How Much is that Doggie in the window?

The idea of window shopping really got its start in the late 19th/early 20th century.  As the Industrial Revolution got into full swing in America, all of a sudden a new consumer class, the middle class (the bourgeoisie) was created.  Now, people had some extra pocket money and started 'window shopping'.  The nation was booming in industry and inventions; now there were new gadgets and trinkets that people wanted to buy.

New York has always been the mecca of shopping and consumer culture in America.  New York is the king of advertising and suckering people into buying things they really do not need (nor really want).  I often walk around the streets of New York taking pictures of different display windows and interesting advertisements that are especially unique and attention getting.

I will break the pictures down by category (clothing, signs, accessories, etc).  You will be able to see how NYC really breaks the mold in being able to reach its consumer.  People don't just stop and stare outside the Macy's Christmas window display.  And, it isn't only Christmas that one can find interesting displays and advertisements around NYC. 

Think especially of how advertising was often done up until the 60's/70's, on the sides of buildings.  The whole concept of window display is something more modern.  It really wasn't until the turn of the century (19th to 20th) that window dressing/display really began to take a form of its own.

Here is an old advertisement for furniture and electronics that looks about 47-57 years old, maybe older.

Ladies' Fashion:

 Kate Spade on 5th ave. and 20th st.

   

Rugby on University Place (between 11th and 12th st.)

I don't remember where this was, but it's cool!

 

 Mens' Fashion:

     Paul Smith Inc. at 5th Ave and W 16th st.

Accessories (ie. jewelry/purses): 

 Louis Vuitton on 59th and Lexington (at Bloomingdale's)

         Tiffany's at 5th ave and W. 57th st.

Yep, NYC sure has interesting windows.  I have a lot more pictures of display windows.  By far, however, the best ones always seems to be around Union Square (at Broadway or at 5th) and at 5th and Madison around Columbus Circle.  Bloomingdale's is also a sure fire win.  Their in and out of store displays are pretty awesome!

NYC display windows is artwork.  So take a look around at store front windows sometime.  It's like being in an outdoor museum.

Artfully and tastefully yours,

~R~

ARTsy FartSY

When you think of eccentric artists, who comes to mind? Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol, Vincent Van Gogh.

One name is missing from your list. Possibly one of the most genius artists who exists in the world of photography AND fashion, snapping photos of clothes is Bill Cunningham. I would argue that he is by far one of the most revolutionary and important artists/photographers of the 20th/21st century. The man is in his mid-eighties and still rides around the city of New York on a bicycle taking photographs with a non-digital camera (that is a camera that still takes film that one gets developed). He lives alone; he isn't married nor has he ever been in a significant romantic relationship. Probably a lot of people think he is 'gay', but to me Bill is Bill. He defies conventional definitions and cannot be boxed in. His sexuality isn't something Bill Cunningham thinks about often or really has time for. He isn't sad at never having started a family, nor does he seem regretful about his life. He lives his life doing what he loves and seems content.

After watching the documentary about his life, made one year ago, in 2011, Bill Cunningham in my new hero. It is 85 minutes that you will not regret. Bill Cunningham New York. Do yourself a favor. Watch it. Now! (PS: It's on Netflix!) He lives by his own rules and not by other people's expectations. Growing up, his Catholic family did not really want him entering into the fashion world because it isn't a man's territory. However, rather than being a banker or businessman like other men in the 50's and 60's, he took pictures of clothes. He is one of the last true artists of our generation. He has defied being conventional and mundane by being unique and reaching outside of the box. Labels defy him, they bounce off like bullets.

For the last 40 to 50 years, he has been riding around NYC on his bike taking pictures of street fashion, high society galas, and runway shows. He has been to Paris many times, and he is on a first name basis with many socialites and designers. However, Bill Cunningham is everything but pretentious. He is so humble, that it is almost hard to believe how modest he is. He gets hundreds of invitations to functions that are typically reserved for the socially elite and well known celebrities around New York City. He, however, chooses the ones where he is inspired by the charity and finds something intriguing about their cause and work. What's more is that he doesn't sup at these events. It would be anyone's dream to sit down and eat caviar and sip expensive wine while rubbing elbows with New York's rich and reputable. However, Bill Cunningham refrains from touching anything, even sitting, at these events. He is there to photograph clothes and make honest reflections and societal commentary, through his pictures, about the story that clothes and people tell. He has upper crust NY eating out of the palm of his hand, yet he prefers to eat at the corner deli.

