HughE Dillon: The Sartorialist in Philadelphia

Scott Schuman, better known as The Sartorialist for his very popular “street style” photography blog of that name, and his girlfriend, style blogger Garance Doré, came to Philly on Saturday for a meet-and-greet cocktail party with a few of Philly’s fashionistas at Cook on 20th Street. The event, hosted by Philly Mag’s lifestyle editor, Emily Goulet (left), included a delicious lunch with tea sandwiches. Schuman then participated in a Q&A with Ouigi Theodore, the founder of the Brooklyn Circus, who has been the subject of several of Schuman shoots.

Did I mention the fashionistas came out for the afternoon cocktail party? These three are at the epicenter of style in Philadelphia: Doub Hanshaw, Free People creative director, Nicole Paloux, and Beka Rendell.

If there’s anyone in Philly who should be a subject of The Sartorialist, it’s Mia Colona, public relations coordinator at Nicole Miller Philadelphia.

Below: Rakia Reynolds, Skai Blue Media, was on hand to introduce friend Scott Schuman. Later in the afternoon, she hosted a meet-and-greet with nearly 3,000 of his fans at the Barnes Museum.

Below: Ouigi Theodore and Scott Schuman do a side-by-side comparison of Ouigi’s beard in a photo in the book and what it looks like now. During the Q&A, Scott talked about how he started his blog, his background in fashion, and how New York Times street photographer Bill Cunningham is his spiritual mentor. What Schuman did is take the Cunningham brand worldwide. You’ll recall I photographed Cunningham at the opening of the Barnes Foundation earlier this spring, which was quite a thrill for me.

Schuman talked about his style of shooting, and how he thought about how the photo would look before he took it. Each photograph was a work of art. Below: Fashionista Denise Fike is a walking canvas, and her style is the work of art that goes on the canvas.

Below: Lauren Kozakiewicz, photo stylist, and Caroline Bean, director of social media at the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation.

Below: Sabir Peele, founder and creative director of the popular Men’s Style Pro blog, where he models the latest in men’s fashion and doles out advice. Recently, Sabir picked up a corduroy suit for the fall. Although corduroy gets that “old-fogey” reputation, he says, it’s nice to see a modern cut for this era.

Below: Elizabeth Nettles is wearing eye-catching Marni pants, while Dallas Shaw is sporting very stylish camo skinny jeans.

Below: Philly.com fashionistas Leah Kaufman and Esther Lee.

Below: Michelle Flisek, of Cook, and Nadine Louw, Flowers & Company. Then it was off to the Barnes Foundation for the book signing. Check out PhillyChitChat.com for the fashionistas who turned out in force to meet The Sartorialist.