In Boston, the subway or the metro is called the "T". This blog is about me watching for interesting trends on the T, and sharing with you some hopefully humorous vignettes that come to mind while commuting.
A few days ago I was listening to NPR, and they were talking about a Miss Subway. I thought, what a perfect story to post about on my blog.
Photo taken at NYC Transit Museum by Wcnghj http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NYC_Transit_Museum_Miss_Subways.jpg
It turns out that New York City subway used to have a Miss Subway contest which ran every month from 1941-1976. The contest was brought back for one year only in 2004, and renamed "Ms Subway". Recently photographer Fiona Gardner together with journalist Amy Zimmer undertook a project to track down the former winners of Miss Subway contest. We should make a Miss MBTA or Miss T contest. :-)
While I can not pinpoint any specific trends in clothing, one thing that I noticed is that many women are wearing scarves this fall season. Scarves are great because they can brighten up any outfit. They say that women of Paris know a hundred ways to wear a scarf. I wonder if women of Boston know of more ways to wear a scarf. Here is a video that explains 25 ways to wear a scarf in 4.5 minutes. Cheers!
After a long break I am back to blog about the latest styles and trends on the T. Why was I silent on the topic anything since May. Well, since I got laid off from my job, I was not really commuting on the T, and I felt a little bit of a writer's block on this topic--it was a little bit of both. I hope you will forgive me, and I will get my audience back again. :-)
When I am not taking a nap on the T, I am trying to keep myself entertained with reading something or really anything...
In the winter, every time I sat down next to someone with an open book, they were reading from the series "The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo" or "The Girl Who Played with Fire", or " The Girls Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" by Stieg Larsson. Just reading the titles alone gave me these edgy unpleasant association.Nonetheless, after several occasional over the shoulder scattered readings, I am now curious to read one of them or watch the movie that's already on DVD.
To be honest, it's not a question of what titles are popular on the T, it's a question of what type of devices people are using to do the reading. I've read somewhere that more and more school are implementing iPads instead of textbooks, so I think it's not a prophecy or a new idea to suggest that books are on the way to become relics of the past. Lately, I mostly see people using the Kindle by Amazon. By the way, it's harder to read over someone's shoulder if he or she is reading from a Kindle. People tend to cling to their screens and quickly scroll down the page. In fact, I believe with the advent of Kindles and iPads, reading over someone shoulder may become obsolete. I am waiting for telescreens to become available like in George Orwell's novel "1984".
Circa Fall 2005, I remember going into a mall, and it was like seeing a ghost--leggings were back in style. I felt like I was transported back to the future; the 80s were back..
Then in the Fall 2010, I noticed something revolutionary appearing on the T--legging jean--a fusion of leggins and jeans. Needless to say, this new style completely rehabilitated the image of leggings in my mind. These leggings-jeans are stretchy and soft like leggings, but to the uninitiated, they look like--skinny jeans! Remember that episode of "Sex and the City" that coined the phrase "skinny jeans", when Miranda tried to fit into her tight fitting jeans? It is not only their denim-like material, with colors such as faded blue and indigo that adds to the confusion, it is also the back pockets that make them look more like jeans. Some of these leggins-jeans even have the worn-out or ripped patches to make them look more like those old tight fitting jeans that you have burried in your closet from the 80s.
Now it's Spring 2011, and leggings-jeans are still popular on the T. What is so great about this style is that it also allows for a comfortable commute; no more tight fitting harsh fabric, or buttons from the real jeans pressing into your belly, yay for the legging jean!
I started this blog because I was noticing interesting fashion trends on the T, and because I desperately wanted to write, to write anything, anything at all. It's surprising that the T should give me inspiration, but I am not alone. The other day, I was at the Children's museum, and I saw this wonderful painting/collage by an artist named Tim Murley. I wanted to share it with you. As you can see it depicts the Green Line. It gives you this wonderful, happy feeling, as when you are riding a T on a sunny day, and it's full of Red Sox fans, and you are jammed from all sides, but there is this happy buzzing energy all around you. I also read the artist's statement next to the painting, and I thought I'd share it with you. Tim Murley says, "I don't think it's important where inspiration comes from; it just needs to exist."
fragment from "Magic Night in the City" by Tim Murley
"Magic Night in the City" by Tim Murley (Children's Museum, Boston)
On the way to the Boylston T Stop:
Rain boots galore during an April Shower
I hope you are ejoying the short-lived Spring in Boston. On a day like today, hot and humid; it feels like the Summer has already out-wrestled the Spring, but wait, and in a few hours gray clouds and a cool breeze will bring about an April shower.
In an uncertain weather like this, many of us will get away with wearing clogs, crocs (if they have no holes in them), or snickers, but some ladies will still be spotted wearing rubber boots. It used to be that rubber boots were something that kids wore or else they were associated with a farmer stepping through a wet grass spotted with manure. Nowadays, rubber boots have attained a special veneered place int the hierarchy of knee-high boots.
On the T (if you just search the platform with your tired eyes, careful not to cross the yellow line! :-), you might see rubber boots in many different shapes and colors, but the leading trend is rain boots by Hunter. It does not matter if your boots are kelly green, or paisley and pink, which are, by the way, most popular choices for Hunter boots on the T, as long as it says Hunter on it, which is a big white label with a prominent red border, you are in fashion and wearing something coveted by others.
Ironically, yet another style, which is popular on the T are rubber boots with animal patterns, zebra or tiger stripes, produced by lesser known companies. To summarize, it's Hunter versus animals--you make the choice. What if one rightfully wants to combine the two by splurging on Hunter boots with animal prints. Alas, such boot does not exist. At least I could not find them online. Hunters and animals are not friends after all, not even when it comes to rain boots. I leave you with a quote from a musical called "Urinetown", "Don't be the Bunny, be the Hunter!"
PS: If you really want the animals prints, you could get the Hunter fleece Welly socks with leopard or zebra pattern, made specifically to fit Hunter boots. These socks have cuffs that go over the boot to show off yet another Hunter label. Here is an idea, you could wear these socks with non-Hunter boots, and then you could still have the Hunter label for less.
