My roommate introduced me to this article from the New York Times,
The Tribes of San Francisco . The article has some very interesting perspectives, and anyone involved with fashion in SF should check it out. I'm curious to know what you think.
Anyway to the article at hand...it speaks on how fashion works in the Bay Area. The things that caught my attention most were 1) the breakdown of the so-called "style tribes", 2) the idea that fashion here isn't trend based as it is about personal styling, and 3) how the sustainable and athletic mindset of the city plays into fashion very much.
“There’s the Mission tribe, the Haight tribe, the Castro tribe, the Pacific Heights tribe,” said Ben Ospital, who with his sister Chris is an owner of Modern Appealing Clothing (M.A.C.), a venerable high-fashion outpost on Grove Street near the city’s civic center." I find the break down to be interesting, and I feel like to those of us who live here in SF, we can picture each style. I haven't really put much thought into it before now, but the groups are definitely there. And its not so much that you have to live in those areas, but are just present in the culture of those areas. The other bit about that is when some of the kids in these areas overlap to others..I sense some street shots and photos of friends coming up in the future...
Anyhow, I digress! This next bit of reference is hard to pull apart so I am going to discuss points 2 and 3 together.
But while skinny jeans and flannel shirts, designer dreads and tie-dyed T-shirts, Restylane and Christian Louboutins, respectively, may be universally legible markers of group affiliation (hipsters, hippies, the Cult of Tory Burch) here other elements enter into the mix.
Not least is the importance of physical fitness, the kind you achieve by doing stuff like rock climbing (and not in the Craigslist sense), as well as a greater ease than you’ll find in most cities with the precepts of adaptable re-use. “Sustainability is not a dirty word” in the Bay Area, said Alexis Handelman, the owner of ABC Bakery, an institution in the Napa Valley. Before embarking 30 years ago on life as a caterer to the oeno-elite, Ms. Handelman was a department store buyer. “The stigma attached to used-clothing is gone,” she added. “You can either spend $300 on a top at Neiman Marcus or go to the thrift store and buy a bag of clothes for a tenth as much.”There is this mindset in the Bay Area, from my point of view, that learning to do things yourself is worthwhile, instead of having others do it. Its cool to make your own clothes and in some circles, almost necessary. And in a city full of students, artists and kids trying to live the life, you can't afford the new IT shoes, so they get creative or find a vintage version for cheap. This idea of creative mixing of price points and sourcing makes the styling here rich.
Also since San Francisco is so far removed from the fashion industry proximity wise, it takes some of the pressure off of what is acceptable, not mention San Francisco has always been a city of free spirits it seems. With that in mind, I agree with the article that it allows for fresh ideas to spring up here. Its very exciting business for me to get inspiration for my collection here!
Stay tuned! Also I am interested in opinions from others on the article!
'Til Next Time!
M.E. the Sartor!