He doesn't buy the most expensive equipment. In fact, he uses the same camera he has for years and often reuses materials instead of buying something expensive and new. He just doesn't see a point to spending money frivolously. Bill Cunningham also lives in a very modest apartment above Carnegie Hall, or at least he did at the shooting of the film. As he went apartment hunting in nicer, loftier, more expensive looking places, Bill looked rather embarrassed. Bill also has a very small work studio. One would think that for a man with his prestige and credentials that he'd have a whole floor of a building to use as his work space. Bill Cunningham is not a man of pretension and artifice. Though, he admits in the film the irony of how he lives his life since it contrasts with the fact that he loves to photograph clothing.

He has worked with the New York Times since 1978 and still has a regularly and popularly read section. His career began with the Chicago Tribune, and during that time he also worked with Women's Wear Daily. However, despite being the toast of the town for his photos, he stopped with work with Women's Wear because they were doing things with his work that he didn't approve of. For example, Bill has always taken photos of street fashion. He especially likes to profile regular non-model types wearing runway clothing. In Women's Wear, they took the opportunity to make fun of and mock the regular women wearing designer looks. They also would use Bill's pictures to point out the 'worst' and 'best' dressed. Bill Cunningham, however, would not have this. To him, no one is 'better' or 'worse' because a person wears or doesn't wear something in particular. He takes pictures of the elite and mundane people as a way to equate them. What people wear on a day-to-day basis is just as artful as what the runways premieres. To Bill Cunningham, all of fashion is art.

What inspires me the most about this man is that he is completely humble. Every designer around the globe knows his name. He can get into any fashion show and rub elbows with the crème de la crème of the fashion world. However, to Bill, it's just life, c'est la vie. It doesn't get to his head. He likes going to fashion shows and being allowed to photograph because, to him, it's fun. This is his livelihood. He still goes to church every Sunday. He admits in the film that he goes to church 'to hear music' since he wouldn't have time for music otherwise. Photography and fashion is what he eats, sleeps, and breathes, literally!

I think the biggest compliment ever would be if I were walking around Manhattan and I see Bill sidle up next to me in his blue smock and bicycle snapping shots of what I'm wearing. That would be the greatest honor of life, just because the very act of acknowledging my clothes as art would acknowledge me as a person. Bill Cunningham's art is empowering to people of every race, class, and culture. He has captured NY history through clothes. He has photographed major fashion trends from the hippified, bohemian sixties to disco seventies to flashdance/volumized eighties to grunge/alternative nineties. Bill Cunningham's art has transcended time. He has captured movements and styles that will be forever remembered. He takes the notion of whether everyday people create fashion as art or fashion instructs all of us to wear what we do.

One quote from the movie really struck a chord with me. Bill Cunningham said, "The wider world that sees fashion sometimes as a frivolity that should be done away with in the face of social upheavals and problems that are enormous. The point is, in fact, that fashion, you know it is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life. I don't think you could do away with it; it would be like doing away with civilization."

I never really thought of fashion in this way. We all deal with what life throws at us through clothing. It reflects every mood and event in our life. In a world seemingly out of order, our clothes are one thing we can always have control over. More inspiring is that we are all empowered, as artists, through our clothes. It is our way to show who we think we are to the world. We can create a character for ourselves, we can reinvent ourselves, we tell others what to think through our clothing. For Bill Cunningham, he truly enjoys the art of taking photos of clothes because it is the clothes that speak about who we are as people and individuals. He doesn't do it to be famous or noticed. He shies away from public recognition. He acts just like someone's fun-loving grandpa or eccentric uncle, so down to earth.

