Tuesday, 23rd October, 2018
Neighborhood Research
(mood board)
During my visit to the Lower East Side with my group members, I made several discoveries about the neighborhood that I didn’t notice before. LES is one of New York City’s most fashionable neighborhoods. It is bounded by the Bower in west and the East River in the east, 14thstreet in the north and east Broadway in the south.
It is the neighborhood that rules night life in Manhattan. It has all the staple elements: lively crowds to jam packed bars on every block. I could see that it has a balance of the high and the low culture, with shabby bars close to cocktail dens. True to its musical roots, this neighborhood has plenty of concerts featuring local bands.
We spotted a few attractions as well. These included the Tenement Museum and Katzi’s Deli. The neighborhood has some beautiful graffiti to offer. The small and personal touches make the Lower East Side a vibrant place. We also explored a plenty of shops and boutique hidden in pockets across the neighborhood.
I want to reincorporate the graffiti style with the outfit that I’m making. The lower east side was home to the Jewish Community and immigrants. Wave after wave immigrants have arrived hoping to start a new life. The streets of this area are infused with the same energy and diversity. I want to use graffiti and different colors to represent these communities on a white shirt that will represent the Jews. Red for Native Americans, India and China, orange for the Dutch community and, black for the Germans and blue for Korea. LES is also home to the punk culture and I was to add that to my outfit.
I’m thinking of dividing the shirt in two parts because the East Side was a part of the Lower East Side once upon a time. I also want to represent the music and nightlife. I might do that with the mapping down the famous bars, clubs and restaurants at the back of my white t-shirt.
