dispatch from manhattan
junji greedo fashion on the street, what the FUCK are you wearing?
On a major assignment from my editing staff (an invitation from my college buddies), I found myself in New York City during the crisp winds of November. I’ll admit, I was ready to be pronounced a ‘no-coast-nobody,’ the moment I got off the NJ Transit ride from Newark. I anticipated sticking out like a sore thumb, an obviously outdated Midwesterner rocking the so-last-season styles of flyover country. “Every day [in NYC] is caught lacking challenge,” per my dear, sweet Grace of Crown Heights. I packed my chic-est clothes and brought my Burberry trench everywhere, eager to soak up the absolute innovation in the city, which I (and I’m sure almost everyone) deems at the forefront of American popular culture.
I don’t think I actually looked that bad. I actually don’t think I looked bad at all, and definitely not too offensively white-bread and corn-fed in my blue jeans that tore apart in spider webs around the hem and safety-pined laden hoop earrings. I remember standing in the corner of an Irish pub in the East Village, clad in my goth-chic-alt-basic outfit of ostentatious cross earrings, tights for a top, and a flowing maxi skirt. I was surrounded by young urban professionals, presumably University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business graduates, feeling horrifically out of place. “I’m hard-core scaring the hoes right now,” I told my friends as I played with the long velvet curtain that divided the long and slender establishment.
Despite what I believed to be peak situational comedy, I don’t think anyone noticed me. I’m not sure why I assumed anyone would care enough to presuppose my zip code anyway.
But I was looking, I was noticing. Combing the subway stations, bustling side streets, and dimly lit restaurants for patterns and inspiration. I didn’t run into any “micro-trend-final-bosses,” and I’m devoid of an "___-core” internal dictionary. I’m not totally sure what the ‘fashion girlies’ are wearing right now anyway. My year-long sobriety from TikTok has shed me from the endlessly quickening barrage of the 21st century trend-cycle. In a city with millions of people from millions of places doing millions of different things, I find it difficult to articulate an opinionated review or understanding of the fashion landscape there at all. But of course, I’ll try!
The easiest thing to observe was the overwhelming presence of (presumably fake) leather. “You’d think this whole damn city was a fetish club!” joked the one and only Chelney of the UES (her very own witty, insightful, and cheeky substack linked here!). Leather boots, leather skirts, leather dresses, leather belts, leather headbands. I looked down at the weathered leather bag hanging off my right shoulder before gazing back out into the crowd. I saw plenty of Burberry scarves, a quiet and approachable hint of luxury. The number one trend was old dudes who looked and talked like my grandfather, who happens to be a Brooklyn native. Fancy candy stores, like, everywhere. Sweet Treat Revolution. But, completely honest, the trends of NYC didn’t feel that different to the trends in the Twin Cities. Manhattan and North Loop were more alike than I’d imagined. I guess NYC isn’t some Oz-like destination of grandiosity and wonder; the coastal elites really are just like me, they put on their distressed Diesel denim one leg at a time. And yet, I still dream of it. A manifest destiny headed east in some sort of backward clutch towards a bygone world.
Curious if I was missing anything crucial from the fashion knowledge I was attempting to absorb through osmosis, I got to talking with two well-dressed transplants (who fucking cares where your parents live) on a Friday night in Lower Manhattan.
My first interviewees, Thomas (Tomas?) and his homie David, were incidental passerbys who took the bait of a mimed microphone I held while chatting with my friend Brittany outside of a bar that did not carry PBR. In an error of spontaneity, we exchanged no information. All they took was a photo of my iPhone presenting this substack, and all I took was their time. Lord, please guide them to my blog.
THOMAS: Ok, cool, so, what am I wearing? Well, I always start with the pants. I stole these from my brother's drawer, and I cut them without him knowing. But he isn’t taller than me, so…
BRITTANY: He’ll never know.
JUNJI GREEDO: It’s more of a cuffed thing, than a length thing?
T: Exactly. He got me these boots for my birthday, which I love. They’re my favorite boots. Next, I got the—
DAVID [interrupting]: You’re not going to do a brand drop? You’re just gonna… most people don’t know…
T: Uh, they’re an OUR LEGACY boot, a black OUR LEGACY boot. These pants. I got this green python Stüssy belt.
JG: I feel like Stüssy is getting real big again.
T: Having a moment. Calvin Klein white tees—always. I got this bomber jacket off eBay. Uh, I didn’t realize how fucking trash it was [he began to direct us to the stringy, torn, and ripped-up cuffs, bearing the wear and tear only possible from years of love]. And I don’t really know how I feel about it. I guess I should’ve just actually looked at the photos. But whatever.
