ChinaShop

I made the trek — from the East Village down to Battery Park, onto a ferry & across to New Jersey — to All Points West feeling optimistic about what I might see there. My mission? To document & study the fashion in the field, like a sartorial spy, eyes akimbo & trigger-happy fingers itching to take photos & extensive notes.

The mood on the ferry was upbeat, if pretentious. Overheard: “You haven’t heard Fleet Foxes?! They’re like the Crosby Stills & Nash of our time, man!” I blocked out the conversations & concentrated on the aesthetics (it’s what I do best, after all). Most people were dressed like they were about to make a weekend run to Wholefoods: shorts, flip-flops, a t-shirt claiming allegiance to one obscure indie band or another. But in a sea of skinny jeans, there were some girls who dressed up: fringed sandals, sunhats, Hello Kitty rainboots… Wait. Hello Kitty rainboots? What did it all mean? I brushed the thought aside. The sky was blue & vibrant. I didn’t take any pictures on the boat, figuring the green, green fields of Liberty State Park would make a better backdrop.

& so we arrived at the festival. While waiting for field, VIP & backstage passes (this took almost two hours, & I only ended up with a field pass), I scoped out the style some more. Cropped tank tops, Doc Martens (yes!) & the occasional girl in a cute dress passed me by. Then the wind picked up. It picked up some more. The people administering the tickets inside tents looked at each other with slightly panicked expressions. & then… the rain started to fall. Oh, how it fell. Suddenly, all I could see were plastic ponchos, as if they appeared out of nowhere. Clear ponchos, yellow ponchos, blue ponchos, red ponchos, even black homemade versions constructed out of immense garbage bags. Umbrellas bloomed like funghi. The ground turned to mush.

Et moi? I was wearing a polka-dot dress with black patent Doc Marten boots, sunglasses & a headband. I had no cover. I didn’t think to bring an umbrella, & I have never owned a poncho. So I got saturated.

My compadres & I walked quickly through the park, being careful to avoid immense puddles. We watched several people slip over & wriggle about helplessly in the mud. ‘This is like being in England,’ I thought. We sought shelter under an tent, & thought about how to salvage the situation. I looked around desperately. There was nothing to photograph, & no backstage access to be had. Fellow ChinaShop writer, Geo, was the only person with any style around for miles.

So what was big at All Points West on Friday? Ponchos — especially, I noted, matching ponchos for couples. They were like little teams. Go Team Blue Poncho! Fight Team Yellow Poncho! What else? Brollies — also known as umbrellas. Lucky sods. Mud streaks flicked up the back of girls’ legs were HUGE. Soaked, see-through beige shorts also made their presence felt. There were a lot of young men who had taken their shirts off & then tied them around their heads — I cannot explain this one, merely commentate on it, & here’s hoping the poor lads aren’t laid up with hypothermia today. Rainboots were a popular (& smart) choice, too.

I hope people had fun. I don’t mean to sound like a party-pooper, but, well, I didn’t. As I walked back to the ferry, thunderstorm booming behind me, all I could really think about was how badly I wanted to get into bed. Which is exactly what I did.

Words and Photos by Gala Darling

 

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