I never thought I’d find myself in the throngs of street wear post graduation. True, for a very brief moment I was a street dancer in college (this brief moment happened ages ago so if you ask me to dance a la Step Up, sorry, I can’t and I won’t.)
A few years post required rubber shoes and hip hop dance music, in my not-so-comfortable but familiar bubble of heels and pencil skirts I chanced upon another side of fashion – street wear labels both local and international. Though I’ve learned to love the brands I got to work with, street wear was a different language still – one so embedded with “dope” and “homie” I had no idea how to speak it.
And maybe I never quite did learn. I was always a little too feminine to embody street fully – my heels never really looked natural beside the latex sneakers everyone seemed to know about and interestingly also own. But I have learned to appreciate street wear – mostly because of those advocating it locally but also because of the way it questions the very notion of couture and anyone who feels empowered to question the likes of Karl Lagerfeld (or in the case of Crooks and Castles, Versace) will always command my respect.
So although I probably won’t use it in day-to-day conversation, my embellished headband-wearing self totally understands the concept of “homie” and supports it the best way I know how – via a dedicated blog post.
Homie Sweater, PENSHOPPE (all the way from Fairview Terraces!), Skirt, OXYGEN | Headband, FOREVER21 | Sandals, LORD & TAYLOR
photos by Ralph Mendoza
