|
2017: My last cafe trip with Nylon; also pictured, my 2017 agenda, and Tote from Athens |
I am writing this from a café which is both old and
new to me. I was first introduced to Insomnia Coffee mere weeks after I moved
to Portland in 2009. At the time, there was only one location off of Baseline
road in Beaverton and I loved their ice chai so much I made the 20+ minute
drive from my house every weekend. Naturally, Insomnia was the perfect setting
for my ritual of reading Nylon magazine at a café. What began as a simple
weekend amusement in boring Orange County, turned into an obsession over time
which lead me to reading this magazine in cafes all over the world.
Alas, after a ten-year subscription to Nylon (which
was transferred from Kinokuniya in Costa Mesa, California to Portland, Oregon to Oda,
Japan, back to Portland, Oregon) I have decided to end my ritual. My reasons are
many, and considered how long I have maintained this ritual, the extent to
which it has followed me around the world (Japan, South Korea, Thailand), and
how beloved it was to me, I feel I owe myself en explanation.
|
2015: A photo I took after moving back to Portland. Also pictured are my 2015 agenda, and Tote from Seoul. |
1. Nylon Magazine Changed
Nylon magazine changed for the worse in April of 2016. The magazine became significantly thinner, the paper became more light
weight and shiny, like a cheap tabloid periodical. The back half of the
magazine felt like it was made out of newsprint. The one provocative covers
were replaced by close-ups of heavily made-up models. The visual aesthetic
changed significantly as well. Instead of edgy contemporary styles, every model
looks like she could have been pulled right out of a Nirvana concert. I don’t
mean I just dislike the current season. I have had a subscription for over a
decade; I have been loyal to this magazine even when the mainstream trends
don’t appeal to me. I have help on through good and bad seasons. What I am seeing
now is not a new season. It is a new direction for the magazine. And I dislike
it. In fact, I dislike it so much that I recycled the new Nylon issues,
something shocking considered how well-preserved my collection is from 2005 and
on.
|
Left: last issue of good Nylon; Right: first issue of bad Nylon. See the difference? |
2. Insomnia Café Changed
After building a new location 10 minutes further on
Amberbrook Road, I began frequenting that store. It was great for a while. I
also got a good seat. Customers where quiet and courteous, but the neighborhood
has grown considerably in the last few years, and last few times I went there
were not positive. It has now become so crowded that it is nearly impossible to
find an open seat at any time during the weekend. This has become the de facto
hangout for high school sports teams, coming in ground of ten or fifteen at
once. Parents have started taking their tiny children there; not just one or
two, but I once saw a father drag in a wheelbarrow of six toddlers. Barista
have taken to playing 90s hits like the Backstreet Boys. It is no longer a place
where I can read my magazine in peace. It does not create the ambiance I
prefer.
|
Nylons from all over the world, read in cafes all over the world |
3. I Changed
I made several lifestyle changes recently which
seem incompatible with this ritual. First, I am no longer eating or drinking
sugar. This means I cannot order my once favorite Iced Chai Latte, and if I
can’t order that, there is no point going to Insomnia because I can get much
better lattes in cafes closer to my home in Portland. Second, I no longer find
joy in the long drive to the café, preferring instead to walk 30-40 minutes to
cafes in SE Portland. Walking is healthier as well. Third, I am no longer
reading fashion magazines. I realize now that one of the biggest contributors
to my poor self-esteem and self-image is the fact that I have been constantly
reading fashion magazines which, insist on showing me nothing but bone-thin
beauty. I will never look like these women, so why should I keep looking at them. From now on, I will seek out
new fashion ideas from bloggers who not only share my aesthetic, but also my
body type.
My tradition of reading Nylon at cafes brought me
much joy and stability for many years. I am a creature of habit, but this habit
has seen its last days. I celebrate the end of an era at Insomnia’s newest
location in downtown Hillsboro, where I have come for the first and last time.
Goodbye Nylon.
Goodbye Insomnia.