Top Ten Complaints of Street Style Bloggers Overheard at Fashion Week

In lieu of the ordinary daily post format I've been using to chronicle New York Fashion Week so far, I thought I'd give you some insight into the psyche of all of us bloggers out here working the streets. All of these are complaints I've been hearing all week, but they are getting even more pronounced as Fashion Week drags on. Here they are, interspersed with some of my photos from Day Six:

Outside Sophie Theallet, 22nd St

1. "It's really fucking hot out here." On the 6th day of Fashion Week, it was 88 degrees in New York City with high humidity. Day Seven promises to reach 92. Bloggers were suffering, and so were the show attendees, dialing down their outfits to something temperature appropriate. Not exactly the right conditions for show-stopping attire.

2. "I got the same shot as Tommy (or Phil or Koo or Adam) but now that he posted it on Style.com (or Vogue.com, Elle.com, etc) everyone's gonna think I ripped him off." Blogging may "democratize" the fashion industry, but that doesn't mean it's a democracy. If you're not Tommy (or Phil or Koo or Adam), no one cares about your shots.

Chiara Ferragni of the Blonde Salad (literally) stopping traffic on 22nd St after Marc by Marc Jacobs.

3. "Those Asian bloggers are really aggressive!" This comment is usually followed by something along the lines of "I mean, I hate to make sweeping generalizations and all, but they just get right up there in your way, getting their interviews and releases signed without giving a shit who's trying to get a shot."

4. "Everyone's so dressed down this season." The Russian heiresses, the editors, the famously narcissistic bloggers, they just don't seem to be putting in the same effort as last season.

Outside Marc by Marc Jacobs before the stampede exiting the show.

5. "I'm so tired of running from show to show." A typical blogger's day begins at roughly 9am when the first shows start. Using whatever calendar they prefer (in my case the Fashion Week schedule posted on New York Magazine's The Cut) they choose the shows they predict will have the best turnout of style stars and editors, then hop in a cab or a subway train and traverse the island of Manhattan. My own day began at Lincoln Center just after 10am where J. Crew and Badgley Mischka were taking place. I then hit Rodarte on 22nd, Wes Gordon on 11th between 27th and 28th, Sachin & Babi at Pier 59, Marc by Marc Jacobs at Pier 57, and finally Sophie Theallet at Milk Studios on 22nd. All things considered a relatively mellow day. Except for a brief sojourn up to Lincoln Center (at 66th), I stayed within a ten block radius of Chelsea. No wonder I'm less exhausted than my other days. Or is this some newfound endurance? If Fashion Week is like gym training, as Simbarashe of Lord Ashbury said to me in the comments, I'm building up some serious street style muscle.

Outside Sachin & Babi

6. "(Fill in your favorite style star here) is being such a bitch today!" Whoever she is, she used to be so much easier to shoot, posing, hell, even frolicking in front of the cameras. Now she just goes straight into the show and ignores all the bloggers out front. The novelty of being a street style star wears off after a while.

7. "I haven't slept in days!" Most photographers have some deadline to meet, even if only self-imposed, which means that after a long day of shooting they still have to edit photos, send them off to whatever publication they work with, and plan their next day's shoot. And that's if they aren't attending the parties. If they're doing those too, it makes for an even later night. 

A model, exiting the stage after Rodarte.

8. "______ Magazine is totally trying to fuck me!" If you sell your stuff to fashion magazines and websites, you're being ripped off. That's just how it goes. Especially now that there are so many bloggers out there willing to give their stuff away for free. Free is hard to compete with. And not every magazine is as selective as you might think.

9. "The scene at _______ sucked today." Everyone gets at least one show a day that falls flat, not delivering the style potential one imagined it would in advance. It's not always predictable which will be good. Of course a show can also suck if it's too big, with way too much competition from other photographers making it hard to get good shots. Marc by Marc Jacobs was like that today. Total chaos, with at least 200 photographers present. I was so relieved to flee the scene and head over to the relatively quiet Milk Studios, just a block away.

Hanging out away from the crowds before Marc by Marc Jacobs.

10. "Just after we left ______ Lindsey Wixson (or Karlie Kloss, Hanne Gaby Odiele, or some similarly famous model) showed up! I can't believe I missed her!" Alas, some other photographer friend of yours stuck it out and got exclusive shots. Poor you. You just had to move on, didn't you?

Notes from New York Fashion Week Day Five

Outside Lincoln Center

The last 4 days of Fashion Week have annihilated any lingering doubt I may have had that blogging has changed the fashion industry in a big way. Bloggers now comprise a significant portion of a given show's audience. They pose for the cameras outside. They mix with editors, models, and journalists inside, pose for selfies with designers. They Instagram the whole thing for their base of followers to experience vicariously. Some insiders might resent their presence there, suspecting they haven't earned their spot in the industry in quite the way they themselves had, but they more or less accept the reality that bloggers aren't going anywhere. And by not going anywhere, I mean not going anywhere. They are standing on the sidewalk snapping photos in front of the building, and if you want to get to your next show, you're just going to have to pass through them.Bloggers take up more square footage of Fashion Week than any other demographic.

Outside Tommy Hilfiger. I love that she brought an Edgar Allen Poe book with her. Literature = fashion.

But the question remains: has blogging changed the fashion industry for the better? The jury's still out on that one. Clearly the industry is a more democratic place than it once was, at least on a superficial level. More opinions are heard. More attention gluttons share the spotlight. But blogging has taken an elite cultural institution and turned it into a three ring circus. Hundreds of dolled up wannabes loiter at Lincoln Center in hopes they'll be noticed. Dozens of street style bloggers chase down fashionistas outside runway shows. It's enough to make me a little bit nostalgic for some old-fashioned elitism. 

Outside Tommy Hilfiger

 Maintaining your dignity shooting Fashion Week is a tricky business. Lucky I had this woman's hat and t-shirt to remind me. 

Outside Tommy Hilfiger

My itinerary for Day Five started at Tommy Hilfiger at Pier 94. A number of bloggers and photographers (often, but not always, one in the same) were already gathered. We leaned against the railings, fixed our eyes on the the taxi cabs pulling up, and waited for someone — anyone — interesting to show up. And when they did, we went to work, stopping them in front of the metal gratings or along the bike path that traverses the West Side Highway. The light was terrible, direct sun pouring down on us, casting heavy shadows across faces, but we shot anyway, grumbling about how much it was going to suck to edits these photos later.  

Outside Tommy Hilfiger

Then I hopped in a cab with Dee of Racked, Stela of Streetstyle by Stela, and a German woman named Devon whose blog name I never caught, to head all the way downtown to Theysken's Theory on Wooster Street to catch the exit. Shortly after we arrived, model of the moment Hanne Gaby Odiele (literally) ran by. Cameras snapped frantically, while construction workers from the site across the street looked on, chuckling and making comments. I don't know what's going on with the city of New York right now, but nearly every fashion show I've attended has had a construction site at least partially obstructing it. It's made for some interesting clashes of cultures as construction workers alternately watch with fascination and contempt, occasionally catcalling photographers with the never-funny: "Hey, I'll let you take my picture. For free!" Lots of people seem to think this is a funny jibe, including various dudes going by in taxis. It never gets much of a response. 

Outside Theysken's Theory

After Theysken's Theory it was time to get lunch. My frequent Fashion Week co-traveler, Dee (whose pictures from Fashion Week you can see in the street style section of Racked.com) was feeling worn out, and I was feeling jaded and bored. Fashion Week runs you down. She's been shooting all day, starting around 9am and going until about 8pm, then doing a two-hour commute home, photo-editing until 4 in the morning, and getting up at 6 to head back out into the action. this was the first time all week she's had a meal before 8pm. And since, frankly, we didn't care that much about Karen Walker or any of the other shows going on, we hit a diner for a proper fucking meal. Refreshed and rested, we cabbed it back up to 33rd St for Derek Lam. 

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Derek Lam was the usual crew shooting the usual suspects, the same street style bloggers shooting the same mix of personal style bloggers and certified industry insiders. It didn't take me long to start getting antsy. I shot these people today already, I thought, at Tommy Hilfiger and Theory. Yawn. So I chatted with a couple of bloggers, Chérmelle the "coffeetographer" and Isaac from Breaking Fad, and hit up Yvan Rodic, The Face Hunter, for an interview. Hopefully we'll make that happen tomorrow. I like the way that guy works. He strolls in and out of the action, stops a few girls, introduces himself, snaps their picture on his point-and-shoot Leica, then heads out somewhere else, utterly unruffled. He doesn't get caught up in the tumult of it all.

