The Art of Style by Kit Mills 011: Mismatched, But Not Incompatible

You’re tired. You’re staring off into the grimy, human-filled space of the subway car, failing to concentrate on your book and lacking even enough presence of mind to turn on some music. It’s cold out, but it’s uncomfortably warm and humid in this underground cattle-car. It smells like the unholy union of cabbage and feet. Your listless gaze lands like a gob of spit on the two people standing in the doorway across from you, oozing downwards until it pools on their respective shoes. Well, that’s something. There’s something shiny here. Your brain perks up a bit and begins to analyze.

At first glance, the person on the left seems much more fashion-conscious than the one on the right. Skin-tight pants with distressed detailing, a shopping bag lending clues to recent purchases, and of course the shoes. You don’t find reflective studded maroon platform brogues just anywhere, do you?

And then your eye slides over to the gentleman on the right. Okay, casual but reasonably well-turned-out. Black jeans, white shirt. No coat. At first you hardly notice the shoes, but the colors draw your attention back. These are not your everyday sneakers. These have a personality–maybe not quite as unapologetically flashy as their neighbors’, but steady and definite.

Their personal styles might be different, but these two people both display an attention to detail in sartorial matters. A studded brogue might not share the same opinions as a striped canvas sneaker, but at least it can respect them. They’re mismatched, but perhaps not incompatible.

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