For months, Valerie Luu was obsessed with a single pair of shoes. Every morning on her way to her local café, she would see a parade of seniors departing a nearby bus. And every morning, among all the shuffling feet, she’d see the shoes: a cheerful pair of jade sneakers with a speckled, '80s pattern. She never saw the wearer’s entire outfit or face. Just the shoes.

 

Luu, a restaurateur, was a recent transplant to San Francisco’s Chinatown when she quickly became infatuated with the fashion scene of the neighborhood’s senior population. They mixed patterns with gleeful abandon, embraced color, and accessorized with an eclectic mix of utility and style.

Along with her photographer friend, Andria Lo, the pair began highlighting the unabashed fashion they saw, first in an article (“Chinatown Sartorialist”) and now on a blog. Chinatown Pretty offers readers both fashion inspiration — Those silk blouses! Those snapbacks! — as well as a peek inside one of San Francisco's most iconic neighborhoods, filled with nattily dressed 70-, 80-, and 90-year-olds.