What to Wear When You Move Here

Don’t get rid of your leather boots, slacks and jackets before you move to warm and sunny Palm Beach or Martin County. You’ll wear them here.

You can still get away with whites through mid-September. But only tourists wear linen and white all year round. Especially shoes.  

And if you’re moving into a residential country club or an upscale condo community in Boca Raton, Palm Beach or the suburbs, there may still be remnants of a dress code. Especially for dinner in the dining room. No flip-flops or T-shirts. The days of mandatory jackets and ties for men may be over, but even golf could require a collared shirt for the guys in those communities. Always ask what to wear before you do anything new.

Once the weather cools down, you’ll find locals switching from their usual summer wardrobe to what you probably wore in the fall back north. Depending on the occasion, you can bring out your denim and sweaters or buy something new. You’ll find some women even wear a fur or quilted vest in the height of what used to be winter. We never get snow here, but some people just like to wear boots.

Given their usual inventory, retail stores will stock outwear like coats and jackets, assuming some residents are “snowbirds,” what locals call temporary winter residents. Or they’ll visit family or vacation back north. Think grandkids and skiing.