Archive for October, 2011
Morgan is a supremely talented fashion design student at SAIC. Although she originally hails from Los Angeles, she has since warmed up to life in Chicago. Morgan was actually the first person who connected the dots between weather and street-style during a snowy conversation on the street last winter. We discussed how Chicagoans and New Yorkers are all about layering year round, whereas Los Angeles retains a completely different aesthetic, something only a transplanted Los Angeleno would notice. I wholeheartedly agree, because everyday (non-fashion editor/model) New York street-style and Chicago street-style are quite similar (check out Mr. Newton’s site for gorgeous pics of regular girls for proof), and if you then visit my friend Eva’s blog HiStyley you’ll see just how dramatically the aesthetic shifts with LA street style.
Morgan is also one of the first people I ever photographed back when I had my little Canon Powershot SD. To see how far my skills have come, click here. I’d be embarrassed by the quality of my old photos if I wasn’t proud of how far I’ve come.
I hope you take the time to watch this two minute video I made with NBC Chicago’s local site The Feast. It’s about how to be spotted by street style photographers in Chicago. I give location tips and style advice. The key? To have great style while also expressing your individuality. The easy answer is to mix textures and wear lots of color, but it’s really about creating a personal sense of style that sets you apart from the crowd.
As for what I wore, here goes the outfit credits: shirt, Suno; pants, Uniqlo; shoes, Maison Martin Margiela; bag, vintage Chloe; necklace and headband, J.Crew; bracelets, Erin Gordon x Sarca. The earrings were made by me and contain 3 Middle East good luck charms; the scarab, the crescent moon, and a Lamu dhow eye from eastern Kenya. If you want a pair, email me and I’ll make them for you!
*I turned comments off because I realized that I connect so much better and way more often with my readers via my Facebook page and Twitter. Join the conversation!
What I loved about Rachael was that she exuded this bad girl rocker-chick vibe while wearing the sweetest, most innocent day dress; complete with grosgrain ribbon tied into a bow. I often speak about this idea of “tension” within a look, and here is a perfect example. Something has to be a little off or a little tense to make a look fashionable since personal style is all about creating this certain sense of energy. That’s why even though someone might be wearing all designer clothes it falls flat, because style isn’t about swiping a credit card at Barneys. It’s about creating a look that captures and expresses the essence of that individual, which can just as easily be done with thrifted clothing as it can be with new.
