Philadelphia Street Style: Robbie, Chestnut St

Oppression is not Stylish. Occupy Fashion.

New York is a giant insecurity-generating machine. People from all over the world—feeling like big fish in a small sea—go to New York to be put back in their place. There is always someone better than you at what you do in New York. And there is always someone better-looking. Lots of someones, in fact. Seas of someones. No matter what you wear, you will feel self-conscious. That’s why New York is such a vibrant laboratory of fashion. Fashion feeds on insecurity.

Yesterday I was part of a panel on Fashioning DIY and Craft Revivalism at Parsons The New School for Design. Good times. Good talks. Sharp students sharply dressed. Nonetheless, I admit to feeling a bit of relief walking through the gates of Union Square, where the anarchists and labor activists were assembled to hoist their signs and shout down capitalism. I needed a bit of grizzly, low-brow activism to round me off. And I found it, particularly in this awesomely DIY, anti-fashion runway show. My favorite sign at the event: “Capitalism doesn’t go with my outfit.”

An anti-fashion runway show.

 A more conventional display of Occupy sentiment. 

These ladies are rad. Enough said.

Hoisting the anarchist flag.

The anarchist messenger bag.

The anarchist backpack.

Anarchist chic.

Denim on Denim - Steph, 43rd St, West Philly

When I asked Steph to take her photo, following after her quickly—but not so quickly as to freak her out—on 43rd St, she said, "Today?! But I don't even think I look that good. I'm not even wearing make-up!"

On NPR's "All Songs Considered" podcast a few weeks back, Robin Hilton (I think) suggested that 2012 was the year of reclaiming and making cool again once maligned musical elements from the 1980s, like saxophone solos and mushy piano melodies. Denim on denim is street fashion's new saxophone solo. 

I've been practicing the flat, blurred background with popping out model effect a la Sartorialist, 21Arrondissement, etc. My aperture is set to 1.7 in aperture priority mode. I like the effect but clearly lost a bit of clarity, as the sky was quite grey, and the shutter speed no doubt had to compensate. Should have set the ISO higher than 100. 

Fashion People are Fashionable

Cesar is a fashion photographer I ran into in front of the FCUK on Newbury St. in Boston this afternoon.  Roughly half the people I shoot turn out to work in fashion in some way. Figures, I guess.

Cesar, Newbury St, Boston. I appreciate, and relate to, the stylized hunch.