He can exist within every level of society, multiple worlds. This is a gift that most people never attain. He can slip in and out of high society functions. He is the only photographer who people like Anna Wintour will stop and pose for. He was good friends with Lady Astor. He is one of the last bastions of old artist New York, as he lived in Carnegie Hall with Editta Sherman (photographer/dancer) and Toni 'Suzette' Cimino (artist), the last artistes to reside above Carnegie Hall. Bill Cunningham is a legend and an inspiration to artists everywhere. He lives for his art, and makes his work passion. He is unassuming and lives the same way an NYU film student would live (penny to penny). For year he didn't want to get paid the full worth of his photos when he shot for Details magazine. To Bill, money ruins everything and as an artist, without it, you are more powerful.

Bill Cunningham is like a infusion of Mister Rogers mixed with The Mad Hatter. By the way, he was a milliner, hatmaker; he used to design and make his own hats. I would seriously give my left eye to meet this man and shake his hand. Through his art, he is a revolutionary, a rogue, a visionary. He defies the labels of class through his photos and equates all levels of NY society through their clothing. A street punk, street performer, and art student are just as important fixtures of NY society as any Rockefeller or Carnegie. Through his photos, he blurs the line between fashion, art, and sociology/history. He is a true maverick. I can proudly say that Bill Cunningham is my new hero. In an age where heroes are dead, I have found one worth looking up to and aspiring to be.

Bon nuit,
 ~R~

Further resources/reading:
=The Film site
=Bill Cunningham's NY Times column
=NY Times article on Bill

Passion for Fashion

I'm not a fashionista OR a metrosexual, the term for men into fashion. In fact, my wife thinks I'm one of the least fashionable men around. Mostly because I don't give a crap about how I look most of the time. I don't remember the last time I combed my hair, and sometimes I skip taking a shower (depends on my mood). As for clothes, I do have some stylish pieces and looks, but in general, I'm not that into fashion! However, since being in NYC, I cannot help but be drawn to the fashion movement and have an ear to the ground for what's hot and cool.

I have learned major designers names and now coo at hearing about designers making exclusive lines for particular stores like Gap or J. Crew. Before moving to the big city, however, I couldn't tell you who Diane von Furstenburg, Alexander McQueen, or Isaac Mizrahi, or Marc Jacobs were. Now, I'm HOOKED on the show, Project Runway (thanks Kim) its spin-off Project Accessory as well as 24-hour Catwalk and the Fashion Fund mini-episodes (on Hulu). I still sometimes say to myself, 'Who is that?' and my wife goes, 'WHAT! you don't know (fill in the name of some really famous designer)? Then, I look up what the designer does on the computer and google about biography, background, style, etc. I was clueless about this world before living in Brooklyn.

In fact, just yesterday, I hung out with an old friend (she's not old..I've known her for a while). I actually consider her a 'phantom high school' friend. I just created that myself. We didn't go to high school together (in the same generation or at the same school). However, I KNOW that if we had gone to school together, that we would have been really good friends. She used to dress in vintage styles from different decades; she shopped at thrift shops. I wore snapping cowboy shirts and Dickies work pants. We both dressed in kooky styles put together from other decades, and didn't care about brand names or labels.

So yesterday, as we're walking around Manhattan, she tells me that being in NYC, you cannot escape being somewhat inspired/intrigued by the fashion world. She was saying that every single magazine in her hotel room had to do with fashion. Not only this, but her son (who is more brand conscious, as are most teenagers nowadays) bought some green Nike shoes. He needed new shoes, and he wanted Nike shoes, so I recommended they check out Nike Town (surprisingly, the shoes weren't astronomical as expected). I have to say that the shoes are wicked cool, and my friend's 13-year-old will be the toast of his middle school upon returning.

Other people walking around noticed the shoes and remarked how cool they were. In fact, my friend and her son were directing people to Nike Town. They were a walking advertisement. I, thereby, challenge anyone to come to New York and not be enchanted by fashion and trends. You see ads and fashion references on billboards, in the subway, on passing buses, even in any newspaper or news broadcast. And don't say, 'I don't have a lot of money!' There are cheap-o brand name shoe and clothing stores in Brooklyn and even Manhattan has deals. Heck, go to Chinatown and buy some knock-off purses (although I've been told that the city has cracked down).

My own history with fashion isn't completely null and void. I started getting into J. Crew and Brooks Brothers back in college. Actually, I had three personal shopper: my best friend Sarah T.; my sister, Margaret; and my wife Clair. They got me into wearing pink shirts and pin stripe trousers. My wife and I, back when we were JUST friends used to go to Easton (a posh outdoor mall in Columbus) and go to Abercrombie and J. Crew. Back then, Hollister and American Eagle was considered 'fancy' for me. Though, now I'm more of a Brooks Brothers/J. Crew sort. My first wool trousers were purchased at J. Crew, as was my first cashmere sweater. At the advice of the women mentioned above, I began to embrace color and style. I took advice on what 'looked good' on me and what didn't. In fact, I still have some of these recommended purchases in my closet!

Since living here, in New York City, I find myself actually caring about how I look before I go out (especially if I'm going to Manhattan). There is a poster I always see in the subway, and advertisement for Manhattan Storage: "New Yorkers don't dress better than everyone else, we just act like it." That pretty much sums up the persona.

Below, you will find shots I took of mannequins/store displays around Manhattan and Brooklyn:







Even from the shop windows and mannequins, you can see that fashion is art in NYC. And, there is a style for EVERYONE under the sun! Plus, here you don't have to look very far to see inspiration and unique ideas. On the subway, bus, and in the streets, you are bombarded by different styles and ways of wearing clothes. I have noticed that the 80's has come back in full style here: big shoulders, big hair, clunky jewelry. However, I often see other decades too. I've seen dapper looking men with wax in their moustache (to style in circa 1900's) wearing suspenders, a bow-tie, and then mixing it up with a 70's style polyester suit. I've seen women with punk hairstyles and tattoos wearing a 50's dress silhouette/style. People here are all about fashion, and it crosses cultures, religions, ages, genders, sexualities, nationalities. Often different groups get inspiration from each other.

I would have never in a million years thought that I'd admit that the first thing I'd do at becoming famous and/or wealthy is to get myself a personal shopper/stylist at Bloomingdale's mens' department. Seriously, you walk into the basement where the menswear is, and you are bombarded by classic suits and hip urban chic men's clothing. It is NOT some middle America Macy's or commercialized mall department store. You see items at Bloomingdale's that are unlike anything you've ever seen. They have top designers and signature brands (like Ralph Lauren Polo, Calvin Klein, and Tommy Hilfiger). But, there are also designers you've never heard of, or at least ones that I haven't heard of. The mens' department at Bloomingdale's is amazing! If you are male, go there, and try not to be hypnotized by cool fashion styles and trends. I include the website below, BUT be warned that for the full effect of male fashion obsession to take place, you have to go in person for the ambiance and effect. The prices will make you cringe, but then you'll wish you had that amount of cash so you could look so cool!

(below): pics of Bloomingdale's menswear department:





~Bloomingdale's Mens'Department

I think it's great that straight men are embracing a once man taboo. Of course men can be into fashion and this hobby have no bearing on one's sexuality. After all, the days of 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy' are over. Men are learning how to dress themselves and embrace v-necks, Italian suits, and bright colors. It is cool to be fashionable if you're a guy. Guys of the world, know that you are not a 'sissy' for being interested in brands, designers, and fashion. The trend is growing, and sooon...

Below are some pics of NYC street fashion (the last three are my own pictures):







You will become a FASHUN-MISTA (or a Man-shion-ista)! That's my new term for guys who are into fashion (I like the former better). And just so you know, guys of all stripes are fashionable these days. That includes men in both the gay and straight worlds. There are plenty of straight, macho men who are into fashion (especially in NYC). In fact, men are blogging about it and it is consuming the mans' world. Nascar, football, baseball, and golf are pastimes of yesteryear. The new 'guy' thing to do is to be a fashun-mista!

~NY Observer article on Men and Fashion

Fashionably yours,

~R~