Barbara- 5th & Pine downtown Seattle
The bag, the shoes, the layers, this outfit goes to show that getting from here to there doesn't mean you have to stop expressing yourself. Commuting by foot poses a few problems in the style department for us here in Seattle. There's the wet conditions, the inevitable hill almost anywhere you go, and the same difficulty you run into in any city when walking to work; where to put all your stuff. In my 4 years of walking to my job on the very top of Capitol Hill every day, rain or shine, I have amassed a pretty major collection of comfortable shoes and large but managable bags. It is really easy to go the route of only comfortable when when it comes to these things (I am more than guilty of this). Just throw on your running shoes and your old backpack and off you go. What people oftentimes forget is that there is a huge selection of footwear and bags that are easy on the eye and won't totally defeat the effort of having put together a great outfit for the day. I've mentioned many times on here that I'm a devoted wearer of Chucks. Standard cream high tops have been my favorite style for the last 5 years. Not all that creative but they are a classic and as every year passes since I bought my first pair of Converses in high school I love them just as much. There are so many more options though... brogues, boots, ballet flats (for the non-rainy days of course). As for the bag, there are so many great canvas ones available with a lot of space and handles long enough that the handles can fit up over your shoulder or short enough that you can hold them in your hand and not drag them along the floor.
Worth a try right? Walk with style.
