Synonyms: Snapping street style, stealthy trend spotting, stylish stalking (try saying that five times fast)
Definition:
You know the moment.
You’re standing there waiting for the T/subway/bus/limo, fighting the urge to bust a move to your favorite Talib Kweli song, and suddenly, like the flash that happens when the island moves on Lost, you see it:
The dress you wish you’d put on this morning.
The bag you’ve been searching high and low for.
A hat that makes the look.
In fact, you probably see more than the outfit. You see a beautiful person. You want to be friends with them, or date them, or look like them. You certainly want to have access to their closet.
I do this all the time. But pair that instinct with a keen eye, serious talking-to-strangers charisma, and the shooting instincts of a National Geographic photog in the heart of the Amazon rain forest, and you’ve got the art and science of style spotting: simply put, taking pictures of amazingly dressed people on the streets of [insert awesome destination here].
It’s much easier said than done. I tried stylespotting last summer on my family’s trip to Israel and Spain, and came up with these very stalkerish results:
Beautiful Spanish women rocking looks I’d love to emulate (chic sculpted sandals, an effortless LBD, summer sweater vests, rose-colored suede sandals, super-cool head-to-toe-white): check. Good photography? Debateable.
There are some stylespotters out there, however, who get it right, every time. Some of my favorites?
- Scott Shuman of The Sartorialist
- Garance Dore of Garance Dore (and Scott’s girlfriend – talk about a stylish power couple)
- Facehunter
- Glamour Magazine’s Do’s and Don’ts (as far as I’m concerned, the original style spotters)
What about you, darling readers? Where do you go for your style spotting fix? Got any street shots of your own? Send ’em my way in the comments!
The(style)saurus 
every morning in my apartment!!