Yesterday I went into the city with Chris to visit my best friend, Jamie. It’s always nice to have a break from New Brunswick, even if we’re mostly walking around, eating out, and doing the same sorts of things we’d do around here. Some different scenery and the benefit of seeing just about my favourite person in the whole world (she’s reading this, and I’m still making up for the fact that this is the first time I’ve gone in to see her in a while) changes everything. I didn’t take a whole lot of pictures, but store mannequins always seem to catch my eye, so I have a few pictures of the interesting ones. Sometimes I have to wonder, though, what kind of theory goes into setting up window displays. 98% of the time it’s the colour and aesthetics of the display that intrigue me, while the clothes are almost always hideous in my eyes. Then again, I live in yoga pants and Birkenstocks, so I guess I just don’t care much for anything besides comfort. One thing I do find interesting, though, is how the windows reflect the people walking by on the street — literally, because, you know, windows are made of glass, but also symbolically.
There’s something very interesting, sociologically speaking, about the types of people you see and encounter in the city. It’s sort of like going to college for the first time in terms of being introduced to all sorts of different worlds. It seems like in middle school, the object of the game is fitting in and looking like everyone else — but by the time we approach high school, the idea is to stand out a bit. Dye your hair a funky colour, mismatch clothes, have a certain signature shoe or piece of jewelry. And then when you get to college, you realize you’re not the only rebellious teenager with blue hair who mixes plaid with polka dots, so it takes even more effort for you to solidify your unique identity and really stand out. In one of my sociology classes, we discussed the ways in which that same logic applies to life in suburban and urban areas. In the city, you see all sorts of unique and interesting styles, partially because mixing plaid and polka dots isn’t “weird” or “unique” enough to stand out. I really need to get in the habit of taking more pictures when I go into the city, but I guess I’m weary of being confronted by nutjobs if it becomes obvious that I’m shooting their portrait. Anyone have a spy camera they’d like to loan me?
I actually felt like going to university was like dancing in a sea of clones once again. I feel like everyone at my school lost all sense of identity as they joined their sororities and fraternities and clubs. I live in Austin, which is filled with tattoo’d, pierced, dyed-hair, very quirky artists and musicians, so campus compared to downtown Austin is such a stark contrast, even though they’re just blocks away from each other.
Lovely picture!
I totally agree with you about the people you see in the city. Whenever I go into New York City I have a great time looking around at everyone.
I agree with Rebee, although I totally come across the most interesting characters in the city. I’ve never gotten the nerve to just pull out my camera and take pictures, although to be honest, I don’t think they’d mind.