Culture

Where formalwear meets flip-flops Thom Nickels August 15, 2025 August 14, 2025

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Philadelphia is basically a “dress down” kind of town, where it’s not unusual to see theater and concert-going patrons in casual clothes bordering on the “rustic.” By “rustic” I mean torn or split jeans, corduroys with holes or stains, or shirts that resemble lumber yard work frocks.

I sometimes think the dress down style here has something to do with the city’s Quaker heritage. The original Quakers liked “plainness” over ornate or showy materials. New Yorkers have often observed Philadelphia’s penchant for dress down attire, especially when it comes to theater audiences. A long time ago I remember reading a New Yor

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