How are we dressing in restaurants now, Oakland, California

You are welcome to Most Dressed, an Eater series where restaurant diners show and tell what they’re wearing out to dinner, from the small details to the splashy pieces — and how they approached getting dressed for each spot’s specific scene. Two years of experience in the industry has paid off. Do We dress for going out on these days.

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Restaurant Daytrip
Location: Oakland’s Temescal neighborhood
Cuisine: “Fermentation-driven shared plates”
Men’s Highlights Miso butter pasta made with Shared Cultures miso, celery salad punctuated with aged Sardinian sheep’s cheese, halibut crudo, natural wines by the glass or bottles to go

Daytrip was founded by Finn Stern and Stella Dennig in October 2021. Their goal was to promote fun, fermented dishes. Stern and Dennig’s vibrant decor and Brijean Murphy’s art and menu design helped to elevate Daytrip from a place for creatives. The oft-rotating menu highlights both seasonal produce and the kitchen team’s fermentation projects, all while attracting natural wine enthusiasts. Behind the green-tinted, vinyl-curtained front windows — or outdoors in the parklet or back patio — the restaurant’s people-watching is unmatched. A Friday evening dinner was a success with diners and staff choosing an unusual style that suits this part of Oakland.

Trisha, forty, visual merchandiser and Monelle. Monelle is 40.

Food: How has the pandemic affected your style?

Monelle: I would say the pandemic has made me care a lot less about how I dress and more ballsy when I do dress up, partly because there was such a long period where we weren’t going out seeing people. When I see people I am very extravagant. I don’t hide items for special occasions — every occasion is a special occasion now.

Trisha: My perception of the world is that I don’t care as much. I’ve really dipped into the East Bay scene, which includes a lot of comfy shoes like Birkenstocks and clogs. [Monelle starts laughing] I still dress up — you caught me on a bad day.

Monelle: You’re representing the spectrum! You’re speaking the language of every single person in the pandemic who realized it doesn’t fucking matter anymore. You can wear what you like.

My ‘dressed down’ does not look like your dressed down, and you look great! Which outfit did you choose for tonight?

Monelle: Trisha is a vintage-loving lady, so I was sure she would appreciate something from the past. Because I know that she will love it, I try to wear vintage clothes whenever I go see her.

Trisha: That’s true. Monelle taught me about vintage — [Monelle starts to argue] We were able to share our vintage with each other.

Monelle: Now I dress mostly to please other women.

Your personal style would be described in what way?

Monelle: I’ll give you four words — unapologetic, independent, fun, unexpected.

Trisha: Mine has a vintage quirk, high-low and is very old.

James (42), software engineer; Chelsea (48), anime singer, photographer

Is the way you dress now that there has been a pandemic affected by your wardrobe?

James: Well, with a whole lot of extra time to develop new hobbies that I didn’t really have much time for before, I did start to take an interest in fashion, which I’ve never done before. I bought this leather jacket from Belstaff, and I’ve been wanting to get a leather jacket for a long time. This one is the best. I researched a lot and finally chose it.

This looks great and is very warm. What are some other ways you’ve been exploring fashion? Are you a collector of other fashion items?

James: You can also wear this shirt. It will all sound ridiculous, but this is an old television program. Californication, I did really enjoy David Duchovny’s style there, so I did some sleuthing and found out the clothes that he was wearing. Here is his shirt brand. [Editor’s note: The designer is James Perse] They make amazing shirts made from this cotton that’s imported from Japan, and so that’s really good stuff.

Chelsea, how about you?

Chelsea: I don’t think it’s changed.

James: Chelsea is a passionate fashionista throughout her life.

Chelsea: The thing is that I usually like clothes in Japan, but I couldn’t go back because of the pandemic. Just to clarify, no, I don’t have any new items, but I tried to coordinate the existing pieces.

I think that’s great you’ve maintained your sense of style. What was your secret to deciding what you would wear tonight? I heard it’s your anniversary.

James: Chelsea seemed to have put in a lot of thought.

Chelsea: I usually always decide with my feelings, so I don’t really think, I just wore what I wanted.

James: Jeans are sort of my go-to — I wear jeans everywhere. So I start from there and figure out what I’m gonna put with it. I wanted to dress up a little bit, so I’m wearing nicer shoes, as opposed to just my usual hiking shoes, which I love. And it’s cold, so I have this second layer on my jacket.

Chelsea: That’s the thing, I usually wear short skirts, but since it’s cold and I knew that dinner’s going to be outside, I wore a long skirt.

It’ll be warm soon enough. What would be your definition of personal style?

Chelsea: Japanese, pop, sexy, elegant. I don’t follow trends, I wear whatever I love and want, and create my own unique style.

James: My style is mainly pragmatic. So I can concentrate on my work, I prefer to wear comfortable clothes. It is important to purchase items that will never be out of fashion. It’s simple and timeless. Black is my favorite color because it works with every other colour.

Daniel, 31-years old, is a ceramist, barista and Tamara, 29 years old, is a writer

Is the way you dress now that there has been a pandemic affected by your wardrobe?

Daniel: For me, it’s definitely more comfier, longer, baggier kind of clothes.

