Stranger's Reactions to your Clothes?

[Enaml]

What part of Minnesota are you from?

I'm currently enrolled at Macalester in St. Paul.

[Fade to Black]

Kofi Annan went there, no? I imagine that'd be a more open part of Minn.

back at Michigan it was pretty sartorially conservative. Although coldrice might have caused a shift in the fabric landscape over the past few years....

[BeauIXI]

It really does help to be a larger fellow, at least over 6'. I think your typical SZer has more character than the average Joe, and that's one of the reasons one can or can't pull something slightly 'beyond the pale' off.

I've gotten "is this a little man skirt?" from friends, about tanks under tees, and I used to be a bit self-conscious about sticking out, but I think it's great once you get the swing of it, forget about it, and just get on with your life. When people call you Pocahontas, I don't think there should be any real reaction on your part. Confidence is the best accessory.

Lots of the time, you may look like Keanu in The Matrix, but you only really get called out by dudes who look like Keanu in The Replacements.

[Alesha]

"Zhizn' oprokinula pidorka na kolenki*"

I loled at that. They were singing in russian? I hate that word personally, and I broke at least a single jaw with ashtray when someone used in my regards. Maliciously calling someone gay based on perception of how he dresses is wrong on several levels:
- You might not know something
- You really should be tolerant
- The guy might have a VDV driver or a G-Wagon full of security outside.

Naturally the latest reason of the most often fatally overlooked.

In regards to monochrome black look and London. They'll might make funny comments about you being goth (depending on look) or something BUT the second they know you are russian, they think your in mob or something. Strange isn't it? However given how russians behave when gathered in numbers and feeling a little nostalgic, I am not surprised in slightest. You can get investment bankers acting as faux-mobsters all the time.

Yesterday I went to a conference in Mariott Moscow, so after parking on the UG parking, I walked up to conference centre, meeting a bunch of russian ad guys I used to work with. Their reaction to my Julius jacket was "Hey, preparing for nuclear war?" Somehow that did seem amusing.

As for Moscow reactions with fists and boots, I think it toned down a lot from what it was like. Or perhaps I am getting this false impression becouse of not really being in contact with people too much. A few month ago I went to do a presentation in Rostov (Which is like Russian Gangster Chicago), and the guy driving me about gave me advice "I wouldn't walk around here looking like that" to a rather toned down look. So when I decided to photograph some industrial ruins (a big kink of my'ne, I like industrial ruins) people thought me to be quite mad.

So I am thinking that walking on streets outside city/commercial centers in eastern europe is too much of a fashion statement ;). Though...

When I went to USA however, I found that a lot of people were very biggoted (except maybe in NYC), or at least as biggoted as in Russia.

One thing I noticed - when your in bad mood or with poker face, somehow the people react different. Too much black tends to scare them away.

[Babyshamble]

had surgery today and when i was getting undressed-raf sunglasses, split tee and drksdhw sweats, one nurse says to the other-"see if neo needs a blanket. i don;t think it gets this cold in the matrix."

LOL. Funniest one so far.

[lowrey]

Being tall and having a beard seems to bring compliments. Also, people see the beard and know that like Chuck Norris, there is another fist behind it if they have something bad to say about my clothing.

yea pair it with some Chuck Norris action jeans and one can sense the danger.

[Avantster]

mike lowrey~~ charismatic beardo dangerman

[Enaml]

Kofi Annan went there, no? I imagine that'd be a more open part of Minn.

Yeah he did. It's an incredibly liberal school, as is the surrounding area (Minneapolis & St. Paul), though maybe not quite as much as on campus. Outside the cities though, Minnesota has become fairly conservative in the past decade or so. More importantly though, most people from around here just aren't into fashion. For a name as lofty as Mall of America, it sure doesn't have much.

[Magician]

just the other day walking through soho square in london,had mad layers of black on top and black shorts with rafs and a necklace with a pigeon feather hanging from it,and some druken tramp shouted out to me "Hogwarts is the other way mate."
laughed to my self to say the least.

I get like three Hogwarts jokes a day. No exaggeration.

Anyways: I imagine confidence is a pretty huge factor. Being comfortable and self-aware makes the difference between a costume and outfit with even the wildest pieces.

[munch]

"you look like you could be a psycho serial killer who's good at painting"-
also, been told that I look a little like an anime character. but might be because of my longer hair and my eyes though...

anyway I liked the first one a lot. though where I live, some people haven't really accepted skinny jeans yet. I want to move really soon :( so it's like "faggot! emo!" and stuff.

[Magician]

Yesterday, I got asked if I worked in a library. Apparently my black Julius LS makes me look "intellectual."

That kind of made my day.

[Test]

yea pair it with some Chuck Norris action jeans and one can sense the danger.

...
I'll leave.

[casem]

Wait, didn't I already make this thread, I guess mine tried to be too intellectual .

My favorite one happened recently. A bunch of rednecks in a junker car pulled up next to me at a red light while I was on a sidewalk, I could just see their brains turning looking for something to say. All they could come up with was "nice pants, huh huh huh.." as they sped off.

It's crazy that even while tight pants have become more mainstream with skater/hipster/emo types that in the midwest a tight pair of pants is all it takes to get harassment.

[DamageX]

Lots of the time, you may look like Keanu in The Matrix, but you only really get called out by dudes who look like Keanu in The Replacements.

lol, I'll have to remember that one!

[theaddict]

Same experience here...

In Korea: Oh you are foreign...

In Germany: Oh you are foreign...or: wow you speak german so fluently...YES BC I WAS BORN HERE...

But i tell you what, i enjoy being exotic...and i started wearing crazy clothes in the age of 15, dying my hair blond and wearing crazy orange techno clothes...haha, my mum and the whole korean community thought i went insane...but on the streets i never heard anything bad or threatening...not here, not in the US, not in Asia...and back then i didnt have a beard...and i am only 1,77m...

Not in Asia:
Person: "You're so stylish! Are you from (Japan, Korea, etc)?"
Me: "Thanks. I'm actually from the Philippines."
Person: "Ohhhhhh.... I thought so. You look foreign."
Me:

In the Philippines:
Person: "(Insert item name here) is so cool! Where are you from?"
Me: "Here..."
Person: "What? Really?"
Me: "Well, I've been going to school in the States."
Person: "Ohhhhhh.... I thought so. You look foreign."
Me: