The Styles of San Francisco
I spent most of Saturday wandering around the Mission and downtown photographing people. Actually, I left my apartment as a bag lady holding a box to ship back home, my camera, purse and shoulder bag full of clothing to sell. I ended up making $30 from Buffalo Exchange selling a Kenneth Cole bag I bought over the summer, an Ella Moss dress I liked but it always brought back memories as the dress I wore on my first date w/ my ex, and another dress that brought back unpleasant memories. Actually, the blue Ella Moss dress was dangerously breezy and light as I learned last summer while walking over a sidewalk grate (to the delight of an unsuspecting Chinese delivery man). There is something therapeutic about getting rid of physical "baggage" especially knowing that I won't be lugging them as literal baggage across the country. There was a moment of hesitation and a deep breath involved but I know that I won't regret my decision. I highly recommend cleaning out ones closet, often.Speaking of closets, I don't think San Francisco gets enough credit for their fashionable citizens or at least fashionable tourists that flock to the city. It's hard to make general comparisons between city styles since I've been in and out of NYC for the last 5 months but San Francisco really knows how to do casual well. I guess you can invest in better clothing when the temperature is around the same all year round and you can work the layering. It seems there is less pressure to conform in SF but I'll have to think about this further when I'm back in NYC. In NYC you have to wander around the East Village, Lower East Side, West Village, Soho, Meatpacking, Chelsea and Williamsburg to find an eclectic mix of fashions. Each neighborhood has its own group of people based on their age, job, etc. and a Williamsburg hipster will stick out like a sore thumb on the Upper East Side. Hell - when I moved to East 66th street, I felt my purple Uniqlo jeans and gray Converse made me stand out. Whereas in San Francisco, I believe because it's smaller, the hats, accessories and clothing associated with hipsters can be seen on middle aged men in North Beach, teenagers in the mall and young parents in Hayes Valley. A picture says a thousand words right?
