Sloan

Friday afternoon
Somewhere in Bayview

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Native Style

"Fashion fades. Style is eternal.”

-Yves Saint Laurent

San Francisco is unlike any other city in the world. It’s not the epicenter of culture, architecture or fashion. It doesn’t try to be. It doesn’t pretend to be something that it isn’t, something superficial. Fashion is superficial. It changes constantly depending on the season, the economic times or whims of the designer in the house. Fashion struggles to reinvent itself. Many cities in the world use architecture for instance, to gain notoriety in the public forum. We don’t put billboards up for self promotion or attention. We would never fool with the International Orange paint color of the Golden Gate Bridge or string it up with lights to make it look like a dancing Christmas tree like the Eiffel Tower.

San Francisco is a constant; some might argue boring. Our pace is relaxed. We as a city are conservative in our actions regarding decisions that may change the look and feel of the city. It took us more than 12 years to replace an earthquake damaged freeway because its integration back into the city was critical. Moving cars wasn’t as important as the look and feel of the surrounding neighborhood and our underlying self-regard. Simple practicality is not always in the best interest of the behavior and characteristics of my city. This isn’t the mentality of Los Angeles, for instance.

Style is something deeper and more personal than fashion. It is like common sense, you are either born with it or you aren’t. You breathe style; it radiates and it is ever present in your personality. Style is beyond clothes and handbags. It’s about essence, individuality, and self expression. San Francisco expresses itself with peaks, valleys, hill and wet lands. This landscape creates discrete and intricate neighborhoods, microclimates and lifestyles. If you have ever seen the fog rolling over Twin Peaks or pushing through the Golden Gate Bridge you know what the city’s self expression looks like.

I’m a native San Franciscan and that’s my style. Where other cities fade, San Francisco remains eternal.

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The rest of Sloan's photo shoot can be seen here.