Maybe you have seen the NY Times travel section on DC. Maybe you have read Project Beltway’s or Culture Warrior’s commentary on it.
But then, maybe you didn’t.
It harkens back to the age-old DC question as to why we have the reputation we have among other cities.
This is why-NY Times, this country’s most widely read newspaper, presumably best intentions in hand (tho the whole plastic-Hillary-clone photoshoot leads me to think they had some major prejudice before even starting) sends some semi-jaded journalist onto the “seek-out-DC-hot-spots” trail…and it starts out (sort of) ok:
They mention U street and 14th street (but really only Busboys and Poets on it, how about HR57, the Cat, Mike Benson’s mini-empire, etc?), skim over H street (R’N'R wins the noble mention of ALL the places that exist there, Palace of Wonders being something they should have been all over)
and then as Rachel pointed out: clearly got sucked in, oh-so-Washington style (some irony for her take on irony!) to a party held on The Sequoia so that some guy from a foundation could work his mission statement magic. And it worked! How utterly Washingtonian, I love it. Instead of hearing about all of the cool little spots in DC, the reporter floated around on a boat at an invite-only reception and then talked about the “salon dinners” the guy holds.
It all spirals into a misguided clusterfuck which basically amounts to me/or you being sent to write about New York style/nightlife/culture and focusing only on Times Square, Radio City Hall and photo ops in front of the Statue of Liberty.
Then they ventured out, put some Nancy Reagan-meets-Hilary-in-a-Dynasty catfight outfits no sane Washingtonian woman/girl would be seen dead in on a model styled as a plastic doll and toted her around sights to take some photos in.
examples here:
because, of course, all DC style is about it aquanet and primary colors.
And stockings during summer.
No mention of local music, independent boutiques, events like Hirshhorn after hours or Wild Style at Dissident Display, the Artcade kids, independent theatre…or any other form of local color whatsover.
Well done.
Next time, pretty please, lets do some research.
Thank you.
I always use my real name when posting on BYT - but I can’t in this case because I work with journalists and I can’t piss them off. But let’s just say the reporter who wrote this story is not exactly hip herself and wouldn’t know where to look for local music or fashion or a decent art gallery. She covers the State Department, folks. I don’t think I need to go further on this point. Her terrible piece speaks for itself. I’ll bet $500 bucks she’s never set foot inside RR Hotel - which makes her conclusions that D.C. isn’t “hip” and all those disparaging comments even shittier reporting. She should stick to reporting on the government as she does that pretty well. This piece is just embarrassing - to her, not to us.
September 24, 2007 at 2:02 pmI would wear that royal blue suit with the short jacket. Just not with that hair. Or a tie.
September 24, 2007 at 2:07 pmthe royal blue suit is semi-adorable, I will admit to it.
but the whole look/styling/irony-without-irony posing, come on!
There is nothing to “dicuss”. That article was terrible all the way around. Was the assignment to stereotype DC or actually research the reasons why it IS hip - and it is, yall! ;)
September 24, 2007 at 2:18 pmshe can’t even salute properly
disgusting
if they had sent David Frick or whomever, and actually found something hip, they woudl have overexposed it and killed it, or as i like to say, ‘pitchforked’ it. so better to stay off the radar, and out of all the news that’s fit to print. when the water’s simmering, it’s best to keep the lid on.
September 24, 2007 at 3:04 pmah, and seriously, google Helene Cooper. that should really put this whole thing to bed.
September 24, 2007 at 3:30 pmDC isnt very hip.. as much as you people are trying to make it out to be. you people suck.
September 24, 2007 at 3:33 pmDC has a lot of ugly people, just accept this
September 24, 2007 at 3:36 pmDo you know what’s almost as sickening as the Post piece?It’s that the best you people can do is name-drop tired hipster hangouts.
September 24, 2007 at 3:39 pmcalling people ugly, sucky and sickening is terminally hip though.
nothing beats some “constructive” criticism.
September 24, 2007 at 3:47 pmtim - you’re a douche, but you’re right, DC isn’t very hip, I think it’s a numbers thing, we have a smaller number of hip people than a lot of other cities, *but* that small number who are hip are just as hip as anyone else, and that’s what I think this web site celebrates.
anon - accepted (not joking)
mya - where are the non-tired hipster hangouts? I’m not being sarcastic, let us know, we’ll write about them.
September 24, 2007 at 4:00 pmcale..stop being gay.
September 24, 2007 at 4:08 pm“You only relax after you have exhausted yourself lobbying a senator”… Can someone explain? I don’t work on the Hill.
September 24, 2007 at 4:16 pm[...] fashion mavens Rachel Cothran and Svetlana Legetic criticize Helene Cooper, author of Sunday’s New York Times T Magazine piece on D.C., for not [...]
September 24, 2007 at 4:34 pmone further recommended reading on this would be Morgan’s “fashion district” from a month or so back, which dealt with just how much things have changed in the short span of the last year or so:
http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/style/fashion-district/
September 24, 2007 at 4:51 pmi don’t like the word hip. i also don’t like tim.