Outside Phillip Lim

This woman was perhaps the highlight of Phillip Lim, her giant afro drawing cameras from a couple of hundred feet away. Plus, she seemed to be having a great time being photographed. She didn't have that bored, "please, enough already" expression that is becoming such a fixture of Fashion Week.

Outside Phillip Lim

After Derek Lam, I was through with the street fashion photography thing. I wanted to photograph some ordinary weirdos, people without big names, whose egos had not yet been artificially inflated. So I headed up to Lincoln Center, knowing fully well that no big shows were happening there, and got some nice shots of people who just looked interesting. That's when you can have real human interaction, exchange cards, chat a bit, feel like you aren't selling some part of your soul in the process. I hung with my Philly compatriots Big Rube of Street Gazing and Quenton of Avenue Swank, and met Angel from Angel's POV, one of the few active street style blogs in the South. He describes himself as an "urban anthropologist" and was immediately on board with my project. He feels like he's learned an enormous amount about human nature from his street style work. "I can predict what people are going to do now," he told me. I wouldn't go that far for myself, but I have learned some things from my own street style experiences. For one, people's narrative description of their lives and their lives as they live and experience them seldom match up. Style is less about who you are than the story you tell about yourself.

Outside Lincoln Center

My favorite shots of the day were from Lincoln Center and the way there. I don't know who the people I shot there were, but I liked their photos better than the rising starlet throw-away shots I got at Tommy Hilfiger and Phillip Lim. I keep learning the lesson over and over again at Fashion Week that it's always best to go your own way, listen to your own voice. But it's hard sometimes to hear it amidst the cacophony of other voices at Fashion Week. 

Outside Lincoln Center

Notes from the Trenches: New York Fashion Week Day Four

A blogger during a quiet moment outside Derek Lam. It didn't last long.

It was a fruitful day for me at New York Fashion Week, but not so much in terms of photographs. I wasn't on my A game, whether from lack of sleep or a temporary loss of purpose and direction. I haven't figured out how to stake out my own place here yet. It's too easy to get caught up in what other photographers are doing. They bombard my peripheral vision, great swarms of movement chasing one style star or another. And as for style stars, I'm bored of shooting them. I'm more interested in the quirky unknowns. 

Outside Derek Lam

I don't know who this is, but once people started to notice her outside Derek Lam, she got lots of attention. It sort of works like that. People can stand around for quite a while with no one taking any notice, and then, all of a sudden, the hive mind singles them out. It moves swiftly and decisively, and you never know who it well swarm around next.

Fighting/Working with the wind outside DKNY.

My day started at Yiga Azrouel, down on Mercer St in Soho. I arrived late, at around 11:10am, and there were still a few of the big name photographers hanging out. Soon it became very quiet, and when I noticed Tommy Ton taking off, I did too, hopping on the subway to head up to Derek Lam at Sean Kelly Gallery on 10th Ave at 36th. We all suspected this would be one of the big shows of the day, and it didn't disappoint. Model Hanne Gaby Odiele probably drew the biggest crowd of photographers. I have some good shots of her that I'll post later. I still have mixed feelings about posting models, but I'll talk about that later too.

Perpetual blog fodder Miroslava Duma videoing Bill Cunningham after Derek Lam.

After Derek Lam, I walked down 11th Ave to the DKNY show on 26th. I saw long-time New York Times style section photographer Bill Cunningham ride his bike past me, so I figured I was going to the right place. I shot on the corner of 11th and 26th for a while, since Adam Katz Sinding of Le 21ème had told me back in February that he'd had some success there in the past. It was windy, and I overheard Bill Cunningham say that it makes for more interesting pictures. He shot next to me for some time. Finally, I decided I had to break the ice and meet him. I asked him how it was for him to have all these other photographers around. He pointed to his eyes, then waved his fingers at the cabs pulling up on the street. "Sorry," I said, "I'll let you concentrate."  

