I had literally just walked out of Sofia Vintage, where I was taking a break from street-style hunting by hanging out with my pal Penny, when I spotted a stylish woman across the street. From behind I thought she might be an indie rock musician. Hold on, let me re-write that; I feared she might be an indie rock musician.

Once, a long time ago, I spotted a D-list, probably Z-list “indie rock star” in Wicker Park. I didn’t know who the woman was and I spotted her based solely on her cool outfit. She was offended that I didn’t know who she was, instead of being flattered that I had stopped her based only on the look she had put together. When I pressed to tell me her name she and her “entourage” of three friends started saying things like “gee, yeah, who is she? hahaha” and mocking me for not recognizing her. I have a very low tolerance for that level of disrespect so I walked away. It was around Pitchfork so I was able to do some internet sleuthing and identify who she was but I’m not going to namedrop her because I don’t want to give her any press. The moral of the story is that now I’m uncomfortable stopping anyone who looks like they might be an indie musician.

Fast forward to last week. I swallowed my fear and ran down Oak Street to catch up to the woman above, not knowing that she was a reader name Jaclyn who had befriended me on Facebook a while back. Once we started talking a wave of relief flooded over me. Thank god you’re not a pretentious musician, I laughed. What an odd statement! Turns out Jaclyn IS a musician, but she’s a very friendly one. I love meeting my readers on the street, especially passionate ones who tell me about their favorite latest photo on the blog. Nothing makes me happier than spotting one of you on the street without knowing you’re a reader.