Your Ass is Hanging Out of Your Pants and Other Street Fashions

The New York Times employs a photographer whose sole job, as far as I can tell, is to walk around the streets of Manhattan (usually Fifth Ave) and document what people are wearing. By his own admission, he’s not a particularly good photographer, and when you listen to him speak, he sounds a bit excitable (the word “spazz” comes to mind frequently).

I suppose I first became aware of Bill Cunningham while riding the subway in the mid-90s while seeing photos of the sartorially right and wrong walking the streets of New York on other people’s newspapers. More recently, I’ve been enjoyinig his audio slideshows on the NYT website.

When you think about it, Cunningham’s photography is the purest of street photography. It’s clearly not “fashion photography,” but instead, without pretense, it is observational. He’s not looking for despair. He’s not looking for stories that do not exist. By contrast, he is the most practical of observers who seems hemlines rise and fall, colors come and go.

The reason I bring all of this up, is that a week or two ago, we had a terrible snow in New York that turned to slush rather quickly. As I navigated my way to the subway, and from subway to office, I confronted a number of puddles of unspecified depth, and I wondered how I was supposed to figure out whether to step into, or go around.

One facebook friend suggested dipping my elbow in first, while another thought it was a great job for an intern. (And these are my “friends).

Bill Cunningham had a great time documenting the tourists and businessmen trying to navigate the obstacle course of ice.

cunningham.jpg

I love that kid on the right. He is getting some sweet air.

cunningham2.jpg


cunningham4.jpg

My favorite feature of the past year is actually a piece called “Cinched” in which Bill discusses the ultra-low riding pants plus the glittery belts with “the skull.” I mean come on, we all know about the low riding pants, but I was so unaware of the bling!

Bill says, “How these trousers don’t fall…I have waited! And thought, ‘Oh my God, I’m gonna get one right now. His pants are going to fall off.’ But it hasn’t happened”

cunningham3.jpg

Let there be something said for the dedication and pure repetition with which Bill does his job. Often times, photographers try so hard to find a long-term project. Often, they rack their brains to come up with the most earth shattering topics, and then there is Bill. Go view and listen to them all, and marvel at a journalist who still shoots with film.

“When I get depressed at the office, I go out, and as soon as I’m on the street and see people, I feel better. But I never go out with a preconceived idea. I let the street speak to me.”

Next Post:
Previous Post:
This article was written by

Allen Murabayashi is the co-founder of PhotoShelter.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *