Washington has never been known as a fashion mecca, but that doesn’t stop Rachel Cothran from seeking out evidence of style in the nation’s capital. Cothran writes popular blog Project Beltway, which stays on top of local fashion events and documents the clothing and accessory choices of stylish strangers she encounters on the street.
Why did you start Project Beltway?
I just straight-up didn’t think there were enough people talking about fashion and style in D.C. At that time (the blog launched in early 2007), very few people were writing about it at all. It seemed to me that there was a lot of opportunity there.
Why D.C., which isn’t exactly famous for its fashion?
D.C. is a really intellectual town and it’s never going to be about fashion for fashion’s sake. People here, especially women, really want to be considered first for their ideas and what they do for a living before they have someone think about what they’re wearing. And I think that’s very valuable and very interesting in its own right. Politics definitely defines style here. You can’t say that about any other city.
In which part of the city do you think you are most likely to see good style?
Gosh, that’s hard. I think good fashion is hard to define. I guess, as predictable as this sounds, Georgetown is probably the place. Only because on the weekends, you go there to shop but also to look at other people. People definitely go to kind of cruise, and people come from different parts of town to do that.
What element of D.C. fashion would you most like to see disappear?
Ill-fitting suits. Polyester, flopping-at-the-ankles suits! It’s kind of surprising because there are a lot of men here that wear a suit every day to work. You’d think that if you do that, they could invest in one or two that are beautifully made.