A guy in a DKNY t-shirt outside DKNY. Is wearing a designer's clothes to her show as tacky as wearing a band t-shirt to that band's gig? I'm not sure what the protocol is for this one. In any case it's nice to see some streetwear break up the monotony of ready-to-wear at NYFW.

After shooting on 11th and 26th for a while, I walked into the center of the action on 26th. DKNY, apparently keeping with tradition, held their show in a gallery with an open garage door, so that we lowly photographers could look in. I saw most of the show from outside. Afterward I headed to Thakoon just a few blocks down on 22nd and caught their dress rehearsal. Probably the highlights of my day.

Eddie "Mr." Newton, shooting a model on 22nd St.

The other productive thing that happened today was that I had an interesting conversation with Eddie Newton, the photographer behind the blog Mr. Newton. He stands out from the pack of photographers shooting at Fashion Week in part for the quality of his photos, but also for his style of shooting. While most of the photographers out there just take rapid-fire shots as style stars go past, he takes the time to carefully compose his shots, talking with his subjects, asking them to pose in very specific ways and being quite thoughtful about the angles he shoots from. I learned a lot from watching him shoot today. The photo below, of Michelle Harper, I shot immediately next to Eddie, essentially stealing his setup. It's one of my favorite shots of the day. I like where she stands in the frame. I like the angled line of the background. 

Michelle Harper, outside Thakoon.

Eddie Newton, Dee from Racked, and I talked the business of street style today. Eddie sees it as one of the few photography gigs in the fashion industry that gives you some autonomy in your scheduling and in the artistry with which you perform it. It's become, he says, a legitimate sector of the fashion industry, regardless of the flack he and the other photographers sometimes get from the subjects they shoot, and one in which creativity and passion still play a part. The backlash against street style is mounting, and Eddie for one, sees it as unfair. They deserve some basic human recognition from the pouty models and jaded editors that stomp past them, often not even acknowledging their requests for photos. Comparisons with paparazzi are increasingly common, and yet there remains a significant difference. Street style photographers want to capture people looking their best. They see themselves as artists and value the craft of photography, even if many of them just take snapshots these days, in often poor imitation of Tommy Ton. Eddie doesn't do snapshots. He does compositions.      

And then the crowds parted and out from them emerged... Notes from Day Two at New York Fashion Week

Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, outside Jason Wu

My favorite thing about this photo, apart from it being a shot of the elusive Anna Wintour staring right at my lens, is that none of the photographers are looking at her. They're too busy checking their last shots. Wintour, who is like the great white stag of Fashion Week, usually travels with an entourage and seldom walks through the crowd of photographers, so she caught most of us off guard, hiding in plain sight. Note to self: keep your eyes off your LCD screen and on the streets!

Anya Ziourova outside Jason Wu

If there was a theme to New York Fashion Week Day Two, it was crowds of photographers, getting in each other's way. But more than each other's way, we got in our own way. It's so easy to over-think your shots, or alternatively to follow the lead of the crowd instead of your own intuition. Here's Anya Ziourova, a Russian couture buyer and style star who's famous for some reason or other, working the crowd on her way to Jason Wu. This time, the photographers were paying attention, for a moment at least, before we got distracted by someone else.

Michelle Harper outside Jason Wu

Brand consultant, business woman, and skilled street-style photographer manipulator Michelle Harper seemed so over the whole street style thing, as she stomped by both in and out of Jason Wu. She stopped only for Tommy Ton. Isn't that, like, biting the hand that feeds you? What is Michelle Harper famous for if not being photographed by street style photographers?

Zanita Morgan, outside Jason Wu

I saw blogger, photographer, and former model Zanita Morgan walk briskly by and failed to stop her for a photo. Then she promptly stopped, posed for a couple of shots, and came back towards me. "There's Zarina," I said to Dee from Racked.com. "Who?" she asked. "Oh, Zanita." Good thing I hadn't already called her by name! I got it right when she passed by the next time. This Fashion Week I knew far more peoples' name than last years and used them whenever I could. My name recall is nothing compared to the seasoned vets of Fashion Week, though.

Karlie Kloss, literally stopping traffic on Mercer St.

