Brittany's grandmother taught her how to sew to "keep [her] out of trouble." She's still doing it, making her own shirts, jackets, vests, etc. under the label Dumb Stupid Apparel. The hat in this shot was sewn by her grandmother some eight or so years back. It's still special to her.
Brittany describes her style as "street grunge" and assembles it with a curator's care from thrift store and army-navy surplus store purchases. The boots in this shot were a Salvation Army find. The jeans are from H&M. She "destroyed" them herself and wore them over a pair of long johns. The vest and jacket were both military surplus via Golberg Army-Navy. The sweater underneath she picked up at a thrift store.
Daniel describes his style as "eclectic and cheap," but those terms could very well describe the style mantra of his entire generation of Philadelphians. Pledging allegiance to some specific subcultural type (say, indie, grunge, or goth) is just so 1990s. Today's stylish consumers are bricoleurs, taking a little bit from here and a little bit from there, and assembling together their own unique configuration of influences. Just so long as it doesn't cost too much. And Daniel's outfit doesn't. That top coat is from Forever 21. The jeans and scarf are both H&M. His shirt is from ASOS. The t-shirt beneath it is from Philadelphia brand Kitten Ace. The shoes, of course, are classic Chuck Taylor Converse All-Stars, the sneaker of choice for all vaguely alternative, non-specific subcultural practitioners. I have a pair. My wife has a pair. You probably do too. Chuck Taylors have pulled off the neat semiotic trick of referring to all subcultures but no one subculture in particular. As such, they fit the stylistic sensibilities of today's youth better than any other shoe could.
