Goodwill & Good Luck

Yesterday afternoon I went to Goodwill in hopes of buying a cheap bike so that I can trek even farther from the East End and enjoy the landscape, rolling hills especially. Alas, no bikes for sale. I nearly went into an animalistic rage, tearing early 90s pool hall fashion from every rack. Instead I took pictures.


Dazzled by her stenciled faded blue Chucks, I came across this divalicious piece darting to and from the dressing room with armfuls of secondhand merch, frantically composing and recomposing combinations. She seemed most satisfied by this one.




What are you wearing?

I'm wearing Chucks, Levi's 504s, and...Goodwill.

What's on your shoes?

I dunno. I pulled them out of a free box at school. It was already on there.

What are you listening to these days?

I want everyone to listen to The Blood Arm [www.myspace.com/thebloodarm]. It's this random band and they're from LA and "Suspicious Character" is a great song.

About your shirt...it's mesh?

What about it? It is mesh.

And that was that.



Next was this pint-sized boutique urchin who appeared to have crept from the murky depths of West Hollywood. The charcoal aviators with the electric pink stripe didn't quite fit the Maude getup. Hunched over the [little girls'] skirts rack, she leafed through the hangers like she'd pick at a salad at the Ivy. Fashionably pathetic.




Hi?

Silence.

Um, hi. Can I talk to you about what you're wearing?

Yehr (...?) Shoes from a thrift store in Brooklyn. Calvin Klein shirtdress. And the coat. It's angora. From rabbits?

What mood are you going for with it?

Mature. I have a kind of classic look.

You're arranged like an O twin. (chuckle) What do you think of their styles?

I dunno why people are so hard on Mary-Kate. She's just not afraid of wearing what looks good on her, whatever makes her feel ladylike. It's stupid.

And the glasses? Do you always wear them indoors?

No. (long pause, she pulls out a swatch of green paisley shorts fit for a 1st grader and eyes it) Only when it's sunny outside. So I don't have to keep putting them back on and off.

Cool. How do you feel about PETA?

I dunno. I guess they just don't know what they're missing...so they throw paint.


I left wishing I had called her Ethel. Just once.

Yup, in a white tee.

It all started with my quest for black people. I knew they were somewhere in Pittsburgh, tucked away from the wasp nests of Shadyside and the bagelries of Squirrel Hill. I set out one Friday afternoon, hopping on an inbound 71D. First we passed some shanties (including the "BUY CRACK HERE" house) and I felt the apparition of disappointment upon me. This can't be! Even downtown Atlanta isn't this shabby in its seedy parts.

We continued down Fifth and the closer we got to downtown, the more the scenery looked like ATL. Packs of boys in white tees, flat billed Steelers caps, and a smattering of faux Bape on the flyest cats.

My search had come to a fruitful end, and the first holler I received (Ayo! Babygirl! How you doin' boo?) seconds after stepping off the bus at Wood St. indicated my success.*

*I should add that I'd previously discovered East Liberty and Homewood on the East End, but that had been purely by chance en route to Fox Chapel (where the brown-o-metre swiftly returned to zero).