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The United States is the leading country in the fashion design industry, followed by France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan. Apart from professional business attire, American fashion is eclectic and predominantly informal. While Americans’ diverse cultural roots are reflected in their clothing, particularly those of recent immigrants, cowboy hats, boots, jeans, and leather motorcycle jackets are emblematic of specifically American styles.

New York City, and to a lesser extent Los Angeles, are the centers of America’s fashion industry. They are considered leading fashion capitals. New York City is considered to be one of the “big four” global fashion capitals, along with Paris, Milan, and London. A study demonstrated that general proximity to Manhattan’s Garment District was important to participate in the American fashion ecosystem.

A new trend in the United States towards sustainable clothing has led to the emergence of organic cotton T-shirts from labels such as BeGood Clothing. New York Fashion Week is also one of the most influential fashion weeks in the world, and occurs twice a year.Dress norms in the United States are generally consistent with those of post-industrial Western nations and have become largely informal since the mid-20th century. 

Clothing in the United States also depends on a variety of factors including location, climate, venue, and demographic factors such as ethnicity. Jeans are a consistent fashion trend among all classes, with variations being vast in both price and style.The western states are commonly noted for being more informal in their manner of dress than those on the Atlantic seaboard. Conspicuous consumption and a desire for quality have also led to a strong preference for designer label clothing among many in the middle and upper classes.

The tolerance of body expression that deviates from the mainstream, such as complete body tattoos or nudism, is strongly linked to the sub-culture and location in which an individual may find themself. The tolerance shown for personal expression such as cross-dressing and piercings varies greatly with location and sub-culture, and may be completely appropriate in one venue while being taboo in another.New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami are known for their fashion and cosmetics markets. Smaller, but nonetheless prominent fashion destinations include Boston, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., as well as Aspen, Charleston, Las Vegas, Seattle, Portland, and Atlanta.

Some cities and regions specialize in certain areas of fashion. For example, Miami for swimwear, Boston and the general New England area for formal menswear, Los Angeles for casual attire and womenswear, and cities like Seattle and Portland for eco-conscious fashion. Chicago is known for its sportswear, and is the premier fashion destination in the middle American market. 

Dallas, Houston, Austin, Nashville, and Atlanta are big markets for the fast fashion and cosmetics industries, alongside having their own distinct fashion sense that mainly incorporates cowboy boots and workwear, greater usage of makeup, lighter colors and pastels.

 

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