When I spotted Ashley out front of Giorgio Armani on Chicago Avenue, she and her equally stylish friends instantly caught my eye. Amidst a sea of monotonous black fleece jackets, these three girls were a delightful contrast against the deluge of homogeneity. Their vintage and thrifted clothing demonstrates the creative approach to dressing that many young & stylish Chicagoans have adopted. In many ways this idea is what currently defines the city’s street style (see Chicago Looks for more proof). Compared to last fall, I’m already seeing more individuality in the ways Chicagoans are dressing for cold weather. Hopefully my colleagues and I are inspiring people to dress better in hopes of being spotted by one of us!
I already thought Chloe was cool as hell for her off-kilter approach to traditional American prep-school fashion. But when I saw she came complete with accurately monogrammed sweater (CB are her initials), and heard that she even added the feather details to the hat herself, I realized I had come across one amazing individual. If only everyone in Chicago had the courage to take a fashion concept and twist it to make it their own, my job would be so much easier!
Meeting Leah this past weekend really lifted my spirits after a terrible week. She was so enthusiastic about my blog and patiently waited to be found for well over a year. I photographed her friends Gloria and Curtis back during the summer of 2010 outside of Lollapalooza, and since then she’s been an avid reader. I’m happy to say that Leah’s photos came out much better after spending the last year practicing photography on a near daily basis. Being around someone who enjoys reading my blog so much really inspired me to stay focused on the work. My friend Megan is always telling me, “it’s the work that matters, nothing else!” And she’s right. This blog is all about the photographs I take for the people who read my blog, which are the best people in the world. Every time I meet you guys I am blown away by how damn cool you all are. Thank you for reading my blog, I mean it. A lot of times I feel like I’m talking to a black hole in space (despite my website statistic reports) so meeting you guys in person is always such an honor.
Anyway, for those of you who wondered why last week sucked for a lot of reasons it was mainly because of this (he was a family friend and colleague of my mother’s). A few other really crappy things happened too; I felt like I was enveloped in negative energy all week. It was horrible. So to recharge my spirits on Saturday I did what I do best; I walked around and photographed the amazing people who inspire me on the streets of Chicago, including Leah. Then I took Sunday “off” and spent all afternoon lounging around in the gardens of the Bahai Temple in Wilmette, meditating and centering myself. That place is is hands down my favorite spot in Chicago to recharge my batteries. If you’ve never been, it’s probably the most visually stunning monument in Chicagoland.
