URBSVOX

Style Shots—Classic Menswear Fall Edition Photography...

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 17:30:48 -0500

Style Shots—Classic Menswear Fall Edition

Photography by: Swabreen Bakr

I caught up with David P. Lochner over at one of the best vintage shops that caters exclusively to men, Briar Vintage in Old City, Philadelphia. Love the fur detailing on his coat and the textured socks. As always with menswear it’s fun to see what details are emphasized with the color schemes, in this case the yellow pocket square pulling out the yellow in the plaid pants was a great touch.

The Sartorialist: Closer Q&A

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 20:15:57 -0400

Photography & Words by Swabreen Bakr

Scott Schuman aka The Sartorialist (along with his girlfriend Garance Doré ) stopped by in Philadelphia for a private Q&A with Ouigi Theodore of The Brooklyn Circus as part of his book tour. He was in town for a public book signing for Closer at The Barnes Foundation, and a few members of the media were invited to attend this candid Q&A session.

Closer explores themes that viewers of Schuman’s website have come to love, style and fashion, however it also explores themes that Schuman says he feels are, “getting closer to what I wanted to do originally in terms of mixing fashion, street and kind of cultural shots.”

Below is a transcript from the very enlightening Q&A, Schuman talks about his process as a photographer, his inspirations and how to maintain a profitable blog.

Why street fashion verses indoor studio shots?

“I’d rather go out and find the image and then capture what I’m seeing as opposed to creating it myself. I like to react to what I see more than try and create something.

When you look through the book I’m very proud of the diversity of the kinds of people that I shoot, young people, old people, kids, rich, poor. A lot of different scenarios, a lot of different places. I don’t try to say oh I’m going to shoot this particular age category for the blog, for me it’s totally irrelevant how old they are or how young, how rich they are, or how poor. I’m shooting to what I react to, I just happen to have a very open eye.”

What he thinks makes a great photograph?

“One thing that people don’t really realize or consider when they’re shooting is gesture, the physicality of the person. You get a sense of the person, you might not get a record of what their outfit looks like but the physicality of her gestures makes it inspiring to shoot.

If I’m successful with a photograph I think it’s because people can look at that photograph whether they’re in China or anywhere, be able to look and see something they can relate to in terms of it being a human and then create their own dreamlike world of the image.”

How does he differentiate himself from all the other street style bloggers and photographers?

“When I started I was very inspired by August Sander, this German photographer who was shooting in the 30s, and 40s, even the late 20s. His shots were very straight up and down, so I was very inspired by that, I wanted the background a certain way, the lighting a certain way but everyone started doing that kind of thing so as opposed to just being upset about that you have to evolve, that’s how you do anything. You evolve and you adjust so now you know I think there’s a lot more movement in my shots, I’m playing with light and shadow a lot more. That’s one of the biggest things that Garance has taught me is that you constantly have to adjust.”

Schuman also mentioned the inspiration Garance has on him as a photographer, she pushes him and has helped him grow and adjust as a photographer. She has fantastic blog of her own which is also fashion focused, she interviews a lot of designers and influencers.

Does he shoot to inspire or just shoot things that he’s inspired by?

“I think I shoot to inspire, I shoot to inspire me. I think most of the time I’m always thinking is it a photograph that I would want to look at again. If it’s not something that I think I’d want to look at again then I don’t know if I’d take the shot or I have to work to take the shot in a way that’s going to inspire me.”

What he thinks is the most inspiring city to shoot fashion in?

“New York is still my favorite, just because it’s so crazy the variety. I think I love shooting in Milan, it’s what I like to call narrow and deep, I mean it runs from Cavalli to Armani and that’s about it, you have a little more sexier part and a little more classier part, but the variety of it within that narrow scope is just so incredibly beautiful.”

What quality must a blog have for success?

You have to have a really strong point of view. Once I started shooting all I had to teach myself to do was to clearly communicate what I felt about that thing through the photograph, that I didn’t have to write very much, anyone could pick this up and go oh ok I get it. That’s the trickiest part, you have to have a strong point of view before you open a blog, just because it’s easy to do doesn’t mean that someone is gonna want to read it.

On making a living with the blog

“Garance and I are very lucky that we’re the first generation of photographers that will make more money getting ads on our sites than having to shoot ads for someone else. Garance and I are very lucky that we get ads on our site and go out and shoot what we want everyday, and as long as we keep pulling the audience in they’re kind of almost funding our artistic adventure. I think it’s going to keep evolving, continuing to surprise the audience, keep them coming back, make the fashion posts stronger but also shoot things that are a total surprise.”

