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.
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.
