The School Bus

The school bus has nothing to do, really, with womens' fashions. As I was sitting and chatting with this young woman I could see it coming down the street. I guess it was a game to see if I could catch it more or less centered in the space to the right of the Starbucks building while not looking through the finder. But then I about never do look through the finder.

I struck up a bit of a conversation with the woman inside at the register, and as we both smoke we were banished to the "smoking lounge" on the patio outside. I don't have a clue at this point as to what we were chatting about, but whatever it was our chat went on for half an hour or more, we both smoked a couple of cigarettes, and then either one or the other of us had to get someplace else and we said our goodbyes. I haven't seen her since.

Now looking at the photo I find myself intrigued by the directions taken by womens' fashions of late. Not so many years ago strapless bras were common, and tops had wide enough straps to hide the bra straps beneath. Now you see them poking out at odd angles, and in colors chosen more to be noticed than to blend in. For many years bras weren't supposed to be noticed. Their two functions were support and making women look like breasts didn't have nipples. Then over thirty years ago, in the era of Womens' Lib, the in thing was going braless, perhaps even wearing a knit top that emphasized the nipples.

Another increasingly common fashion statement today is wearing a "little nothing" dress, but rather than wearing sandles or heels with bare legs the dress becomes a top for jeans and athletic shoes. Here we have an attractive woman in baggy jeans and athletic shoes letting the world know that she owns a dress and wears a bra.

Oh well, after half an hour of good conversation and watching me shoot some pictures one handed while striking these seemingly "off in another world" poses with matching facial expressions she probably thinks that I'm a bit nutty myself.