Engagement Project (by Francesco Concordia)

I’ve lived in Ridgewood Queens New York for my entire life. It borders the neighborhoods of Maspeth, Middle Village, and Glendale, as well as the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bushwick and East Williamsburg. This amount of experience has given me insight on what type of people that live in Ridgewood. The people in Ridgewood are predominantly working class democratic citizens. Ethnicity wise there are all different types of people, with different cultures and languages. You often see the occasional Polish deli’s, Italian restaurant’s, and Chinese food markets. This is just one of the indications that shows us just about how much diversity is in this neighborhood, other than just going outside and roaming the streets and seeing all the different types of cultures and people there are. However, one thing that I can find in common with all these different people is their fashion senses. The longer I paid attention to what they wearied the more clothing items I saw reaper in other people all around the neighborhood.

For example the baseball style hats are back in style in Ridgewood, however, people come to know this specific style of hat to be called “dad hats”. I’ve seen students that go to the local high school wear these hats. Along with grown men and women. As the weather gets colder I’ve seen a recent spike in a specific type of jacket that I’ve seen worn so many times that I even purchased it because of its appealing, and functional design. This jacket is called “flight jacket”. They often had patches on them that made every jacket distinctively different from someone else’s. Joggers  are one of the hottest new trends in men’s pant wear, according to my observations. The legs of the pants, which feature elastic at the feet, are designed to fall just above the ankle. I have a couple pairs of joggers too and love them especially for their comfortability.  The “Long T” has also made a comeback in today’s fashion trends. The long tee was popping during the 2000’s now 16 years later I see them in the stores by my house, in my cousin’s wardrobe, and on my best friends. These long shirts usually have simple designs and commonly one solid color. Kanye West might be responsible for this trends revival as he is seen wearing them several times during concerts and media events. Clothing brands such as Adidas, puma, Urban outfitters, Stussy, Puscans, Jordan, and of course Nike rank supreme in Ridgewood as it seems to me the most worn brands. This may have to do with the good quality these companies provide for such affordable costs which the working class people of Ridgewood appreciate and take advantage of .                      flight-jacketdad-hatsjoggers  Watching and paying more close attention to the fashion of these people around me gave me more knowledge and insight on how these people think. I would’ve never even noticed all these new trends if it weren’t for this experience. It helped me realize how behind I was on my own fashion skills and how I need to update my closet draws with new clothes.

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