NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH: Bill & Ted's excellent phone booth into the soul of the '90s

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NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH: Bill & Ted's excellent phone booth into the soul of the '90s

POSTED: Wednesday, March 10, 2010, 6:51 PM

Neighborhood Watch finds fashionable folk all across the city. Where do all the vestiges of the '90s meet? South Street, South Street.

PHOTOS | Julia West and Josh Middleton

This week exciting street fashion was as abundant as the sunshine. We found most of our picks circling somewhere near South Street, where we felt as if we'd just stepped out of Bill & Ted's excellent phone booth into the soul of the '90s.

Brittany K. (15) is a product of the '90s in more ways than one. Not only was she conceived in the latter part of the era but her sense of fashion has turn-of-the-century, pre-packaged Hot Topic Goth written all over it. This is a look that's age specific. When you're 15 it works, but honey, don't be trying to pull it off after high school. She buys the bulk of her duds on sites like Hell Bunny and she mentions the bands Eyes Set to Kill and A Day to Remember as fashion influences.

PHOTOS | Julia West and Josh Middleton

Jonathan G. (37) and Stephanie W. (38) show how to take the punk rock look out of the malls and make it appropriate for any age, which is unsurprising for the latter because Steph is the owner of South Street's quintessential and iconic punk shop, Crash Bang Boom (528 S. 4th St., 215-928-1123). On their way to donate clothes outgrown by Nina J. (2), they stopped to chat about their "cheap and savvy" style that includes a lot of black, a lot of layers and a damn good pair of boots.

PHOTOS | Julia West and Josh Middleton

Strolling down the street with a cock-eyed doo-rag and donning a re-envisioned '90s grunge look, Jeff M. (19) was killing time before going to put more holes in his face. He already has a lebret piercing and huge gauges in his ears but he's not quite satisfied yet. Judging by his appearance you'd think he pieced his outfit together from a second hand store, but actually most of it came from mainstream department spots like Kohl's and Foot Locker.

PHOTOS | Julia West and Josh Middleton

We weren't actually on the Neighborhood Watch clock, but when we spotted Rose B. (17) at the Man Man show at the Trocadero (1003 Arch St., 215-922-5483) we couldn't help but whip out the camera for a snap. We find her "circus/vintage" look a tad too provocative for a girl her age, but I'm sure all the fellas in the house didn't mind it at all. Looking at her is like a game of I Spy â We spy Britney gone wrong in the pigtails and plaid scarf, we spy Rainbow Brite in her hair bows and stripped socks and we spy Final Fantasy heroine in her lace bodice and self-made faerie bloomers and ... wait a minute ... is that a chastity belt? Either way, read J. West's review of the Man Man show.

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Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

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