September 24, 2007 at 7:32 pmwearing headbands and metal band shirts that you have never listened to is far from “stylish”..get with it you dorks.
September 24, 2007 at 10:11 pmtim, hate is an unflattering look on anyone.
September 24, 2007 at 11:58 pmThe article did mention independent boutiques - muleh, sassanova, urban chic among others.
September 25, 2007 at 12:06 amHaha its nice to know i have a myspace stalker, thanks tim!
The article totally DID mention on on few independently owned shops, but i think with the point of the whole thing was that DC had lots of “new” “hip” places to go shop and hang out at, and for the most part, the places they mentioned were neither. Literally dozens of shops (catering to different styles and price points) have opened or reopened in the last 18 months or so (redeem, smash, kickballers, palace 5, to name just a few) and the only recent, “unestablished” place she managed to mention was the remix. As rad as it is that we have places like muleh and hu’s shoes, they’re both in established locations and cater to an UPSCALE customer - in other words, they’re nothing really new or out of the ordinary for this city.
Oh, and if i see one more vision of DC as represented by a jackie kennedy-styled fashion spread im going to vom.
September 25, 2007 at 9:13 amif i see someone use the word “vom” again i’m going to vom.
shit…
September 25, 2007 at 11:04 amits good to know i’m not alone. i seriously recoiled in horror when i saw that hideous times piece sitting on my kitchen table. that purple castoff from the eurythmics 84 tour was especially hideous.
v-o-m.
September 25, 2007 at 3:26 pmAm I no longer hip if I admit to liking the photos?
September 25, 2007 at 3:33 pmthe photos are cool.
that they are used as representative of dc style is not necessarily so cool
oh please dc pretty much is all about aquanet, primary colors and stockings in summer. and it seems like the “fashionable” kids in dc get hold of all the ny/la/france/london trends when they’re dunzo and then just look silly. too little too late ya know? whatevs
dont hate congratulate!
September 25, 2007 at 8:43 pmSo Rosie O’Donnell & Oprah Winfrey have a love child and she writes shit about DC style.
September 25, 2007 at 8:54 pmI’m a native Washingtonian who knows DC is not that hip. I do also know, however, that DC is very unfairly represented universally not by its, artists, its diverse neighborhoods, or many cultural offerings but the business casual staffer set. No offense to all of these people, but they don’t contribute to our “culture” and they are FOB Washingtonians, if you can even call them that. If you’re not a teenager, don’t have a diverse group of friends (w/ respect to ethnicity, occupation, $$), or lack a unique style or set of interests, you won’t find hip people, parties, or places to spend money. Hip in DC (and this site is a testament to the fact) is pretty much DIY.
there are more theater offerings, and streetwear/lifestyle boutiques, and “hip” lounges/clubs/bars/concert venues - but what makes cities like SF and NY cool is their DIY subcultures. DC doesn’t have enough of that.
September 26, 2007 at 12:02 amThey built this city on Rock and Roll, why cant we?
September 27, 2007 at 11:27 amthe photos were striking, the fashion was NOT.
September 27, 2007 at 11:46 amand don’t get me started on that hair. . .
September 27, 2007 at 11:48 ami actually saw one of the photoshoots go down in front of the smithsonian…. it was odd cuz i was like “is this supposed to be for fashion or humor?” p.s. look at the great fit on the first suit jacket.. ohh yeahhh haha
September 27, 2007 at 12:10 pmboxy is the new black. or not.
September 27, 2007 at 12:13 pmHave to agree with Kat - from the little yet pertinent observation I’ve done here in the last two years, it does seem like DC ‘hipsters’ and whatnot get hold of already fading fashions from elsewhere, and don’t exactly do anything exciting with them. You have to admit, in the step-ahead-of-the-crowd department, I think DC’s last notable moment WAS Jackie…
But in two years, I’ve definitely figured out that those bars/clubs/hotspots are barely the tip of the iceberg… I mean, how can you mention Five without mentioning 18th st Lounge? Rn’R Hotel without Black Cat or Bohemian Cavern? Sea Catch but not Neyla? And I’m a LOSER compared to you Washingtonians…
Super late on this one. Ha. But I got pointed here from today’s article so whatever.
Anyway, major media outlets do this shit whenever they cover anywhere that is not New York or LA. If they did a Minneapolis-themed photo shoot, it would definitely have something to do with snow, and if they did one about Phoenix, it would have cowboy shit in it. Kids there don’t all wear cowboy boots there any more than kids here wear the shit in these pictures.
May 15, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Busboys and Poets is the worst place in the city (well, except for Georgetown, but I don’t consider that part of the city anyway).
I’m going to bring in about 15 Guatemalan busboys for loud drinking and arguing over futbol matches one Sunday during brunch and watch the patrons grimace.
I only regret that I can’t bring Bukowski there. Be awesome to see him puke all over the place and then hit some women.
Awesome from the standpoint of watching the horror, not because hitting women is awesome.
September 24, 2007 at 1:46 pm