We’ve Always Been Fashion Forward

Revisiting a Barlow fashion shoot from the roaring 1980s.

Over lunch today the topic of fashion photography came up. Some of our clients may be surprised to learn that we’ve done our fair share of fashion assignments over the years. From editorial shoots for publications large and small to advertising jobs for designers and retailers alike. For much of the 1980s, readers of the JC Penney catalog, as well as many magazines and newspapers, regularly saw Ron Barlow’s work in advertisements and editorial spreads. It’s hard not to love this shot he made on the Landing in downtown St. Louis sometime in the mid 1980s.

I’m guessing this was somewhere around 1986. I think I had those same glasses!

While the outfits are quintessentially dated—how about those great boat shoes and the high-waisted, crisply pressed jeans—it’s still a great shot, even 30 years later.

Just out of curiosity, though, I wonder: why does that guy have a trumpet?