The old knock on Seattle’s sartorial habits goes something like this: Can you believe people in this town wear Gore-Tex and hiking shoes to the opera?

But a funny thing happened recently on the way to McCaw Hall. Apparel built to withstand even the harsh elements of the Pacific Northwest is increasingly flirting with the fashion mainstream.

Tastemakers in Milan don Filson jackets. Approach shoes suited for a North Cascades climb are carrying Brooklyn hipsters to work. Global fashion and apparel brands from Tokyo and Zurich are coming to Seattle to work with REI. Clothing lines born in Washington have rabid followings in the Japanese market, which seems to covet all things Pacific Northwest. (Though Portland, rather than Seattle, is becoming the outdoor-clothing-and-footwear epicenter for

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