Model Karlie Kloss attracted the biggest crowd of the day as she attempted to cross Mercer Street to get to her next show. Cars were honking, dudes were yelling. We all ignored them. I love how the lady in the pink hair is just staring at the shots she's already got as Karlie stands right in front of her. A few shots later in my role, she finally seems to take notice again and resumes shooting.

My itinerary for Day Two: Started the day at Peter Som at Milk studios, then headed to Kate Spade on 22nd, followed by one of the biggest shows of the day, Jason Wu on Mercer St in Soho. I then tagged along with Dee to shoot backstage at Rebecca Minkoff, back at Lincoln Center, but we were so late that the models were already dressed, and it hardly seemed worth it. I ditched out, got a late lunch, shot Lincoln Center for a while, then hit Rag + Bone on 33rd St, before shooting backstage at Helmut Lang on 22nd St. Good times. Lots and lots of images to come. Once again, I'm saving my best shots from the day for their own posts.

A Slow Day One of New York Fashion Week

Two ladies pose at Lincoln Center as some dude passes.

It was something of a slow Day One of New York Fashion Week yesterday. A feeling of lethargy hung in the air. There was a palpable lack of enthusiasm among many of the photographers. Few style stars were out, and the street style bloggers, usually all-dolled up behind their lenses, were noticeably dressed down. Even the personal style bloggers seemed like they were phoning it in. Whether Rosh Hashanah was to blame (as The New York Times claimed), or whether it had more to do with late summer malaise, or just a general feeling that Fashion Week, overrun by attention-seeking bloggers, just aint what it used to be is hard to say. But all the photographers I talked to agreed: today was not a great day at New York Fashion Week. It was not the day that "everyone would be talking about." These women up top may be disappointed to discover that. 

The slow, but crowded scene outside Lincoln Center. Yes, that's Kyle Anderson being photographed in the background.

But don't think this means no one was out doing their thing. On the contrary, Lincoln Center was as crowded with bloggers, photographers, would-be stars and starlets, and fashion news outlets as I've seen it. And all the big name bloggers (Scott Schuman, Mr. Newton, Phil Oh, Tamu McPherson, etc) were out roaming the streets. It's just that they weren't finding a whole lot of what they were looking for. 

I have to admit that some of my reading of the mood of the first day of Fashion Week was projection. No doubt the novelty of Fashion Week has worn off for me. Last February I got caught up in the fervor. I felt a manic need to take pictures of anyone and everyone around me, meet all the photographers, get to as many shows as I could, experience everything. And I was near giddy every time I recognized a blogger, a model, an editor, or style star. This time I just couldn't bring myself to care. Maybe it was the three hours of sleep I got the night before. Maybe it was the general sense of malaise that permeated the atmosphere. Or maybe I've just been doing this a long time now.

Kelly Framel, The Glamourai, being photographed at Lincoln Center.

I spent the day sharing taxis with Dee of Racked.com. She had a Go Pro camera strapped to her head and, for a couple of hours, a film crew from Racked followed us around, all to capture the craziness of Fashion Week firsthand. Too bad there wasn't that much crazy to go around. No fights broke out. No pushing. Very little shoving (and that was just the paparazzi, going after the Jonas Brothers and some former Disney Stars or other), and no larger-than-life street style stars to light up the sidewalks. The Russians, I'm told, have not arrived yet. Nor, it would seem, has Anna Della Russo. 

There was, however, this woman, looking chic in an Alexander Wang dress.Look at me, acting like I know what designer she was wearing! I didn't. Dee did.

The itinerary for the day included BCBG at Lincoln Center at 10am, followed by Richard Chai. Dee and I then headed downtown to Pace Gallery for Creatures of the Wind. That's where all the big gun photographers were kicking it. But when that just never picked up we headed up to the backdoor of Todashi Shoji to capture some models leaving the runway (pictures for another day). Then we moved back around to the front of Lincoln Center, observed it was still dead, got a late lunch (3:30pm), headed back and got a few more shots before calling it a day.

