On February 4, 2016, the classed was asked to follow a person. We were supposed to describe this person in our notes (what they looked, what they act like, their behavior), take the best picture as possible, and return to the class in twenty minutes. I was walking down 5th avenue looking for shopping stranger, but I was distracted by one guy walking with a huge cello or bass strapped to his back. I wrote notes as I walked behind him. these were like bullet points. Then, he walked in front of the New School building and looked through his for for a few minutes before entering. That’s when I went back to class the gather any lingering thoughts.

Here are the photos of the person I followed:

 

Here are my notes:

And here is my final written piece:

“A Stranger on 5^th Avenue

Everyone in Manhattan knows where they are going to go, or at least they act like it. A man walks down Fifth Avenue with a large instrument case, probably cello or bass, on his back. He’s wearing a brown and tan blemished leather jacket and a green scarf to fight the cold, but still look stylish and hipster-ish. I followed this guy two blocks to the entrance doors of an educational institution. He placed his dark brown leather satchel on floor and leaned it against the side of the building to look at his. Staring at his phone, a slight anxiety crept throughout his body. Or maybe it was the caffeine he was getting from the cup of coffee in his other hand. He stood staring at his phone for a brief moment. He must have figured out what to do next because he picked up his bag and went through the doors of the entrance.

The building he went inside was a New School building. He was a student, most likely studying music or he would not have been hauling that enormous instrument down Fifth Avenue. He looked like an old and young person at the same time. He wore light blue distressed jeans that showed his white skin through the opening and white converses; a look common amongst the youth. But, the dark brown beard and balding head of hair gave away his true relative age (maybe in his thirties).”

The second part of the assignment was to do the something similar with a classmate. Instead we asked each other questions directly. The questions asked about their hometown, their experience in a new city, their interests in fashion, and more o=importantly their current outfit. We had to trace the origin of the outfit as in how it was picked, and the history behind the jeans they are wearing. Through this information, we were to write a portrait about this person.

Here is a picture of her outfit:

Here are my notes:

And here is my final written piece:

“Cheyenne

Cheyenne is a tall and laid back person. She wore a gray, flowy cardigan, ripped skinny jeans, a black V-neck t-shirt, a black choker, and dark mid-calf boots with buckles on the side. It was the perfect combination of a soft casual style and a demure edginess. Her clothes provide her comfort as she navigates college in New York City. Despite the new surroundings, she still has memories of home. Her jeans are 4 years old and have been through everything with her. They’ve gone camping with her, Nicaragua, farming. The tears and distresses along the face of the thighs of the jeans were withstanding against her nephew’s destructive fingers. Cheyenne brings history with her in these jeans. Her jeans keeps things casual, that’s how she planned it. That morning she grabbed the first piece of coting in her drawer, the black V-neck t-shirt. Then, she built the rest of her outfit around it; the cardigan for warmth, the flat boots for comfort (as opposed to the heeled boots she originally had in mind), the jeans, and the choker the spunk it up. There wasn’t a moment overthinking, just

Cheyenne comes from upstate New York, and though she like New York City, she does place one above the other. These places aren’t exactly the same, but it’s the beauty in their differences that makes her like them the same. However, New York does have her ideal school in which she can learn about business, styling, modeling, and just about everything else in fashion. Here is where she’ll learn all the while being comfortable in her clothes.”

I know that this assignment was done to help us prepare for the future profiles on a person/topic that we will write, so I think this is very helpful. It’s better to have a sort of practice run instead of going in head first into something unknown. I found it kind of hard to write about someone without repeating what was written on my notes. It took me a little while to figure out how to develop the writings based on the notes. Maybe I need to figure out what kind of style I want to use when writing profiles/portraits. If I know a style it will help me know what information to look for when writing a profile/portrait.