Style Shots—Fall Fashion Trends at The Sartorialist...

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 18:27:52 -0400

Style Shots—Fall Fashion Trends at The Sartorialist ‘Closer’ Book Signing

Photography by: Swabreen Bakr

Originally published on: Philly.com/Style

On Saturday, Scott Schuman aka The Sartorialist and Garance Dore visited Philly for a book signing at The Barnes Foundation. Philadelphians put their best threads forth and wore some awesome ensembles inspired by Fall 2012’s biggest trends, leather, black and gold, camo, over-sized jackets, and pattern mixing among others. It was really inspiring to see all these fashion-conscious young people in one room.

Style Shots—GQ x GAP Ian Velardi Photography by Chaucee...

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 02:30:22 -0400

GQ for GAP

Nepalese bracelet and snake skin print ring

Warby Parker glasses and Ian Velardi Triangle Print shirt

Uniqlo jeans and ASOS heels

Shot at The Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia

Style Shots—GQ x GAP Ian Velardi

Photography by Chaucee Stillman

Words by Swabreen Bakr

I’m ~~kind of~~ … ok pretty obsessed with this GQ for GAP collaboration featuring the best new menswear designers in America 2012. The Fall 2012 trends for womenswear include a lot odes to masculinity so with that inspiration in mind-and my current love for black and white minimalism-I put this look together featuring Ian Velardi’s Triangle Print shirt ($60), with a cool leather jacket, Uniqlo jeans, some ultra feminine high heels from ASOS, plus a pair of Warby Parker glasses for this cool and confident look.

The shirt that I’m wearing is a men’s xtra-small, it fits quite nicely in the shoulders and neck but the arms are a bit long. It’s super comfortable and is pretty sexy with a nice pencil skirt too.

This GQ for GAP collection has a lot of super cool items, I highly recommend both men and women check out. They’re a couple of items in there that are unisex enough that a girl with the right attitude can rock. The ampersand sweat shirt and pom pom beanie from Saturdays along with my other purchase BLK DENIM’s Liberté tee are two good options.

Dear, New York Photography & Words by: Swabreen Bakr Every...

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 00:14:00 -0400

The Standard Hotel and #STNDWURM sculpture

The High Line Park

Shopping

The Chelsea Market

The Chelsea Market

The Standard Hotel's beer garden

Meatpacking District

DVF

All Saints

URBANSPACE food and fashion pop-up market

Dear, New York

Photography & Words by: Swabreen Bakr

Every time I visit NYC I come back feeling really inspired, it really is a city unlike any other. The energy, the scenery… every corner looks like it could be a movie set. I spent a day roaming around the Meatpacking District, SoHo and TriBeCa last week and I’m excited to go back and check out some of the other neighborhoods that I haven’t been to yet.

In this set some scenes from the Meatpacking District, in addition to the High Line park there is an awesome high-end shopping scene here, Christian Louboutin recently opened his first men’s shoe store here, it comes equipped with a tattoo parlor!

There are some really great food to have in this area, the High Line features some affordable dining options serving up hot dogs, tacos, burgers, popsicles and coffee. The Chelsea Market has a fantastic series of restaurants and coffee shops, it reminds me of Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market. The Standard hotel has a beer garden and across from that is an awesome food and fashion pop-up market called UrbanSpace.

Roaming around here was super fun, and a nice way to spend a couple of hours. Shopping, walking and eating, it doesn’t get any better!

Style Shots—Beau & Co. Chambray Pt IV Photography...

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 17:30:18 -0400

Style Shots—Beau & Co. Chambray Pt IV

Photography by: Swabreen Bakr

Alas the final look in our chambray series is here; we’ve been tracking how to wear this versatile shirt from Summer to Fall with Michael Beaumont, one of our featured Philadelphia Creatives, and the tailor behind some of these exceptional menswear garments. Make sure to check out his bespoke menswear shop Beau & Co.

October is here, the leaves are starting to change and we’ve all begun to layer up a bit more; Michael breaks down this look as follows,

The final look of this mini-series is for a particularly cold, but dry Fall day. We used the same chambray shirt, chino and merino wool knit combination, but added one of our wool and cashmere blazers. This jacket is perfect for the Fall season, it’s a heavier weigh of cloth and has a full canvas for extra shape, and adds a little extra warmth through the body. We finished off the look with a cream scarf and a pair of thicker soled, dark brown leather shoes, which will do a better job of keeping the feet warm than the leather soled shoes from the early Fall outfit.

Again, a nice versatile outfit that would be great for a night out or for a day in the office, but do make sure you bring an umbrella when leaving the house with a blazer of this nature on, rain certainly isn’t a good friend of this cloth.

