Photographer Captures New Yorkers’ Vibrant Fashion Choices Made from the Waist Down

Photographer and editor Stacey Baker focuses her attention on the lower half of the body for her ongoing series titled New York Legs. Since 2013, she’s stopped women on the street and photographed them from the waist down, capturing the unique combinations of pants, skirts, boots, and sandals in front of nearby walls. Their legs are the only visible part of their form, and their lower-half fashions are a striking juxtaposition to the gritty city landscape.

Baker’s clothing curation tends to favor those who take chances with their style. She snaps pictures of vibrant patterned tights, Star Wars-themed skirts, and bell-bottoms that recall the 1970s. Although these types of garments often steal the show, furry boots and colorful shoes also make an appearance. Together, they help define the person—we can’t see their face, but we have a good idea of who they are based on these sartorial choices.

Baker has turned her project into a book, also called New York Legs, that’s now available for pre-order on Amazon.

New York Legs: Website | Instagram
via [Kottke]

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled "Embroidered Life" that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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