Street Style... Saluda Ave, Five Points, Columbia, SC

Street Style... Greene St, Five Points, Columbia, SC

Meet Mrs. Amber Apple.

So on the Eve of Christmas Eve, I made a stop in Charlotte to meet fellow blogger Mrs. Amber Apple and Husband Stephen. Amber writes her blog on doing things vintage, and not just a little vintage, like all the way vintage. Like jump in the Delorean back to 1955 with Marty McFly vintage. About the 1920's through the 1950's is here life's inspiration. I've always had a soft spot for old school, and secretly wanted try the whole greaser look for the weekends, mixed in with some 40's New York Gentlemen on the work days. Frank Sinatra was a bit of my inspiration on how I'd hope to be as a man, cool, a bit mysterious, well dressed, loved by the ladies....ummmm OK, Back to Amber.

So when I walked into the coffee shop where we met, I looked over and saw this young lady who looked like an extra from a Clark Gable movie, toss in a iPhone and its 1940 meets 2011 to the fullest. Now meeting complete strangers is fun, and of course you wonder, what am I going to have in common with this person? Well it turns out a lot! I had to run down the street to my car with one minute to spare to add another hour to the parking meeter because we were all enjoying our conversions so much.

So if your wondering what the hairstyle Amber pulls off so well is called? They are called victory rolls, a look more identifiable to a pin-up girl in modern pop culture, it was the status quo of 1940's womens hair style. What was even more fascinating other than the fact someone could so confidently pull off this head to toe blast from the past look, was how meticulous her hair and makeup was. I mean, it was as if I was looking at an airbrushed photo in person, (darn you people with great skin!!). On to her hair, modern hair styles are loose and flowing, hair might be placed or styled, but there are still strays in even the finest done 'dos. As we were talking, every now and then I would starting look of how her hair was constructed. Out of the two hours we spent talking, I managed to find one, and I mean one lonely hair that managed to get away from the otherwise perfectly slicked, curled up master piece. Women of yesteryear would be proud of Amber for mastering what I've now come to find (after trying it on my wife twice now) a not so easy look to accomplish.

I could go on of how cool Stephen and Amber were, but It would take forever. Did I mention Stephen has some really great Edward Cullens hair going on? anyways. Genuinely kind and good people are becoming rare since the dawning of Myspace, facebook, twitter. Now being married, I like meeting couples who are equally awesome, who clearly love spending time together,(why get married otherwise right?) makes doing group things easier when everyone likes one another equally and not one more than the other. I look forward to visiting them again, and hope they become good friends of ours. Check out Amber's site here at mrsamberapple.com.

Amber and Stephen

Charlotte, what I've seen so far.

So I've never really spent much time in the city streets of Charlotte, but after passing through for about the 10th time in the past year I actually stopped and took a look around. You wouldn't think so driving by on I-77, but once you make your way Uptown the almost bumper to bumper fast paced world that revolves Charlotte goes away, and you find yourself in actually quite a sleepy town; to city standards that is.

It was a bit cold for my wife to want to tag along on our first stop before Christmas, but we got to walk around just enough to give us a better feeling of Charlotte's Uptown life. On our way back to Virginia we made a strictly for photos detour back to Uptown, this time on a Sunday. You know your in the South because you could stop to tie your shoe in the middle of the street and probably not a car would pass before you were done and safely to the other side.

Aside all that, I'm still left feeling what I can only describe in the words of William Shakespeare, " O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?" Unfortunately yes, though visiting strange new cities is a bit luck and a bit localizing yourself to what is truly "local." I look forward to visiting Charlotte once again, I feel that it has much more to offer as far as culture, style, fashion, and people. I feel I'll have to make a trip strictly for photography on any day but Sunday, then I feel I'll find what I've been hoping for hiding in the elusive Charlotte streets.

The Triple C, My Southern Preview

 

So the Triple C is what I'm going to call it when I get to visit Charlotte, Columbia, and Charleston. They each offer something different while still being distinctively southern cities. I'm busy playing catch up with work and editing photos, I'll have posts starting again next Monday, I need a break so I'm not to much in a rush. Check in Monday for my thoughts on Charlotte, then Tuesday I'll be featuring my Vintage blogging friend based out of Charlotte. Also next week I plan to have my first addition of "Doing it Debonairly," a monthly how-to be more of a cleaner, cooler gentleman. 

Back from the South

What a great trip I had! I got to Visit Charlotte, Charleston, and Columbia. I was planned to go to Atlanta, but got sick and couldn't make it. I've had quite a bit of blabbing in posts lately, but I will be back to the normal picture posts Starting Monday.

If the weather holds up, I might be taking a day trip to DC in the next two weeks. I'll keep you posted.

Street Style... 348 King Street., Charleston

Sometimes I have a photo that I just have to post, but the quality of the photo is lacking due to light or other issues. So I played with some of the vintage photo settings in GIMP with this one. This young gent was from the UK and owns a vintage clothing shop over there. He had some great insight and opinions on American fashion compared to UK and European fashion. Really nice guy!

Now pay attention guys: that shirt he is wearing is called a guayabera, pretty much the only kind of shirt I wear in the summer months. I get mine from Puerto Rico. Don't get this confused with the tacky knock offs you might find in beach shops or at a Jimmy Buffet concert. Four pockets in front, solid colors, linen, two rows of alforzas (pleats) in front, three rows in back, short sleeves, button all but the top button, iron it nice and crisp, nothing more. Also, if you're going to wear an undershirt, only wear a V-neck because they are very sheer. Crew neck will make you look like a goober.

Now go find you some and be ready for summer next year.

Street Style... "The doorway Part 5," 285 King Street., Charleston

And for the group shot, Thanks again ladies.

Charleston, SC - Fashionable is normal there.

I just got back from a weekend trip to Charleston, and I have to say that I actually miss it a bit. If you didn't know, I actually lived in Charleston for 6 years, so I'm very familiar with everything that is Chuck-Town. I wasn't surprised one bit that it would be easy picking downtown. I actually was short on time, so I did some speed blogging cause I was running out of sunlight and had to hit the road ( I was busy surfing all day, so please forgive me for having the sun go down on me). Anyways, I'll be featuring Charleston over the next few weeks so check back for sure. I'm going to visit downtown Charleston again all day sometime around December, so I look forward to that.

Also, if any of the people I photographed while in town happen to stumble by the blog, keep checking back, it will take about 2-3 weeks to get through all my Charleston photos. They all came out, so you will all be on the blog.

I'll be in Richmond, VA Thursday and Friday of this week just to shoot for the blog. I'll be around downtown at lunch time both days, VCU Thursday, and in and out of the fan and Carytown both days as well.. Should be fun.

Street Style.. Five Points, Columbia, SC