Reflecting on one's city

A few months back I had mentioned that my editors wanted me to follow the NYT path and shoot some sort of daily people in the street picture for the web gallery. It has been up since Sept (aug was tests and tinkering with templates to get larger pictures) and truth be told, it is much harder to do that I ever imagined and even more of a slap, was coming to the realization of how poorly the men in Montreal dress! I had always felt Montreal was above average but now wonder if that is true. I tend to hang out in a cafe on Peel, home of the best men's wear shopping in the city and perhaps the perspective is distorted due location. To find a nicely dressed or stylish woman is rather easy, to find a man in something other than a basic blue suit is alarmingly tough! In fact it is discouraging and has completely changed my perspective of men in this city. It stands in the top 5 viewed on the site and the editors seem happy, but I disappointed in my failure to show case well dressed men. I can't help but wonder am I being to harsh, too picky, or is it really that bad out there? Z www.montrealgazette.com/streetviews

Originally Posted by Zegnamtl

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www.montrealgazette/streetviews

Nice work, A.

Your URL above is missing the .com.

Street Views: Style-Spotting in Montreal with Allen McInnis.

And yes, it really is that bad out there.

If you stick with a 4:1 female:male ratio, you will mitigate the sartorial disaster that is modern man.

- B

Very nice work.

I hope your feature is popular. It certainly should be.

I especially likes "Katy ... in the West End"

She reminds me of an Annie Hall of our new millennium.

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

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........ And yes, it really is that bad out there. If you stick with a 4:1 female:male ratio, you will mitigate the sartorial disaster that is modern man. - B
Thank you! I think back to all the times I posted about how sharp some men in this city are....... But I should add, in Quebec, we need the subject's permission to publish non news worthy pictures, I can not just snap and run and I would say the best half dozen men have declined. But 6 well dressed men do not make a stylish city! I get e mails from viewers asking why I have never posted a picture of a "hipster", the though makes we want to cry. Someone posted here a while back that this would be a tough assignment, I don't recall who, they were right! *Privacy law here dictates one can not publish an image without consent unless the public's right to know supersedes the individual's right to privacy. IE: A truly news worthy story. People who earn their living from their likeness (movie stars, singers, politicians etc) are not protected by this law, only the common citizen is.

Wow! I think I'm in love with Julie. Nice job on the photo essay. I've been to Montreal several times and think the men there dress better than the norm for a North American city (which is merely damning with faint praise). The women, on the other hand, are the best dressed I've seen on our continent.

Hmmm, Sabrine et Julie sont tres belles.

Most cities are satorial wastelands, at least you have some pretty wimmins.

Fascinating, Allen! You're absolutely right about the women in Montreal--undoubtedly the New World's version of Parisian style. And the men may be disappointing in comparison. But if you were to do a similar project in Vancouver, your disappointment would be raised to the power 10, and wouldn't be in the men in basic blue suits, but in the men in gawd-awful unpolished, rubber-soled clunker shoes, sports jackets and open collars (where suits would be appropriate), and, in general, just no clue whatsoever about style and taste. In fact, you should do a photo project at the university where I'm on faculty and see what West Coast college/university dress consists of: T-shirts and jeans or chinos, with sneakers being the norm. (I don't know whether this holds for McGill; probably not.) The "laid-back" West Coast "style" has laid so far back that it's fallen over! So my advice would be to be grateful for what you have!

I'll be the first to admit that as a whole, guys in Montreal dress like ****. Younger guys who put any effort in how they dress invariably err on the guido side of things. Actually, the same can be said of a lot of older men as well. Just take a look at the rich guys in the rag trade around Chabanel; it's amazing that men driving around in Ferraris and other luxury cars dress so poorly. The few well dressed and elegant gentlemen I do cross from time to time could probably still work on their footwear choices though...

If Quebecois vedettes are any indication, then Montrealers are indeed destined for sartorial mediocrity. That said, I did see a dozen or so rather spiffy looking guys at a Montreal Canadiens game last year. Probably corporate box/seat holders. Anyhow, they conjured up images of men you see in b/w pictures of the old Forum.

Originally Posted by Zegnamtl

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But I should add, in Quebec, we need the subject's permission to publish non news worthy pictures, I can not just snap and run and I would say the best half dozen men have declined.

Stick with chicks. They're Quebec's fortà anyway.


- B

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

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Stick with chicks. They're Quebec's fortÃ

anyway.

+1 000 000

If you think Montreal is bad, you should see Detroit (or more specifically, the Northern Suburbs of Detroit; Birmingham, Troy, etc.) . . . worst dressed town on Earth.

I think I might start surreptitiously photographing the worst dressed people I see, along with the windows at certain shops. I need to scan in and post the local rag's "best dressed" pictorial, it was umm really something.

Bummer dude, nothing outstanding among the men, but well done for making the best of the situation.

An excellent read A! How are Eric and friends doing?

Enjoy the photo essay immensely!

Great job, has me thinking of a trip to Montreal . . .