Polka dots are kind of a big deal this season, Kate Spade has a...

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 10:57:38 -0400

Polka dots are kind of a big deal this season, Kate Spade has a fun social media campaign going on around it called #ArtOfTheDot, as dots feature heavily in their current collection. This fall jeans are making a statement with patterns, textures and cool tuxedo inspired detailing.

Shop it!

Free People Dotted Velvet Skinny

Hudson Tuxedo Skinny

Style Shots—Modern Luxury Photography & Words by: Swabreen...

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 17:27:50 -0400

Style Shots—Modern Luxury

Photography & Words by: Swabreen Bakr

Chaisley was first featured on URBSVOX.com as one of our Philadelphia Creatives; in addition to being an inspiring entrepreneurial young woman she also has a killer sense of style. She favors contemporary brands with clean lines and a comfortable feel like Alexander Wang and 3.1 Phillip Lim.

Although her outfit looks understated, she’s rocking some seriously cool digs that altogether encompass Modern Luxury.

Sunglasses: Claire Goldsmith

T-Shirt: Alexander Wang

Jacket: Theory

Jeans: Current/Elliot

Boots: Roberto Del Carlo

Bag: Ruby Zaar

Watch: Men’s Yacht-Master Rolex

Wrap Bracelet: Club Monaco

Intermix opened a store in Philadelphia this past week, I walked...

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 20:59:00 -0400

Intermix opened a store in Philadelphia this past week, I walked in and fell in love with these two amazing pair of jeans. These jeans combine some of Fall’s biggest trends, high contrast black & white, patterns and on the jeans end tuxedo detailing. Love!

Shop it! Rag & Bone for Intermix

Chevron Skinny Winter White Jeans

Arrow Tuxedo Print White/Black Jeans

Style Shots—Menswear Pattern Mixing Photography & Words by:...

Sat, 22 Sep 2012 19:36:00 -0400

Style Shots—Menswear Pattern Mixing

Photography & Words by: Swabreen Bakr

A well dressed man is a thing to behold, here we have Wale, one of Esquire’s ‘Best Dressed Real Men’; a lawyer by day in our own fair city of Philadelphia and owner of an amazing menswear fashion blog where you can see him wearing goods from his upcoming clothing line.

One of my favorite things about menswear is that the closer you look the more interesting details you find. Here we find a lot of subtle things, like the color of one of his bracelets matching the buttons on his jacket, the yellow in his pocket square compliments the yellow thread on the jacket itself. The color scheme and texture of his shoes and suitcase also work very well together. This type of subtle detailing and accessorizing is definitely something to consider when putting together an outfit. Between the pocket square, jacket and shirt you have an fantastic mix of patterns. Pattern mixing is big for Fall in women’s wear, here’s a good example of how a man does it.

The Session: Branding advice from Ouigi Theodore of The Brooklyn Circus

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 20:28:00 -0400

Photography & Words by Swabreen Bakr

During The Brooklyn Circus pop-up shop at Art in the Age I got the chance to sit down with Ouigi Theodore and pick his brain about the creative direction of his brand. The session went like this…

Q: What advice would you give to young brands?

Tell a story, it’s all about storytelling.

The better the story, the better it sells, and the better people understand what you’re trying to say as opposed to trying to penetrate the market for the purpose of your own financial interest. Branding is about storytelling so if you forget that aspect of it and think it’s about making money … you’re completely off.

It’s not easy, just take it one sentence, one word, one paragraph, one chapter at a time, that’s the way we approach it. Every day is an opportunity to say something.

Q: What’s the concept behind the 100 year plan?

It’s really a process, it’s really us stamping the industry and the world with our presence and leaving something behind; something useful, something that will continue, you know it’s like passing the baton.

Q: Where do you source your materials?

90% of what we do is made in the U.S., we also do some stuff in Japan. Past seasons we did some stuff in Asia and China –some knits– because the factories here couldn’t do what we wanted them to do fast enough for the right prices; but now we’re back to the States and Japan, simply because they can meet the quality marks that we’re trying to hit.

Quality is so important, if we have 100 year plan and we’re making cheap stuff, we’re gonna come up short you know what I mean? 50 years from now we’ll show up naked, we can’t wear the clothes.

We don’t wanna leave waste, we wanna leave something that someone can pass on. We’re lovers of vintage.

Q: What staple garments define The Brooklyn Circus man’s wardrobe?

Canvas sneakers for sure, you can never go wrong with that, they’re easy to pack; good raw denims, well-made five pocket jeans. A varsity jacket is definitely a core item for us because it represents a scholastic element, and it represents American culture. A good oxford shirt because you can wear it tucked it, you can wear it out, you can wear it with a tie, you can wear it open, you can wear it with a shirt under, it’s just so versatile.

What we promote is tailored-casual.

So all these items can be tailored but worn in a casual way, and then reversed and worn in a tailored way. You can wear a blazer under a varsity jacket –you’ve seen that throughout history– and go to dinner.

Our collections are really item-based so we create items for it and then figure out how they fit in together. It’s more about how they fit into our lives and how they fit into the brand versus, “Oh this season we’re doing so-and-so prints.” It’s really about “Hey, where am I gonna wear that? How many times can I wear that during the week?” because that’s important for us as well. I wanna be able to wear a shirt or a sweater on Monday to a soccer game or to hang out, and then be able to wear it again on Friday and possibly Wednesday.

We produce products that can be interchanged and take you from one place to the next. We want people to really wear this stuff and beat it up!

We’ve experimented, we wear our own products and we do sell raw jeans. We buy back our product as well, we buy back our varsities simply because we have customers overseas that are interested in our items broken-in naturally. We have Japanese customers that buy these items, so we’re in a sense creating our own vintage. All of the repair we do in-house as well. It’s just to show that The Brooklyn Circus guy he’s seen the world, he’s traveling and these jeans are really lasting, no matter how old and deconstructed they are we’ll take them back in because we start with a great foundation.

We use Japanese selvedge denim and we also use Cone, one of the oldest denim mills in the U.S.

Q: How many of the varsity jackets do you make?

They’re expensive to produce and they take a long time to produce, seasonally we do produce a limited amount because of that and not because it’s the cool thing. The people that we’re working with to make our varsity jackets have been making jackets since the 20s and the 30s.

Q: Has the business changed from when you first started six years ago?

Still get the butterflies and that’s what keeps us going, we get excited about setting up a show or creating an item.

——

A big thanks for Ouigi for letting me pick his brain about branding and visual communication. The Brooklyn Circus is definitely a brand to look up to when it comes to maintaining high standards, consistency and quality, whether that be for a t-shirt line or your own personal brand.

The Scene: The Brooklyn Circus—Philadelphia Pop-up shop at Art in the Age

Sat, 15 Sep 2012 17:49:00 -0400

Photography & Words by Swabreen Bakr

As part of The Philadelphia Collection, Art in the Age is hosting a pop-up shop this weekend with New York-based menswear brand The Brooklyn Circus. I was very excited to attend this event as this is a brand that I think could inspire a lot of the local fashion brands we have here in Philadelphia.

The Brooklyn Circus is a great case study in how to tell a story and portray a lifestyle. Even though their product is seeped in Americana, it’s sold and worn across the world. They portray a lifestyle that men from Brooklyn to Tokyo to Copenhagen want to be a part of; that is really powerful and something to really take into account when developing a brand. The storytelling and visuals have to be aspirational and compelling enough to transcend borders and cultures. We’ll elaborate on this branding message with our upcoming interview with The Bearded Man himself, Ouigi Theodore.

The goal of The Brooklyn Circus brand is to create garments that will last a lifetime, this plays into their 100 Year Plan. They don’t want to create waste like most fast casual fashion does, these garments are meant to be passed on to future generations and stand the test of time. As a brand they don’t follow trends, but since fashion is cyclical sometimes the trends come back around to catch up with them. Last fall for example we saw a revived interest in varsity apparel.

With so much of American culture being about the here and the now, it’s nice to have a brand whose point of view is about investment pieces and longevity, and the quality of their garments can be definitely be felt.

Head over to Art in the Age on 116 North 3rd Street in Old City to grab some gear! The pop-up expires tomorrow, Sunday September 16th at 6 p.m.

Check out more photos from the pop-up after the jump.

Their jeans are made with Japanese selvedge denim. On display here are a few worn-in pairs from their customers, and a pair that’s travelled the world with The Bearded Man himself.

Style Shots—Beau & Co. Chambray Pt III Photography &...

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 20:28:00 -0400

Style Shots—Beau & Co. Chambray Pt III

Photography & Words by: Swabreen Bakr

That crisp fall air has arrived! We’re continuing our chambray series with bespoke menswear brand Beau & Co. Now you gentlemen get to layer up and transition summer staples into fall.

Michael Beaumont says,

The chambray shirt is again a great choice for this time of year as when worn underneath a knitted garment or a blazer, the cloth is very good at retaining warmth. We’ve paired the shirt with a pair of trim dusky blue chinos, a navy Beau & Co. merino wool v-neck sweater, and a pair of tan British lace up shoes.

