The girls with the blue sash

Miguel Negretti (DJ Glue)

It was probably two or three weeks between someone showing me the brave new world of international blogs about street wear and me starting The Lisbon Taylor. And it was during that small period of time between thinking about it and actually doing it that I first noticed Miguel. In Miguel and in his cap peaks. But unlike all others, it was not on the street that I decided that I really wanted to photograph Miguel. It was at Lux, on a Saturday night when the music in the top floor was gaining epical momentum according to my modest musical criteria. When I looked into the DJ booth I realized that, with or without his cap, I definitely had to photograph Miguel

Can you pretend…

that you’re not seeing my shadow, that the shoes that deserved to be focused are in fact focused and that this photograph, even after all this mess, is actually one of the cutest photographs I’ve published so far? Because I really think it is...

Varela has presence

He also has a jacket that I wouldn’t mind wearing. And speaking about presence, that seems something that the store where he works and where I photographed him has in abundance. Akira, newly opened, 8 Calçado do Combro.

British cool

An Afro flavor, a Rockabilly flavor

Flavor

1 a archaic : odor, fragrance b : the quality of something that affects the sense of taste
3 b : a distinctive appealing or enlivening quality
4 a : variety

(this has a positive connotation, Ok?)

TIMBER!!!

When colour makes all the difference

Érica - Summertime!

There are 2 types of girls when it comes to compliments. Those that can’t hear the slightest remark without thinking that we want to bang them and those that are smart enough to know that we wouldn’t be praising even their most obvious attributes if we really wanted to bang them (I used the term “bang” just as I could have easily used another one… don’t be such pussies)

Truth be told, whenever I run into Érica she always looks cool, whether she’s surfing, in Lux or at the Miradouro where I just found her. I suspect she never takes me seriously, but I always make a move. Maybe if the move is made in writing (all this because I already tested her shrewdness a long time ago).

xukebox.blogspot.com

The first time I heard the word “blog” I must have had a reaction as shrewd as the pornographic interpretation I made the first time someone said they were going to check their "Hotmail". But let’s face it, the phenomenon has its charm, but for a very simple reason. A blog allows a person to talk about what they like the most. And when that happens there’s always the risk of creating something interesting. About two years ago, Mariana and Hugo created xukebox. The intention was simple, they wanted to share their taste for music and use the blog as a tool for discovering new bands and generate some kind of discussion around new and old trends. Then João joined them and, with some time and dedication (this part is inevitable), the blog kept on growing.

The first time I heard about the xukebox it was probably at that bar in the Lux that goes all the width of the room and where I’m usually eating something. It was probably there because that’s were I always find João. He always follows the same strategy. He praises The Lisbon Taylor and then he tries to sell me the idea that I should choose a music for the xukebox and write a post. You know me by now… I’m easily convinced and vulnerable to flattery so I always tell him “come on João, I don’t have much time for that, but Ok… and I already know which music I’m going to pick”. And then I always end up forgetting. When we meet again at the same bar a couple of weeks later the conversation repeats itself and one day I tell him, “João, there’s one way to make me remember. I’ll take your photograph and I’ll create a post in The Lisbon Taylor about xukebox. I love posting about stuff that is not fashion-related”. That was a deal. They met me at Terrugem and I took their photograph (I won’t even mention the fact that Hugo was not there, I’ll just pretend I’m not an easily offended guy)

One day someone came up with the idea that if people enjoyed the music they post on their blog then they would also like to dance to its sound. The result? They're already preparing their third party. Let me explain, it’s not a bloggers party, it’s not a chat reunion dinner. It’s a party for those that like to dance to the sound of something different from what we usually hear. When? Next Saturday. Where? At Ko-Zee Club (Calçada do Marquês de Abrantes) in Santos. Mariana, please invite some cute girl friends, OK? You see, my friends don’t define their nightlife itineraries solely based on the music…

It seems that my sister's duffel coat is not an exclusive (and I'll probably only see another one next November)

Skimming in Sagres

Juan & Javier

I was just chatting with someone near the wall that surrounds the subway exit when I saw them and said:
- I’m just going to take a photograph of those two (as if the fact that I wanted to photograph someone was enough for that someone to want to be photographed by me).

Without me even suspecting, the spirit of this post had already begun a few weeks earlier when, going down Rua da Rosa street, a shop had caught my eye. El Ganso. The name sounded familiar and the friend that was with me at the time mentioned all the buzz that this shop was creating in Spain. I liked what I saw, but my patience is running low when it comes to shops and not having too much money to spend also helped. Maybe next time.

- Can I take your picture?
“Yes, please do”, they replied. How weird was that, two Spanish guys speaking perfect Portuguese! “Oh, we live here”, they explained. That night I had in my e-mail the usual request that I always receive from all the people I photograph. They wanted to see the pictures. Their gratitude included an invitation to visit their store at Rua da Rosa, 31. Hhmm… “Rua da Rosa”, “store”, “Spanish”, there was a feeling of déjà vu in all this. And then I remembered, “El Ganso!”. I wrote them asking and they replied exactly what I wanted to hear (I have a fetish for coincidences, don’t you?).

The store is really, really nice. I bought a sweater (again, I’m not exactly swimming in money, to tell you the truth I don’t have a penny in my name! now that we cleared that, I must say that I don’t consider the store that expensive). Sweaters, coats, pants, shorts and sneakers, lots of sneakers. And for women too. Dresses included. Those types of dresses that we feel like touching (or raising… but that will depend of you and of what you’re aiming for).

P.S. – I don’t intend to make a post more convincing by buying something. My craziness about this blog does not justify that. At least… not yet. But this store is really worth a visit… it really is. Rua da Rosa, 31.