Outside Creatures of the Wind, Pace Gallery

Now that I'm no longer a Fashion Week virgin, I feel like I can stand back and get some distance. The whole experience can leave you feeling kinda icky, so it's necessary to set some parameters for yourself. Here are my Fashion Week New Rules: 

1) Don't be a dick. It sounds like it should go without saying, but seriously it's harder than you think. There are so many people busy being dicks at an event like this it's easy to forget yourself. But don't. Being a dick is not necessary. And it's never pleasant to suddenly become aware of yourself and think "Uh oh. I think I'm being a dick right now." What not being a dick means to me is to be polite and gracious towards all one's photo subjects. Don't shoot and run. Don't catch them unaware. When possible, ask their permission BEFORE you take their picture, and if they give you the time, tell them what you're shooting for and give them a card. No snapping away in peoples' faces while walking backwards. That's a prime dick move. Also, it means being nice to the other photographers. They're out here doing their job (or flagrantly self-promoting or something) and deserve to not have you shove them out of the way or step on their toes to get a shot.

2) Don't pay attention to what other people are shooting.I don't know that I need to elaborate more then this. But seriously, getting the same shots as everyone else is lame. And when their pics get put up on vogue.com and yours don't, you're going to feel cheated, whether it's rational or not.

3) Talk to the other photographers. They are largely cool people and great sources of information. Standing around being awkward sucks. I'm not doing it this year.

4) Experiment with lots of different kinds of shots. You (or at least I) don't want to be taking the same pictures as everyone else this year. And more importantly, you don't want to be taking the same pictures as yourself. When you look through your photos on the bus ride home, you don't want to get that sinking feeling that you've seen all this before. Fashion Week is a visual feast. Take advantage.

5) Don't be intimidated by successful and/or famous people. Really there is no point. And by and large, when you are polite and respectful, people are polite and respectful right back. I had very nice interactions with Hamish Bowles, Lynn Yaeger, Kate Lanphear, and a bunch of well-known street style bloggers today. Why should I expect any less?

6) Remember to eat and/or drink lots of water. Easy to forget, but at least I remembered when it counts. I'm still alive after all. 

I think I posted this woman on Day One of last Fashion Week. I still don't know who she is, but I saw her in at least two separate outfits yesterday. She's entering into Mira Duma territory!

Enough about day one. Time to concentrate on day two. My best street style pictures from Day One, incidentally, I'm saving to use as separate posts. So stay tuned!

Philadelphia Street Style: Tishia, Sydenham St

I'd seen Tishia around Center City before, but this is the first time I'd had a chance to catch up with her. She has an impressive fashion mohawk, visible from a significant distance. 

Tishia describes her style as "urban chic." Her musical taste runs to "a little bit of everything, Ke$ha, a lot of house music." Here she's wearing a dress from H&M (the way she said it, it was if this shocked her too), a denim jacket from American Apparel, a bag by Alexander Wang, sunglasses by Miu Miu, and shoes by BCBG. 

Philadelphia Street Style: Cameron, 18th St

Cameron seemed to me, when I spotted him from across the street in front of the Rittenhouse Barnes & Noble, to be a poster boy for the mix 'n' match aesthetic. He combines high and low, has no fear of clashing colors. "I am the definition of an individual," he told me of his style. He has little interest in being grouped according to type. His musical taste, similarly, encompasses "everything from alternative to hip hop to jazz." "I'm not too big on country, though," he said. 

The trunks he's wearing here are Polo by Ralph Lauren. The shirt is Fossil. The cardigan is H&M. The two different socks are both from Urban Outfitters. The shoes are Penguin. One of his watches is Burberry, the other Emporio Armani. The jewelry, if I actually got the spelling right, is Xzoomi, though correct me if I got that wrong, Cameron. 

I got the idea for how to shoot this shoe shot from the new book Street Fashion Photography by the bloggers behind The SF Style, Dyanna Dawson and J.T. Tran. It's a how-to-guide for those just getting started in street style blogging. To be honest, I didn't find it that helpful this late in the game. And I flat out disagreed with some of their advice, say, their preference for shooting with a wide-angle lens. To me that's just begging for distortion. But they had a few ideas that had never occurred to me. For example, when shooting shoes they suggest setting the camera right on the ground and angling it blind. You can't, after all, look through the viewfinder when you're doing it. I liked their shoe shots, so I tried it on Cameron. I'm pretty happy with the angle. Concrete is minimized, background interesting. Next time I'll try with deeper depth of field. 