Paring multiple shades of complimentary blues is something we’re particularly fond of this season, it’s great for all skin tones, and works well with most colors of shoes and belts you’ll have in the closet at this time of year. Wear this outfit to the store, a date, or even work on a Friday.

Style Shots—Black & Gold Photography by Rashid Zakat Words...

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 20:28:00 -0400

Style Shots—Black & Gold

Photography by Rashid Zakat

Words by Swabreen Bakr

Summer 2012’s fashion consisted of a lot of intense color blocking and neon colors, Fall 2012 is way more subdued with trends like leather, gold and burgundy dominating. This statement peplum top from Zara nicely channels Fall’s opulent noir trend.

This look is styled with a lot of gold accessories; some vintage, some real and some costume, the more the better! Fall’s big plum color trend is channeled in the nail color. Your nail color is an accessory too, play it up!

The Scene: Fashion's Night Out Philadelphia

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 20:29:25 -0400

Photography & Words by Swabreen Bakr

Philadelphia participated in its first ever Fashion’s Night Out. When this event was first announced a few weeks ago Mayor Michael Nutter spouted some rather lofty goals,

“Philadelphia is now able to show the world we are a city that’s ready to assume its rightful place among the fashion capitals of the world. Whether it’s New York or Paris or London or Milan, we are a city of creative ingenuity and entrepreneurship.” - Source

Although I agree with the last part of his statement, Philadelphia still has a long way to go before we can try and compete in the league of fashion capitals around the world because although we have access to fashion, we don’t necessarily have style. Like it or not we live in a city where you’ll see guys go on a date to 3-bell rated restaurant or a high-end and much lauded cocktail bar in cargo shorts and flip-flops. In the winter most women stick to boot cut dark denim jeans, knee high black boots and black North Face jackets. I guess the old adage you can buy fashion but not style definitely applies to us.

Joan Shepp boutique

In order to help propel Philadelphia into worldwide fashion scene, The Philadelphia Collection is taking place over this coming week. There will be 75 events from pop-up shops, to fashion panels and runway presentations. We’ll be posting a guide to some of the events we’re most looking forward to.

There is a lot fashion available here with our indie boutiques, outlet shops and international retail shops, but currently we are just not a fashion conscious city. However we definitely are a city filled with creatives who have a strong sense of entrepreneurship; in the last year a lot of independent streetwear brands have launched. The fashion scene is bubbling but it’s not quite mainstream yet, however you see pockets of it with the monied women at high-end events, and with young people’s street style.

Indie brand Couture Vulture

The reality is most Philadelphians are not that adventurous when it comes to fashion, but eventually the city could turn around with more interesting retailers opening up shop here. To get a city to become fashion conscious requires a lot of different elements; established high-end retailers, style leaders, bloggers, street style photographers, independent boutiques curating interesting garments, great local style publications, etc. That is part of the reason why this blog exists.

This FNO especially needed a strong network to help promote the event, and for the retailers to invest a little bit more in creating memorable experiences in their shops. The Philadelphia tourism board is usually really great at promoting big city-wide events like this, I was surprised that they weren’t involved more but it seems the city was reluctant to even host the event in the first place. Most of the people walking around Center City on Thursday night had no idea what was going on or what Fashion Night Out even was. That said, the people who did attend the in-store events seemed to have a good time. Hopefully next year the city rallies around this event and gives it the push that it needs in order to fulfill the goal making Philly a competitive retail city and style maven.

Alina Alter, owner of Aoki Boutique

Aoki Boutique

Indie retailers at Knit Witt boutique

Rakia Reynolds, Skai Blue Media

Here’s hoping that next year’s FNO in Philadelphia is bigger and better!

The Guide: Philadelphia Fashion's Night Out

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 01:22:00 -0400

Zara Fifth Ave. NYC

Photo by: Swabreen Bakr

This year Philadelphia participates in Fashion’s Night Out, a worldwide event that takes in over 500 cities. This event serves as the kick off party for New York Fashion Week.

“American Vogue, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, NYC & Company and the City of New York created Fashion’s Night Out in 2009 as a collaboration intended to celebrate fashion, restore consumer confidence, boost the industry’s economy and put the fun back in shopping. Proceeds from sales of official FNO gear will benefit the New York Community Trust’s New York City AIDS Fund.”

Since it’s our first year hosting FNO we won’t have anywhere near the star power in terms of designers and celebrities as New York, but this is a great opportunity to support our local boutiques and help our local fashion economy. When it comes to style Philadelphia has a way to go, but our boutiques do offer some of the best brands in the world.

