Seeking out style

I once read that you should look at a traffic jam or a delayed flight as unplanned time to just relax.  A long those lines, I have recently found myself paying attention to those parts of the day that I once thought of as just those connecting minutes or hours before something interesting happened.  This new found consciousness is in part due to the recent workshop I presented (along with Lesley Hawley) at where I talked about how to bring ones creativity to the workplace not just for clients and the organization, but for ones own sanity.

So now when I am riding the train, waiting for Peter, or find myself with time that use to piss me off because it was delaying what I had planned...I am looking, looking at people's style.  Not just fashion forward, straight out of lookbook, but how various people from various style tribes communicate to outsiders who they are and what they are about.  

For instance there is this train conductor who I am obsessed with who wears the traditional uniform, but has the name "Ruby" tattooed on his knuckles.  He stands out from the normal conductor, I can see the individual, or at least imagine the individual.

I like to guess what "style tribe" people belong too and its sad to see so much of the same blah, solid color look.  People don't know what they are missing!  Bring some pattern into your life!  I know not everyone thinks, wants, and or uses clothes to tell people who they are, but its way more interesting when they do!







Writing about this makes me think of the photographer Nikki Lee. Who's work plays with the idea of identity and collaboration.  "Lee immersed herself in various communities, taking on the style and mannerisms of groups as varied as urban-dwelling Hispanics, hip-hop performers, strippers, young Korean school girls and trailer park residents in Ohio. After becoming an accepted member of the group, she would document the project by having her newly made friends snap the photographs that became her art". artinfo.com, by Magdalene Perez.   All photos in this post are from Nikki Lee's series.