Author: seansantiago

I waited for local artist BEATRIX (below) to emerge from toy store Alakazam for 15 minutes while she was shopping with her grandchildren. The eptuagenarian is something of a street style star, having been featured multiple times on Ari Seth Cohen’s blog Advanced Style and profiled on the popular site StyleLikeU. Here she’s wearing a decade-old leather wrap dress of her own design. “I had a fabulous seamstress here…you just gave her a drawing and she did it like couture!” She describes her shoes as, “also a little bit antique,” with a laugh, but her fashion-forward tote is Pleats Please by Issey Miyake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

B.K. and JONATHAN were in town from New York City, where she studied advertising at Pratt and he studied marketing and management at NYU. The future power couple was dressed the part in all black, “our go-to in the city,” said Jonathan. “I really like looking at blogs and picking which pieces I like best and seeing how those will work in my wardrobe,” he said of his personal style. “Then just finding consistencies in all of those things to make a full outfit.” B.K. agreed that street style blogs are a big inspiration. She put her best face forward in an Alexander Wang jacket, neutral layers and platform espadrilles by Robert Clergerie. Jonathan wore a Drew Keith jacket overtop a wings + horns hoodie, a T-shirt from Uniqlo, jeans by Cheap Monday and Martin Margiela trainers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANTOINETTE was having lunch in the park when I asked to take her portrait. With her cropped bob and clad in her “weekend uniform” of a black maxi dress and sandals, both from Urban Outfitters, she evoked an early-oughties Selma Blair. “I pretty much always use this handbag,” she said of her Mulberry Bayswater. “I just love to lug everything around with me.” Antoinette cites Gwen Stefani as a timeless fashion icon and movies as a frequent impetus for trying new styles. “If I watch a movie the night before and I really like a character in the movie, that’s usually most inspirational [for me].”

I stopped BREE outside her workplace, Low Vintage, because her ’70s-inflected ensemble seemed too groovy to be true. Every piece, from head to boot, is Low Vintage. Bree looks to her older sister and nature for inspiration when getting dressed and finds that working with flowers at her second job (at Hedge Fine Blooms) helps hone her eye for shape and color.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I ran into PATRICK as he was headed home from work at New Dominion Bookshop one afternoon. The vegetable gardener and co-founder of Cville Foodscapes also practices screenprinting on the side and has had his work exhibited at local galleries The Garage and The Shuckster. Patrick’s utilitarian flannel cleverly camouflages the shirt and tie required for work and lends credence to his proclaimed inspiration, Oliver Twist. Patrick’s jeans are Levi’s, his tie was purchased on Etsy and his 1920s-era frames were picked up at Fabulous Fannies in Manhattan, “The place to go for vintage frames.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I came across ELEANOR on Fourth Street as she was strolling the Downtown Mall with her younger sister. A Charlottesville High School sophomore, Eleanor draws inspiration from British style icon Alexa Chung, whose collections for Madewell she loves, and the work of designer Marc Jacobs. “I get a lot of my stuff from secondhand shops and the Goodwill,” said Eleanor, an avid painter who notes that, “My colors in my art and my colors in my clothes are really similar.” Her menswear-inspired outfit features a secondhand Ralph Lauren shirt, combat boots by Steve Madden, an upturned Etienne Aigner belt and a piece of vintage lace used as a hair tie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I spotted EILEEN as she was headed into her studio at the McGuffey Art Center. The Banana Republic merchandiser is completely decked out in the brand, which she relies on to keep her look current. The one aspect of her wardrobe Eileen feels in total control of
is color—as a lifelong painter, it is Eileen’s trained eye that allows her to mix bold
brights so effortlessly. The local artist credits attending high school in London as her “fashion beginning.” “Skirts were so short when we got there!”