Check out the events guide after the jump!

Aoki Boutique

115 South 22nd Street, Philadelphia

6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Launch of the Ilsa Loves Rick for Aoki collection & a trunk show by Couture Vulture! Check out Ilsa Loves Rick’s simple yet unique jewelry in leather & hand-hammered gold. Couture Vulture is a local print-based apparel brand featuring tribal & geometric designs. Preview CV’s new pieces & meet brand designer Dominique Negron! Also check out Aoki’s fall fashion, sip champagne, listen to music, & mingle with Philly’s creative set.

BCBG

1601 Walnut Street, Philadelphia

6:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

In honor of Fashion’s Night Out, BCBGMAXAZRIA is stylin’ out on Instagram! Visit one of our BCBGMAXAZRIA stores, and get styled all night long! You’ll be dripping in BCBGMAXAZRIA from head to toe. Post your styled-out look on Instagram #BCBGFNO to compete for a chance to win an amazing $1,000 BCBGMAXAZRIA wardrobe.

Joan Shepp

1616 Walnut Street, Philadelphia

6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

On Thursday, September 6, 2012, Joan Shepp will partner with The Accessories Council to present the first retail extravaganza for jewelry Made in the USA, featuring a distinct range of exceptional jewelry. United with the common goal to bring jewelry manufacturing back to the USA, Joan Shepp will host an exciting evening during Fashion’s Night Out to facilitate the support of American designers, complete with music, cocktails, and hors d’ oeuvres.

Kembrel

1822 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia

6:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.

Enjoy an evening of fashion, art and music as we host Kembrel’s 5th Philadelphia Designer Trunk Show: Fashion Night Out Edition. Featured emerging and established designers are Kendra, ROCK’d by Abbe, Pretty Pretty Rebel, bombom jewelry and Duke & Winston. Shop their fall collections and enjoy fine wine, hors d’oeuvres by DiBruno Bros. and mingling with some lovely people.

Knit Wit

1729 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia

6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Philadelphia’s top women’s designer boutique for more than 40 years - invites you to its FNO celebration featuring Skai Blue Show’s exclusive line-up of locally-designed RTW brands, and Knit Wit’s own favorite designers. Expect champagne, a red carpet, DJ, and the most fashionable Philadelphia set. Come meet and greet with the Skai Blue Show designers and get the chance to be styled by the experts at Knit Wit.

Macy’s

1300 Market Street, Philadelphia

6:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.

View the looks from the Philadelphia Fashion Incubator’s Designers in Residence in the Market Street windows.

Men’s at 6:30pm: Meet the cheerleaders from Philadelphia’s favorite football team, hang out in the fitness lounge with Optimal Sports Health Club, check out the newest skin products at the men’s grooming and skincare outpost and enjoy sips and snacks in the Smirnoff lounge.

Third Street Habit

153 North 3rd Street, Philadelphia

6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Third Street Habit, a women’s contemporary clothing boutique in the heart of Old City, will be hosting a Mother Denim Trunk Show. Mother has established itself as a fashion forward denim line. They are experts in soft fabrics and perfect fits, while creating a sleek sexy look. Complete your outfit with new fall styles from Isabel Marant, Graham & Spencer, James Perse and more. Come enjoy fun cocktails, free gifts, and great music while shopping the most coveted pieces in ready to wear and denim!

Participate

Tag your Instagram photos #FNO

Follow @FNOPhiladelphia on twitter

Find more events on FashionsNightOut.com

Dear, New York Photography & Words by Swabreen Bakr I think...

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 15:51:00 -0400

Dear, New York

Photography & Words by Swabreen Bakr

I think it was over a year since I had last visited NYC, I never really spent a lot of time in Manhattan when I went there since most of my friends live in the other boroughs, mainly Brooklyn. But this time around I stayed with my family on the Upper East Side on 2nd Ave and got to experience a different side of the city. After spending three days there I have a better understanding of why artists flock there, inspiration is everywhere! From the architecture, to the window displays, to the crowds of people, and yellow cabs zipping by like bees, it was an amazing experience.

At the Guggenheim museum I was really inspired by the portrait photography of Rineke Dijkstra. The way how she elevated her subjects from their humble surroundings and managed to capture subtle and honest expressions in their faces and eyes was really something.

People always say NYC is one of the greatest cities on earth, when you go there and take in everything it has to offer in terms of culture, fashion, architecture, food, entertainment, and so on, it is really incredible that you can find so much excellence on one tiny island.

Fifth Avenue was ripe with inspiration, all the high end retail stores put on amazing visual displays that chipped into or were layered over the existing architecture on the buildings they lived in. The Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama window display was amazing! Her signature dots made the building a stand out from miles away. The scale of things in the city always impresses me, Saks Fifth Avenue boasted of over 10,022 additional sq. feet for their shoes showroom! Each shoe that was in their window display was a work of art of its own. Diesel showcased their edginess by having their signature graphic logo chipped into the building itself, and gave it some pizzaz with a glitter effect. Every one is vying for attention so to see things rendered on such a grand scale was really awe inspiring.

Style Shots—High Contrast Minimalism Photo by Rashid Zakat Words...

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 19:30:00 -0400

Style Shots—High Contrast Minimalism

Photo by Rashid Zakat

Words by Swabreen Bakr

Two of my favorite Fall trends are high contrast black and white ensembles and loose menswear-inspired trousers; it is after all the season of the pant! This BGBC black pair have a super comfortable almost pajama-like feel, but they’re perfect for looking effortlessly put together. While neons reigned in the height of summer here they work as accents instead of being the main event.

The Interview: Photographer Neal Santos

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 20:24:00 -0400

Photography by Swabreen Bakr

Neal Santos works as the Chief Photographer for City Paper. His style caught my eye over the summer with a series of photographs from a piece penned by Drew Lazor about the impending explosion of ramen in Philadelphia. His photos have a very clean aesthetic featuring a fantastic use of light and color, as well as strong compositions and styling.

Photo by Neal Santos

He shot another series that I was really impressed with featuring Chef Chris Kearse of the newly opened Will BYOB on East Passyunk Ave. Neal’s photos have a fine art aesthetic that I really appreciate, and it’s a style that really mixes well with the stories his work is usually attached to.

Photo by Neal Santos

As with most Philadelphia Creatives, Neal is also involved in another project that he is passionate about; Farm 51 in West Philadelphia is run by him and his partner Andrew.

I’m the lucky bastard that gets to grow food and document it professionally in a city that I love.

I went to visit this amazing project last week and spoke to Neal about working as photographer, what it’s like to run an urban farm, and how it impacts the neighborhood he lives in.

What is your background? How did you get started at City Paper?

I studied photojournalism at Temple University and interned at the Daily News, Metro and Inquirer soon after graduating. After a short stint taking odd jobs I landed a part-time job in 2008 with City Paper as a web editor. From there, I transitioned into shooting food video for their website, and eventually started shooting weekly photo assignments for the paper. I’m now the staff photographer and web editor rolled into one compact package.

Photo by Neal Santos

Your style of photography is very clean and well lit, looking at some of your work, it seems to have a fine art influence in terms of composition and use of light. How would you describe your approach to your style of photography?

Thank you, that’s probably the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. Hah. In all seriousness though, my style: K.I.S.S. Keep it simple, stupid. Working for an alt-weekly is really weird, often chaotic; the subject matter can be in-your-face and over the top, it’s a challenge. But my visual response to chaotic stories is usually to go the opposite way and keep the images really clean, refined and simple. I try and blur the lines between photojournalism and art, accuracy and creativity, good photography and bad. I just hope to fall somewhere in the middle, gently breaking some rules as I go along.

Who are you influenced by?

Colleagues, living photographers, people in the business. I’m a huge fan of newspaper photographers and photojournalists that have walked-the-walk and aren’t obnoxious or pretentious about it; they’re my mentors, friends, colleagues and motivators all in one. Some of my local faves: Eric Mencher, Dave Maialetti, Jeff Fusco, Mike Persico, and Jessica Kourkounis just to name a few.

You shoot a variety of subject matter, do you have a preference?

I prefer photographing people. Always. Doesn’t matter who or what or where; everyone has a story to tell.

Photo by Neal Santos

What’s your equipment set-up like? What camera model and lens do you use most often?

Canon all the way. I started on my dad’s film Canon A-1 camera when I was a kid and it carries a lot of meaning and nostalgia. I’ve since transitioned to Canon 5D Mark II and most recently broke the bank on a Leica. I mix and mingle depending on what assignment I shoot. For storytelling, I tend to shoot wide with a 16-35mm. For portraits I tend to stick with a 50mm. I carry a few reflectors to bend light as I need it.

Philly is obsessed with food and a lot of amateurs try their hand at food photography, more often than not the results are so-so. What tips would you give to food bloggers trying to shoot their dinner before they blog about it?

Stick with sitting close to the window and use as much natural light as humanly possible. Consider carrying a pocket reflector, or even ask for a smooth piece of tin foil to fill some shadows. If you’re in a dark bar or somewhere at night, use a flash but bounce the light off of a low clean white ceiling or use a white piece of paper to diffuse the light. Whatever you do, avoid direct light from a pop-up flash. It’ll make any gorgeous plate of food instantly look like poop.

