), and that's the first thing I turn on when I go to SF. It makes me feel confident, hot, and just a little bitchy.

And the boots help too.