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Around the Way Girls

Posted on September 3, 2009
Filed Under On The Street, Women | 4 Comments

Saw these girls waiting at the bus stop looking terribly sassy and cute. Hat tip to LL Cool J for the title.

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Those earrings…

Posted on August 20, 2009
Filed Under Around Town, On The Street | 2 Comments

Was anyone else handed a copy of H&M’s Autumn 2009 magazine as they exited the Metro this morning? (me: Street Sense? Did it yesterday. Examiner? Ehhh. Fall fashion glossiness galore? Yes, please!)

Check it out – do those earrings look familiar…?!

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Behind the Sidewalk Stylers

Posted on July 7, 2009
Filed Under On The Street, Only in Washington | 6 Comments

Washington is a city of about 600,000 fascinating people, and I’m reminded of that every time I go out in search of a new Sidewalk Style subject or street-style photo for this blog. Over the past few weeks, I’ve photographed a talented jewelry designer with a penchant for cheapie shops (more on that in a sec), a teen hoping to become a professional dancer, and a graphic designer who, when not working to bring PBS into the new-media age, turned out to be half of the group DC Design Babes. It’s proof that each person walking our city streets has an interesting story to tell.

Paula Mendoza was a drive-by (as in, I saw her and abruptly circled the block to park and chase after her. Not the first time I’ve done this!) I didn’t realize who she was until I approached – Paula and I know one another, though I didn’t know her well until we had our interview. She showed me a few vintage dresses she’d just picked up in Paris, and then we explored the hat selection at Hit Item Wholesale (1406 14th St. NW). Like me, she loves little sketchy cheapie places. There are great summertime fedora-style hats to be had here for $10. Wear one with something girly, like a boho-style flower-printed minidress.

Valli Ravindran is this week’s subject. While we were discussing Indian designers, she mentioned that her wedding dress was designed by Manish Malhotra. She graciously sent her wedding photos over. She also mentioned the designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee, which got me looking up more on Indian design.

Also regarding Washingtonian: you may have heard that they are taking submissions for their next Best-Dressed list, and you should also think about attending their annual Best Of Washington party July 15. It’s always a feast for the eyes as well as belly – this year’s theme is East Meets West, so you can expect dragon dancers, Asian street artists, and A LOT of awesome food and drink (including an after-party at CoCo Sala). PB readers get $10 off the ticket price when they enter BESTFRIEND at checkout, so buy tix here.

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Drag.

Posted on June 16, 2009
Filed Under Everything Else, On The Street | Leave a Comment

George, by Deborah Oropallo

This show was awesome! From the curator notes from the 2007 Guise show at the de Young: Oropallo layers “the images of contemporary women in sexy costumes with images of men from 17th- and 18th-century portrait paintings. Painted portraits did not simply document the likeness of the sitter but were also contrived to convey a sense of his importance and authority. Nobility and dignity were attributes portrayed through stance, gesture, and attire, and portraits often involved costume and props….in all the prints, the vast symbolism of classic portraiture is employed, raising issues about gender, costume, fantasy, potency, power, and hierarchy. The artist asks, ‘Does the popularity of fetish fashion stem from the fact that it makes women appear strong and very powerful?’

On a related note, check out my Sidewalk Style subject this week: Ongina!

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In the name of love

Posted on June 15, 2009
Filed Under Events, Men, On The Street, Women | Leave a Comment

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Post Love for Flaunt

Posted on June 5, 2009
Filed Under Events, Men, On The Street, Only in Washington | 5 Comments

So thrilled and have to share…Lavanya really got what this show is about and what I love about fashion photography in this exhibit! From today’s Washington Post:

{photo Steve Goldenberg}

On the Go
Fashionistas, This One’s for You
By Lavanya Ramanathan
Friday, June 5, 2009

What do you do with fashion photographs that, oddly, aren’t trying to sell clothing, a way of life or desirable body type? Honfleur Gallery, arts-support organization Ten Miles Square and the blog Project Beltway make a case that such images belong on gallery walls. “Flaunt” is their exhibit featuring 20 slick and styled photos exploring fashion’s value as costume and cultural force.

Steve Goldenberg catches scruffy scenesters on K Street at rush hour; dressed in crayon-bright garb by Durkl, the men are brilliant peacocks in a gray-and-black sea of worker drones. In the background of one, a little girl shoots a look of pure disgust at the camera: The men’s fashion makes them different, and around here, that’s undesirable. A lovely blond model tromps around in designer Taimur Baig’s red carpet-ready gown, but who can bother to notice it when the model is viciously bashing a mannequin to bits?

For this show, Ten Miles Square brought in photographers Joshua Yospyn, John Ulaszek, Meaghan Gay and Goldenberg, while Project Beltway enlisted local designers, including Baig and Dana Greaves, to pair off and create these photographs. Together, the artists and designers fashioned images distinctly in the artists’ style, which explains why the dresses in Gay’s macabre photo series of seemingly perfect women barely make it into the frame.

Though “Flaunt” is about photography, there’s no better time to see it than tomorrow night, when you can also check out some of the fashions. The exhibit closes with a runway show of clothes created by the designers; upstairs, Honfleur hosts a pop-up boutique of the designers’ wares.Tickets to “Flaunt” are $10 and must be bought in advance. 8:30 p.m. tomorrow. Honfleur Gallery, 1227 Good Hope Rd. SE. 202-580-5972 or http://www.honfleurgallery.com.

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Walker Rules.

Posted on May 6, 2009
Filed Under Interviews, Men, On The Street | 9 Comments

Walker Lamond, one of my favorite stylish local gents, is my Sidewalk Style subject this week. I think I first saw Walker at the Jete Society’s “Dance Party” in 2008 – pretty sure I took his photo and never posted it, for one reason or another. I then saw him again at the Sartorialist opening at Adamson Gallery, and then included him in the big “Great Hair” spread I had in Washingtonian magazine a while back. So I guess you could say that I’ve been following Walker, and his style, for a while now.

Walker’s style is basically original prep. No shapeless khakis with embroidered animals or sack-style navy jackets to be found. His is a carefully considered yet unfussy blend of labels both old and new, all with a decidedly 50s-retro look. The unfussy part is what I find particularly attractive about the look – think beachside walks in white jeans rolled up to mid-calf, an old white oxford shirt worn like second skin. Totally classic, just like the advice he doles out on his blog (and soon, book!), Rules For My Unborn Son.

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