New York Street Style: Paper Bags

I’m still not sure where I stand on the paper bag pant, although this woman’s quirky take on the classic preppy aesthetic is a persuasive argument in favor of the garment. She feels so down to earth carrying a paper bag alongside her Chanel classic flap purse. Or maybe it’s the way she paired cuffed trousers with black oxfords for a chic riff on Oliver Twist. Either way, you can’t deny this woman has style.

Kristen… To Flare, or not to Flare

A camel coat should be a staple in every woman’s wardrobe. Michael Kors would be proud of that pronouncement, wouldn’t he? Look at how perfectly Kristen’s coat dresses up her burgundy corduroys and leather ankle boots.

Flare in photographs is a matter of taste. A lot of photographers – fashion bloggers in particular – purposely create flare for aesthetic reasons. Some bloggers (who shall remain nameless) overdo the flare to an annoying level (like, every image in every post…) where the images are so washed-out you can no longer even see the subject matter. I like to get just a touch of rainbows in some of my images if the sun is easy to work with that day. If you watch Breaking Bad closely, you’ll see that the cinematographers use flare whenever they can too.

Since I normally shoot with a compact lens it was great using my friend Andrea’s 75-200mm Nikon the day I photographed her for Blonde Bedhead. Click here to see how differently the flare is refracted in a longer lens compared to the flare generated by my shorter lens in Kristen’s photo above.

Chicago Street Style: Randy

Randy

I don’t feature enough men on this blog. It’s a problem I’ve been avidly trying to reconcile. The fact is that the majority of Chicago men don’t really understand how to dress well. The minority who dress very well I spot from time to time and I’m always elated to do so. Randy was waiting outside of the Burton store on Walton Street for his son to finish up shopping. I could use a crude acronym to refer to this extremely handsome father, but I’ll just childishly allude to it instead. I can’t help myself!