<p>Hi everyone. I was recently reading a post that referred to Stanford as being "too Californian," which they ultimately described as "unrefined." Do people actually view Californians that way? Admittedly, the typical clothing at my school is yoga pants, sweats, uggs, flip flops, leggings (leggings are always pants), sweatshirts, etc. I mean, yes people do dress nicer as well, but all of the things I mentioned are pretty much staples. Dresses and skirts are rare, khakis and polos almost unheard of. So, I suppose my question is: is there a large negative stereotype around Californians in other regions?</p>
<p>If I must indulge the stereotype game for a minute, “Stanford is too Californian” sounds like something a snooty New England snob would say, and I would retort that Stanford is the intellectual leader of the most intelligent and entrepreneurial place in the world (Silicon Valley), which beats being surrounded by trust fund babies who have been groomed their whole lives and who have nothing better to do with their time than to judge people by the clothing they wear.</p>
<p>Now, the typical clothing you describe at your school is also a perfect description of student fashion at UCLA, so there is some truth to that, I guess.</p>
<p>I’m from California and attended school in Georgia and Oklahoma. I’ve heard that we smoke massive quantities of weed, can’t handle the cold (definitely true of Southern Californians), all vote democrat, wear flip flops, can all surf, are good at driving in traffic, and are either blonde or from Mexico. Dumb, but whatever. Other states are seen in far worse light than California. </p>
<p>When we moved from California to Oregon, one of the first pieces of advice we got was to get an Oregon license plate due to general attitude around here toward California drivers…</p>
<p>Well, I don’t smoke weed, can’t handle the cold, vote Democrat (or will), wear flip flops (who doesn’t in the summer?), can in no way surf (that might go back to my inability to handle the cold in Bay Area waters), hate driving in traffic, and am very blonde (although naturally so) and very not from Mexico. So I suppose I fit about half of the California stereotypes.</p>
<p>I’m a Californian who has travelled all over the US and it seems that people think all Californians are all blond haired surfers that live on the beach and say “dude” all the time. Personally, I’m the complete opposite of these stereotypes…</p>
<p>Have you ever seen the SNL skit, “The Californians”? It’s written by people from New York in the style of a soap opera and the characters are constantly giving directions…</p>
<p>EX: </p>
<p>"I said go home! Get back on San Vicente, take it to the 10 and switch over to the 405 north and let it dump you out to Mulholland where you belong! </p>
<p>Just don’t say “hella” cool, or “hella NorCal” or the eye rolling will be justified. </p>
<p>California is too diverse for anyone here to come up with any meaningful stereotypes regarding it or the people there.</p>
<p>Mostly, I just think of it as being warmer than here.</p>
<p>Yea there are stereotypes, but those regions are just jealous of our diversity and warm weather 
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<p>You could just as well be describing my daughter’s high school. Since she is also blonde, I guess she’d fit in just fine in California…even though she comes from Wisconsin and can handle the cold. :}</p>
<p>sounds like something a snooty New England snob would say
Well, talk about stereotypes!
In high school, I read gals attend UCLA classes in bikinis. This sort of stuff is nuts and thinking folks don’t take it seriously. When I moved to CA, ages ago, Joanie Caucus (Doonesbury) was en route to Berkely and worried they wouldn’t have Crest toothpaste in CA.</p>
<p>They have cold weather in CA, too. It’s a big freaking state and hard to call it any one thing or another. Wish I were still there, on the coast. </p>
<p>I live in South Carolina and people dress the same here. Pay those people no mind.</p>
<p>Sally, the difference is, those are all winter weather clothes in Southern California. </p>
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I encountered a porn star at UCLA. No girls in bikinis, though.</p>
<p>@ Caitiann…WAOOO… what difference does it make if Californians are stereotype? that would not be anything more than Stereotyping Mississippi or any other state that has a history or way of live by some residents , different than others.
That being said, I mean you are talking about Stanford University…here… which is known to have just about the most vibrant International student body in the WORLD!!!
Stanford is not a reflection of California by any means, just like Harvard is not a reflection of Massachusetts. These are communities with WORLD BRAINS in all facets of life, including FASHION.
So, the post must have gone a bit-far to generalized that bout Stanford.
I hope this helps!.</p>
<p>I go to public school in southern California and people wear dresses, skirts, khakis, and polos. A lot of people wore skirts and dresses today. It was 96 degrees today.</p>
<p>@ dsi411; Thanks for sharing. Some generalizations should not even be discussed, because it can’t possibly apply to everyone. </p>