#1, Stephanie; #2, Natalia

#1: Stephanie, 14
Work: Student
Shops: Graham
Shot Her: Maria Hernandez Park
Misc: Shot her because of her great use of layers; When asked how she got dressed she said she just “picked out some clothes.”

#2: Natalia, 30
Work: Stay at home mom with 2 kids, 1 on the way
Shops: Queens
Shot her: Knickerbocker near Stockholm
Misc: Her personality was as magnetic as her orange boots; “In this neighborhood you can get away with (wearing) anything.”

Since I’ve moved to Bushwick, everyone who visits makes it a point to disappear around the corner for a dip into Urban Jungle Vintage, returning completely different: sporting ironic neon green children’s sweatshirts, wearing all-black outfits without getting them washed first, carrying back garbage-bags of cowboy shirts. My roommate and I share laughs over this, but it’s become such a common and entertaining theme that nowadays, I just take my guests straight there. I watch them walk through the warehouse door into the cavernous fluorescent-lit room and set eyes on the racks and racks of clothing. Usually they will go straight to a rack and start flipping through just to make sure it’s real. Common exclamations include, “It’s not picked over!” “This is so overwhelming!” “Holy shit, I can’t believe I just found this!” and “This is so cheap.”

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#1: Gary; #2: Dana; #3: Daniel

#1: Gary, 15
Work: Student
Shop: On Knickerbocker
Shot Him: On Knickerbocker and Stockholm
Misc: Gary was very shy; Favorite part of the neighborhood is the people; “I’ll wear anything.”

#2: Dana, 23
Work: Unemployed
Shops: Broadway
Shot Her: Myrtle and Bleecker
Misc: Shot her because of her unique leggings.

#3: Daniel, 26
Work: Musician
Shops: Domsies
Shot Him: Maria Hernandez Park
Misc: Loves the neighborhood for the food; MySpace address? “If you look hard enough, you’ll find me.”

Bushwick is a huge neighborhood to cover all by myself, so I’d love your help. We’re looking to include profiles of all sorts of stylish people and places on BushwickBK! Send me an email with your ideas, and think creatively — you never know, you could be the next person to appear in the Style section!

Click to view full size photo>>

Due to a hectic work schedule (and crappy weather!), I wasn’t able to make it out into the neighborhood to find random stylish folks, so I looked in my own apartment. Ever since I’d been given this amazing opportunity to shoot Street Style for BushwickBK, I knew I wanted include my roommate. Hopefully her beauty, wit and excellent sense of style are enough to tide you over until next week.

Margie, 27
Work: “I’m a gal Friday”
Shops: Sears and Ebay
Shot her: Himrod and Irving
Misc: “I’m turning dalmatian, I really think so.”

Bushwick is a huge neighborhood to cover all by myself, so I’d love your help. We’re looking to include profiles of all sorts of stylish people and places on BushwickBK! Send me an email with your ideas, and think creatively — you never know, you could be the next person to appear in the Style section!

Click images for larger. #1: Stacey and Mayelin; #2: Elsie; #3: Jason

#1: Stacey and Mayelin, both 14
Work: Students
Shop: On Knickerbocker and Myrtle
Shot Them: On Knickerbocker and Greene
Misc: They pick their outfits out by color. Favorite part of Bushwick? “The boys!”

#2: Elsie, 27
Work: Housing for low- to moderate-income families
Shops: Wherever she can find something she likes
Shot her: On her way to her nephew’s birthday party, Myrtle and Menahan
Misc: Got dressed in a hurry, wearing her favorite jeans and sneakers. “A hoodie is always a must.”

#3: Jason, 24
Work: Deli company
Shops: Queens Center Mall
Shot him: On Knickerbocker and Himrod
Misc: Gets dressed starting with the sneakers, spends most of his time in Queens

Click images for larger. #1: Ariel; #2: Amy and Ace; #3: Royal

Introducing Bushwick Street Style, where our fashion reporter Sarah Conley accosts locals with her camera and bugs them about their outfits. Check out her site, Style IT–Jeremy

#1: Ariel, 21
Work: At a library
Shops: Got t-shirt at a pharmacy, jacket for $3 in Ventura, CA “b/c they don’t use jackets in CA.” He isn’t wearing socks.
Shot him: Corner of Knickerbocker and Stockholm
Misc: Sarah: “How did you get dressed?” — Ariel: “I just picked something up off the floor.”

#2: Amy, 17 and Ace, 18
Work: Both are students
Shop: On Knickerbocker and Myrtle
Shot them: Corner of Himrod and Wyckoff
Misc: Amy says, “This is how I dress everyday. I like sneakers, not real shoes”, Ace says he chose to mix those prints to match his new sneakers

#3: Royal, 22
Work: Freelance writer, in a rap group
Shops: Levis, buys “odds and ends”
Shot him: Corner of Greene and Wyckoff
Misc: Headed to watch The Ruins with a friend; “I love the ghetto”

Kind of scary right now…

My exterminator was marveling at how nice — comparatively, I can only assume — my finished basement is, despite my current problems evicting some four-legged squatters. He said that instead of putting up new drywall to replace some damaged walls, I should have the foundation stone repointed and sealed “like in the Park Slope basements I do.” It sounds nice in theory but it might look rather dark, despite the windows. Thoughts?

The odds are, if you live in Bushwick, your apartment is somewhat dumpy. Mine certainly is. Until recently, it had inadequate storage, a third-world bathroom, and was seriously unorganized. About $300 worth of improvements have made a world of difference. Here’s what we got:

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