Demand: Darcey and Kevin, 11 July 2009, Harvard Square

Darcey had sold shoes and knew her business.

Darcey: I wear heels I can go-go dance or catch a bus in...What makes a heel comfortable is the pitch, not the height...I'm fanatical about good fit.

We talked about geometry for a minute, then Kevin came back from somewhere. He had really finely-grained shoes.

They look expensive.

Kevin: I bet they are. I found them in the free box.

He was also wearing glow-in-the-dark sunglasses. We talked about the absurdity of that for a moment.

What's your favorite fashion decade?

Kevin: The early 70's...I also like the 30's, the 40's.

Darcey: Then there's the 70's doing the 30's and 40's -- that's my favorite.

Supply: Proletariat, Harvard Square

Proletariat is a store in the Garage, the small indoor mall in Harvard Square. Besides for the house clothing line, they sell vintage t-shirts, skateboard gear and spray paint stuff.

A label on the Proletariat jeans.

The premium vintage t's.

Read carefully.

Supply: the Uyghur hat

I was hanging out in Harvard Square the other day when I saw two guys wearing this hat, which they explained was a traditional hat of the Uyghur people, who live in what is normally called the Xinjiang province of China.

The guys actually wearing the hats declined to be photographed, but their friend Uchkun kindly agreed to model it for me.

Demand: Nica, Kate, and Devin, 9 July 2009, Boston Common

Nica's dress was from Anthropologie: "I chose it because it spins nicely."

Devin's the guy; Kate's the girl.

Let's say you have to go to a funeral and a monster truck rally on the same day, and you won't have time to change in between. What do you put on in the morning?

Devin: Black dungarees. It's austere for the funeral but badass for the monster truck rally...with a black cowboy hat.

You see somebody from 20 feet away and you know they're a douchebag. What are they wearing?

Kate: It would definitely be the popped collar. Extra points for two layered on top of each other. And boat shoes.

What's hottest: robots, elves, pirates or ninjas?

Kate: Pirates.

Nica: If they have nice teeth.

Demand: Tim, 9 July 2009, Boston Common

I asked Tim to explain his style.

In Boston, it would lean slightly hipster...When I lived in the Ukraine, I had, like, a mullet, [and] a trashy jacket...it looked right at the time...In Korea, it was based a lot on jackets, blazers, jeans, white loafers (knock offs, of, like, Gucci stuff)...Wherever you are, you want to do something that's based on where you are, but still stand out a little.

I tried to distract him with a bullshit question while I scrambled to write down what he was saying.

What do you do for a living?

I'm like an entrepreneur.

You're like an entrepreneur?

I overuse the word "like".