D: There’s guys that can actually fix that. Give you new whatevers. Cuffs.
JG: Tell me about the necklace.
T: Necklace. Cool. My dad got me this in Chile when he visited. And I grabbed this [I have no idea what fashion item he’s talking about here. Mea Culpa.] from Supreme, like, I don’t know fucking years ago at this point.
JG: Do you skate?
T: Uh, I don’t skate. Supreme is a skate brand, but it’s a lot more than that. Actually it’s crazy, my brother just started working for Supreme. So we’re about to get MAD free Supreme. So yeah, we’re actually fucking with Supreme heavily right now.
JG: And the hat?
T: The hat? Uh, my brother got this for me. [beaming] My brother dressed me today!
JG: Is your brother a big style influence for you?
T: He’s a designer. He used to design at Aime Leon Dore, but now he designs at Supreme.
JG: Are you proud of him?
T: I’m so proud of my brother. I love my brother. David is proud of my brother.
D: Uh yeah, this is David. Agreeing and echoing the proud [sic.] of Thomas’ brother sentiment.
JG: When you put together an outfit, what are you trying to present to the world?
T: Uhhh... I uhh… I wanna be able to walk into my hometown bar and look like I’m from there. Allentown, Pennsylvania. So, that’s The Tavern on Liberty Street. Shout out The Tavern on Liberty Street. Shout-out to the red state. I was never red. But it is a lot of blue. Alright.
B: Can you say something about how that accent, and the “youse guys,”—
T: Pittsburgh on the whole other side. We’re not claiming them.
D: That’s basically Ohio. It’s one of those communities between New York and Los Angeles.
T: Exactly.
JG: So, if you’re not in New York, and you’re not in LA..?
B: Go fuck yourself?
T: No, no, no. If you’re not in New York, you are also very important. You are also very important. Please. Please.
D: Please. For the next four years…
T: And I’m done with it. I’m done with us in the fucking coasts thinking we’re too fucking smart. Coastal elites—which I’m not—but the Midwest is important.
B&JG: We’re from the Midwest.
My second interview happened en route to the (much coveted) third location of the night with a new friend, Angela Kwon (@angelakwonhb). Fashion icon, art director, and advertising student, I asked her about her approach to fashion whilst holding out my iPhone in front of our faces as we speed-walked to the club down Delancy Street.
ANGELA: Um, so [this coat] I got in Korea. The fur coat, obviously fake fur. Love animals, can’t hurt them. This top is vintage Marni, uh… this skirt is apparently—one of the models I was working for, she just gave it to me! For free! So that’s all. [The shoes are] vintage Suecomma Bonnie. It’s a little going-out-outfit.
JG: What’s your relationship to fashion?
A: So, I majored in fashion design for my bachelors in Korea. Actually, that’s all! [giggling] I didn’t do anything, I’m not professional!
JG: Where do you find yourself in fashion?
A: Ok, so I grew up in the [Korean] countryside. We had NOTHING there. I was literally living in the hills, inside the mountain. My dad built our house! Which is wild. So, obviously, I’m a girl, and I love Barbie dolls. But I couldn’t reach that level of style, right? So, uh, one day, one of my cousins, from fancy ass—she’s from Seoul, she’s from the big city—she was pulling all these cool outfits. We were four years old, right? But I was soo jealous of her. And that’s where I felt like, ‘Okay, fashion is so cool. I want to pull up looking so cool. Ever since then, I wanted to be a fashion designer! That’s why I majored in fashion design. But I’ve switched it to fashion marketing. That’s why I go to advertising school, so I can work in fashion marketing, advertising, that stuff.
JG: When you put on an outfit, what kind of person do you want to present yourself as?
A: Woah, that’s a tricky question. I always try to be a colorful person. Like, I want to use a lot of colors. I think that’s how I present myself. There are a lot of different aspects of me; I’m a very diverse person, I think. And so, that’s why I want to use a diverse color palette. If that makes sense?
JG: What advice do you have for someone who wants to dress well?
A: Just try different things. Don’t be afraid. One day you can be a ‘classic modern girl,’ but the other day, you can try like [Junji Greedo!]; like Nana, cool ass rocker-heavy vibes. And then, eventually, you’ll realize what outfits make you feel like yourself.
I asked my aforementioned friend Grace, who studies fashion marketing at the New School and is, in turn, surrounded by eager future members of the fashion industry, how her style has changed since moving to the city. “I don’t think my personal style has really changed,” she told me. “But I do take more risks now.”