Notes from the Field: The Tables are Turned

This past Friday, after a meeting on campus, I walked into Center City, stopped at La Colombe for a cup of coffee, and headed over to Walnut Street to shoot some street style. I was lingering somewhere near the Burberry store, coffee in one hand, camera in the other, when a woman with long brown hair and a floral dress walked up to me. "Excuse me," she said, as I braced myself for an activist, panhandler, or missionary, my mouth about to reflexively release the word "no." "Are you shooting street style?" Whoa! I wasn't expecting that! How did she know? Was it the full-frame Nikon DLSR with 85mm lens slapped on? Was it the plaid Ben Sherman shirt with skinny black tie? The accompanying skinny jeans and Doc Marten boots? Was it my trim professor beard and new streamlined haircut, side-parted and slicked back with Brylcreem? Or maybe the way I was leaning against the wall, scanning passersby from behind my knock-off Ray-bans? 

"Yes," I got out, finally. 

"We are too," she told me, gesturing to her partner just behind her, a man with short dark hair, a week's worth of stubble, and a black T-shirt. He was cradling a camera in his arms. 

We introduced ourselves and compared notes. It turns out they shoot the street style section of the "Style Stories Blog" for Ebay Fashion. They were in town from San Francisco for a meeting and thought they'd hit the streets for a while. They always work in a pair, I found out, with her approaching subjects, asking permission, and getting signed photo releases, and him shooting the images. They figured it must be difficult to do the "one-man act" thing that I was doing. I assured them it wasn't, though it sometimes means balancing coffee and camera in some precarious poses.

The photographer asked me how I choose my subjects. I told him that I rely on gut instinct, not trying to over-think who I'm looking for, echoing the typical response I get from other street style photographers when I ask that question, but that in general I choose people who defy type. They told me they're looking for summer styles at the moment, though they're beginning to look for fall. Since they do the "Style Stories" blog, they try to find people whose outfits "tell a complete story." That's why they stopped me. They thought I looked "sharp" with a defined look. They usually shoot women, so it's good to find a well-put-together man every once in a while. 

I accepted the compliment and was flattered in spite of myself. I've spent a fair amount of time around other street style photographers and seldom, if ever, am I asked for my photograph. But I've been wondering since then exactly what it means for one's outfit to "tell a complete story." I've heard this kind of statement before, especially from designers and merchandisers. The contestants on Project Runway are always being asked what the stories behind their outfits are. It usually amounts to something like this: "The woman I'm designing for is sassy and smart, and today she's boarding a private jet to go to the beach." Is that a complete story? Or just a couple of adjectives and a verb clause? Clearly the fashion industry's version of a complete story is different from that of a novelist. I'm guessing it means something along the lines of: her outfit sends no mixed signals. Its individual components compliment each other in a recognizable way. One can imagine her doing interesting things in such a getup and going to exciting places. 

So what kind of story does my outfit tell? I'm going to go with: Pre-tenured professor takes to the streets to find out what it's like to be a street style blogger, dresses accordingly. 

Finally, we got down to business. I signed a photo release form, and then the photographer had me stand at an angle facing him. He crouched near the curb, got off several shots in rapid succession (continuous shutter in full effect), and we were done.   

Philadelphia Street Style: Chuck, at Ubiq, Walnut St

I found Chuck sitting in the store window outside Ubiq on Walnut St, one of Philly's premier streetwear shops and generally a great place to spot street style. See another one of my shots from Ubiq's store window here. 

Chuck describes his style as "boho hobo." He's been listening to a lot of early '90s dance and house music lately (carrying on the '90s theme that's been happening on the blog these last few weeks), in addition to neo-soul, "and of course hip hop." His shoes are Air Jordan Black Cement 3. His pants are Righteous Rebel Denim & Apparel. His tank is H&M, his flannel Old Navy. The hat he found at a thrift store.I appreciate the way Chuck has customized these clothes, adding his own DIY modifications and personal touches. And I like how he mixes name brands with fast fashion. That's becoming a running theme.

On the Street...In Front of Bettie Page, Walnut St