Fitting in in Washington means dressing preppy.
Hill Mole has a guide called Cap Hill Camo:
A Ghillie suit is ideal camouflage for a sniper and tan BDUs are suited for the desert. The Hill also has a suit of clothes best suited for invisibility in plain sight.
The most appropriate camouflage for not standing out in the Nation’s Capitol is a pair of khakis, a blue button-down, a white undershirt, a pair of penny loafers, blue socks, a yellow tie, a black or brown belt, and a blue blazer with gold buttons.
Actually, if you’re on a budget, anything from the GAP, and if you’re financed, buy everything from Brooks Brothers, sailing and golf-supply stores.
Casual wear in Washington is just a variation on the theme. Remove the button down and replace it with a polo shirt — Lacoste is the current favorite but Ralph Lauren is always acceptable — dark colors during the Winter months and suprisingly bright colors during the summer, including pink and Carolina blue, to be worn over a white crew neck undershirt.
Options include trading out the leather belt for a cloth web belt and the khaki pants for a pair of golf shorts.
Hair should be maintained above the collar, over the ears, parted on the side, and natural – highlights and coloring are frowned upon.
The face should be clean-shaven. Glasses are acceptable — reading-glasses even preferable — but sunglasses need to be conservative and not sporty or wrap-around. Dark, wrap-around, sporty shades are a sure sign of a background in law-enforcement or a history of rigorous training in Fort Bragg or San Diego.
Timepieces should be analog and not any variation of G-Shock or rubber-banded dive watch. Dive watches can have stainless or leather bands. Breitling-type watches are currently very popular.
If a digital watch is preferred, make sure it is a commercial runner’s, cyclist’s, or diver’s watch, although it is important that there be a familiarization not just with running, biking, or diving but with the recreational communities of running, biking, or diving.