Sleek chic
I stopped NICOLE, the news desk manager for SNL Financial, on the street outside Market Street Market. “This is my typical [work] attire,” she said. “One of the best things about working at SNL is that it has a casual work environment…I’ve seen someone wear their swim trunks in there before.” Nicole’s sophisticated look isn’t inspired by anyone in particular, but is the result of a smart shopping mantra. “I just find the places that I love…and I just choose whatever the heck I like.” Nicole is wearing a coat by J.Crew, J. Brand jeans from Anthropologie, Pink Studio boots and a sleek Hobo bag from O’Suzannah.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tomboy twist
MICHELLE is a graduate student at UVA studying architectural history. I stopped her on the Downtown Mall to get the details behind her menswear-influenced ensemble. “I don’t put much thought into it, to be honest,” said Michelle, a big fan of street style bloggers Garance Doré and Scott Schuman. She is wearing an anorak by Zara with trousers from American Apparel. Her shirt was picked up at a thrift store and her shoes came from a store in Istanbul.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trench traditional
I ran into BETH, an assistant at the Blue Moon Fund, on the downtown mall. She describes her style as “classic with a little bit of trend thrown in,” and looks to style icons Lauren Hutton and Charlotte Gainsbourg for inspiration. “Some days I’m in all American Apparel and some days I’m classic in J.Crew.” Beth is wearing a trench by J.Crew with Club Monaco pants and shoes from Shoe Mint, accessorized with a statement necklace from Duo consignment and a Cole Haan bag handed down to her from her mother.

I came across VICTORIA, membership and development coordinator for Second Street Gallery, walking down Water Street. I love her vintage-inflected ensemble and striking Victorian beauty. She’s wearing a jacket by Tulle, tights and a t-shirt from American Apparel and vintage boots. She picked up her button-down at a Uniqlo in Japan, where she lived last year working in the arts. Her unique necklace was made by a Japanese artist from Kyushu and her bag is by baggu. For inspiration, she turns to the English actress Charlotte Gainsbourg and graphic artist Sister Corita.

 

 

 

 

 

 

MICHAEL is a student in her final semester at UVA who works the counter at Revolutionary Soup on the side. I snapped her picture on the Corner as she was headed to work, looking delightfully disheveled and totally comfortable. She’s wearing a handknit scarf purchased from an Etsy shop, worn-through Vans sneakers and a cardigan from American Apparel. Michael says her style isn’t inspired by anyone in particular, but is informed by a “utilitarian punk” aesthetic and influenced by the ’90s grunge scene.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I ran into ROBERT on Market Street as he was headed into work. The studio art student is a part-time employee at local boutique Vintage Vixen. “I like to incorporate one piece of vintage or secondhand clothing into my outfit every day,” he says. “I’m not a very edgy person…I like very classic looks.” Robert is wearing a J.Crew sweatshirt and Ralph Lauren button-down under a suede jacket from the ’70s with dark purple Levi’s and Bass loafers from Goodwill. He’s accessorized with a leather and gold watch from Orvis, a turquoise bracelet and a gold signet ring.

I ran into MORGAN, an art student at Virginia Commonwealth University, on the Downtown Mall wearing an oversized coat by Sessun paired with a dress she’d borrowed from a friend. Her outfit was grounded by Frye boots and accessorized with Academy jewelry by Rachel Albright, Karen Walker sunglasses, and a vintage Coach bag.

I loved her distinct look, including a close crop that she declared “kind of an accident,” but a happy nod to actress Carey Mulligan.

“I really like menswear,” said Morgan when asked about her unique coat. “This was the best menswear I could find that was a woman’s coat.” Morgan lists Chloe Sevigny as her style inspiration, and New York boutique Opening Ceremony as her favorite place to shop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

HELEN, a fiction writer, was chatting with some friends when I spotted her on Elliewood Avenue wearing a J.Jill tunic topped with a Cynthia Rowley cardigan. Her pants and bag are both Banana Republic, and her boots Matisse. Helen is inspired by “oddly juxtaposed colors,” despite the evidence to the contrary. Her gold necklace, a gift from her mother, is a tasteful complement to the deep aubergine of her top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MIKAELA is an Urban Design student at Parsons in New York City. I spotted her on the Corner and literally gave chase as she slipped out of view into a parking lot. After managing to catch up with her, and apologize for popping out from behind a bush, I found out what she was wearing. “I really like basic things,” Mikaela said. “Stuff that can be used in multiple ways, and layering.”

Inspired by Woody Allen films and giving off “an Annie Hall vibe,” Mikaela wore a shirt from Anthropologie and a dress of Danish design with boots by Jenny B and a Michael Kors bag.