Tamara: Same. It’s definitely more comfortable and baggier clothes. My wardrobe was mainly made up of vintage and secondhand clothes. But I feel like now I’m wearing the same pieces again and again, and I kind of pared down my clothes a lot during the pandemic.

Your shirts are my favorite. Tamara, I’m really interested in your sweater.

Tamara: I’m wearing his sweater.

It’s a really cool sweater.

Daniel: I’m super into music. Porches is also a band. [points to his shirt] Crumb. Crumb is a group.

How did you decide on what to wear tonight, then?

Daniel: One, you need to bring a suitcase. It was much more comfortable and flowy than I expected.

Tamara: I’m not from here. I’m from Toronto and it’s very cold there now, and I was kind of under the impression that it would be very cold here too, so I just wanted to wear something warm. We’re only in Oakland for overnight, so it was kind of whatever we could fit in the suitcase.

This skirt is very nice. Where can I get it?

Tamara: It’s my grandma’s, she gave it to me.

That’s what I love! It’s still fashionable and awesome. What would your style look like now? But we were just talking about the pandemic, so how would you describe your personal style?

Daniel: I would say maybe, like, every once in a while, I’ll put on my fancy boots. But for the most part, I’ll be wearing my sweater or just something super casual.

Ok, now I’d like to know more about the fancy boots.

Daniel: They’re called Ranch black boots from Alohas. They have a prominent heel and square toe.

So when you bust those out, you’re ready to go.

Daniel: I’ll wear my good pants, my boots, I’ll pick my best outfit. For the most part, I’m just trying to be comfy.

Tamara: For me, it feels like I’m trying to be a character every time I dress up. I feel like I’ve done that a lot more since the pandemic. I think before I was very self conscious, and there were a lot of things that I either wouldn’t think that I could wear, or didn’t have the confidence to wear, but now I kind of don’t care about that anymore.

Do you have a character you’ve tried to dress like, or emulate?

Tamara: I don’t know if it has a name. I’ve leaned a lot more into darker aesthetics and more… not goth, but light goth, I wear a lot more black now. If I’m going out, I’ll wear a lot more mesh or something flowy. I just got a silk skirt that’s completely see-through, and I never would have worn anything like that before the pandemic. But now I’m kind of more into being a little bit more conceptual with the things that I wear. I bleached my eyebrows, cut my hair — I feel like that’s a character, I’m trying to put one together right now. It’s in flux.

Jaime, 46 is a program manager; Michele, 56, an executive assistant

Patricia Chang

Is the way you dress now that there has been a pandemic affected by your wardrobe?

Jaime: Today, I wore jeans. I normally wear sweatpants. Perhaps it was because of the pandemic, I became more casual.

Michele: I wear jeans most of the time and don’t dress up much. It’s not like I necessarily was someone who dressed up.

Did you ever plan to dress tonight?

Michele: Because I had run out of time, I chose this outfit.

Jaime: I was wearing a hat earlier and didn’t feel like taking a shower, so I put another hat on. And it’s cold, so I felt like a turtleneck was the right thing to do. I wear only black jeans so it worked out. It’s so simple to wear all-black clothes.

Would you define your style as a person?

Jaime: I guess I’m pretty androgynous. Casual androgynous.

Ana Quintanilla 33, Daytrip server

Patricia Chang

Is the way you dress now that there has been a pandemic affected by your wardrobe?

Ana: The pandemic has made me think more about how I dress, because there’s been a little bit more inward reflection time and there’s been a lot of reflection on identity — and I think that clothing plays a big part of identity. So I’ve certainly seen a lot of trend changes because of the pandemic and I’ve been excited by those trend changes. The way we dress is more imaginative in recent years. I don’t know specifically what, but I do think that the pandemic has something to do with that, so it’s allowed me to be a little bit more playful.

What made you choose this look for tonight? How did you choose this outfit?

Ana: Well, it’s cold so I needed to wear a sweater because I knew I was gonna be going in and out. I actually just thrifted this while I was traveling in Italy, and I wanted to embody ‘Dolly’ energy. [Editor’s note: The sweater is embroidered “Dolly” across the front pocket.] It was 10 Euros when I found it thrifted.

It is incredible in so many different ways. Why did you choose it? It appealed to you.

Ana: I liked that it said ‘Dolly’ on it. This has a grandma feel that I really liked. I just spotted the color and that’s what made me pull it out. I feel like right now I’m definitely going through like a bright, happy phase.

Your personal style would be described in what way?

Ana: You could describe my style as: I roll out of bed and put on some jeans. Then, add a little color. But I am slightly attracted to the 2000s color comeback that’s been happening. I will admit to a small amount of it.

Your eye makeup looks very pretty, as well. Is it possible to switch up the outfit you wear to Daytrip work? It feels like a lot of pressure because everybody’s very dressed up.

Ana: It’s been a really big inspiration as to what has made me be a little bit more creative with my wear. Daytrip has two things. One is that they are a cool place and secondly, everyone here seems to have a great style. This is why I felt the need to step up my game.

Would you describe Daytrip’s fashion customer spirit?

Ana: My opinion is that we can range from very casual looks to extremely stylish. It’s a big range of people. What’s cool is that it attracts a lot of queer folks, and I think there’s a lot of really cool, queer, stylish people that come by and are very impressive — and it’s another reason why I have to make sure I look good.