It seems like nowadays there are a lot of young people getting into farming, it’s an important field to get into as we will always need farmers, and it gives individuals the ability to have a major impact both locally and nationally. The idea of eating local and sustainably is a big deal to many. How did you get started with Farm 51?

Farm 51 for me began when my partner, Andrew and I met in 2009. The idea of starting a farm isn’t something that we can take credit for. It began with his roommate and another friend of ours at the time. We just put it into action.

What is the fresh food access situation like in the neighborhood in which Farm 51 is located?

You’d be surprised, there are different food options living on the corner of 51st and Chester. There’s a produce truck that’s parked out front of the Kingsessing recreation center, a nearby community garden/farm across the street from us called Earth’s Keepers and another urban farm called Pocket Farm just across the way on Kingsessing Ave. All of this within a few blocks from each other.

What kind of produce and animals do you raise at the farm?

Pretty standard veggies are grown here: Lots of greens, herbs, lettuces and radishes in the spring; root veggies, squash, cucumbers, peppers, sweet potatoes and tomatoes in the summer; and fall crops include more brassicas. As far as animals? You can expect lots; four cats, three dogs, twenty some-odd chickens laying the prettiest you’ve ever seen, rabbits, honey bees and fish in the pond. We used to have turkeys roost in the neighbor’s yard but we ate’m for Thanksgiving.

Can volunteers get involved with Farm 51? If so, do they need horticulture experience?

Yes! We have a few volunteer days throughout the season. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter or send us an e-mail. No experience necessary.

What is the goal of Farm 51? What kind of outreach does this project afford you? I noticed that you work with a group of kids at the farm.

Our goal is to simply grow good food. We’re not trying to save the world, or re-invent the wheel. We’re not real farmers in any sense of the word. Farming is incredibly difficult and stressful, it is a lot of hard fucking work. To be a successful farmer, you have to know your clientele, sell your product and sell it well. I think that nugget of knowledge transcends any locale: urban or rural. We work with three neighborhood youth and I hope what they get out of it is good business practices and how to sell a product, no matter if it’s a carrot from the dirt, or a car, or whatever. Beyond the romanticism of farming in the city, Farm 51 is a business.

What’s the response been to the project from the local community?

Our neighbors don’t really know what to do with us, but somehow I feel like we fit perfectly in that we don’t fit at all. Every neighborhood needs at least one crazy animal hoarder, right? But in all seriousness, we’re outsiders. I didn’t grow up in Southwest Philadelphia, but this is where I call home. What we did with the farm is simply a manifestation of our desire to be a good neighbor.

What have been some challenges that you’ve encountered with Farm 51? Do you find it difficult to balance your work as a photographer and maintaining the farm?

Ever have a really, really bad game of Oregon Trail? When everything breaks and everything eventually dies? It’s less morbid, but somewhat resonant as to what our challenges are like at Farm 51. Veggies get diseases. Chickens get sick and die. Honey bees swarm. Flea-ridden stray animals are regularly found on our doorstep because people know we’re suckers for taking care of them. It’s a revolving door of issues and we’ve learned all these lessons the hard way. As far as balancing my hats, sometimes my photographer hat is respite from my farmer hat and vice versa. Sometimes I say to hell with all of it.

What have you learned in the process?

Through the farm, I’ve learned a lot of neat planting knowledge, tips, and tricks like how to keep cats from using your raised beds full of heirloom beets as a giant litter box (use bird netting! Genius.) But in all seriousness, I’ve learned that food is valuable. It takes work to grow it, and it takes finesse to cook it well. Food has a story. I’m the lucky bastard that gets to grow food and document it professionally in a city that I love.

What are your goals?

Be good to people. Always.

Thanks to Neal for this awesome interview! Do stop by Farm 51’s farmstand on Thursdays from 4:30 p.m to 7:30 p.m. See more photos from the farm on iPhotoPhilly.com

Neal Santos.com
Twitter: @nealfredsantos
Instagram: @nealsantos

Farm 51
51st & Chester Ave. Philadelphia
http://farm51.com
Twitter: @Farm51

Style Shots—Purple & Gold Photography & Words...

Sun, 26 Aug 2012 19:26:00 -0400

Style Shots—Purple & Gold

Photography & Words by: Swabreen Bakr

Spotted Devan around Rittenhouse and loved this ensemble featuring the trendy berry colors for fall, accented with vintage gold accessories. A nicely put together late summer outfit.