🤯 Is Boston ... fashionable?

It’s Thursday, Boston.

🍫 Have you seen the viral “Dubai chocolate bar?” A.k.a. an inch-thick bar stuffed with green pistachio paste, tahini, and kataifi that’s nearly impossible to get your hands on? Well it turns out … you can get them in Boston. You’re welcome.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• The current state of ballot Q vibes

• Good(?) news for rats

• Bill Belichick’s hot girl(friend) summer

Up first…

ARTS & CULTURE

Boston fashion’s saving grace

Boston has been called a lot of things. “Fashionable” isn’t usually one of them. In fact, we once ranked as the worst city for fashion. 

But with Boston Fashion Week around the corner (yes, that’s a thing!) and the city’s booming vintage scene, the tides might be turning.

👗 First of all, who said Boston isn’t fashionable? OK, fine, GQ did. But seriously, Jay Calderin, the founder of Boston Fashion Week (who’s from New York) doesn’t “see a big difference in terms of how people dress every day” between Boston and NYC. That’s not to say New York’s fashion scene isn’t “much larger and louder” than Boston’s. But Calderin said Boston’s scene has “always been … on the radar for people who are looking for it.”

🤓 But our New England sensibility probably doesn’t help. Joshua Mazes, co-founder of Select Markets, described Boston’s fashion culture as one where folks are “a little more apprehensive to show their creativity.” And according to Calderin, that feeling isn’t new. Back when Boston Fashion Week started 30 years ago, the “New England way of thinking about fashion” was more concerned with whether it was “serious” enough for people to put time and effort into, than about what to wear. 

🙅 And the idea of “Boston shopping” could use a rebrand. Jenna Cea-Curry, owner of The Attic, a vintage shop in Cambridge, said Boston’s shopping scene has been mostly synonymous with Newbury Street, i.e. expensive and, let’s face it, a little … basic (looking at you, Lululemon). “I've had like a couple of people from New York come in and be like, ‘wow, like it's so nice to see something like this’ … they describe [The Attic] as a store that they would typically see in New York and not Boston,” she said.

👠 One remedy? Vintage clothing. At least according to Cea-Curry. Since moving here in 2018, she said Boston fashion is on the up thanks to its booming vintage scene. Aside from being cheaper than most retail, it exposes folks to items they wouldn’t see in traditional stores, which can be inspiring. Thanks to this boom, she’s seen more Bostonians “not only follow[ing] trends,” but also “using vintage clothing to create their own personal styles.” Take that, GQ! 

QUICK QUESTION

👔 Is Boston a fashionable city?

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🗳️ Wondering how the ballot Q’s will pan out? We might have a hint. The Globe and Suffolk University recently polled 500 likely Mass. voters to ask their opinions on this year’s ballot questions. The data shows a solid “yes” for auditing the legislature (Q1), eliminating the MCAS grad requirement (Q2), and rideshare driver unionization (Q3). But questions about legalizing psychedelics (Q4) and tipped minimum wage (Q5) got a little spicy, with a nearly even split on Question 4 and a more solid “no” on Question 5, with 7.5% of voters still undecided.

🦠 The Charles is back to its normal levels of dirtiness. The cyanobacteria (a.k.a. blue-green algae) health advisory that was issued for the river has been lifted after about two weeks. That means the river has been successfully tested under the state’s safe limit of 70,000 cells/milliliter (mL) of water not once, but twice. And while the news doesn’t necessarily make us want to dive in (as if), now you shouldn’t have to worry about yourself or your pups around the water. 

🐀 Great news for rats who want to start a family: City officials have officially nixed a plan to introduce birth control as a method of curbing Boston’s rat population. Let’s back up. Last year, JP kicked off a pilot program to try out a form of pest control that involves feeding rats (safe) pellets which make them infertile. The pilot concluded in August, and after receiving mixed results in terms of data, officials decided to put a hold on the idea. But thankfully, we still have a (non-birth-control-related) rat plan to fall back on.

🏀 The sun has set on the Sun’s playoffs run. On Tuesday night, the Connecticut Sun fell to the Minnesota Lynx 88-77 in a winner-take-all Game 5 of the WNBA semifinals. This marks the Sun’s sixth straight semifinals appearance (including two finals appearances) with zero titles to show for it. Despite putting up a strong performance all series, TBH, this game was pretty brutal. The Sun spent most of it in a 20-point deficit, and one player even likened the Lynx’s initial firepower to a punch in the face. Time to tune into the Celtics for our winning fix. 

GIVEAWAY

Enter to win free entry to Charles River Museum’s “Craft Beer for a Cause” event!

We’re giving away three tickets to Charles River Museum’s suds-centric fundraiser, Craft Beer for a Cause! It’s the craft beer To enter, just refer a friend and have them accept your invite by the end of the day on Oct. 12. If you have already referred a friend to B-Side (and they’ve accepted), you're eligible! Full details below*

21+. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Limit one entry per person. See Official Rules & an additional entry option here.

ONE LAST THING

Retired Pats coach bf 🤝 micro influencer gf

You think you had a hot girl summer? Well, we’re not going to tell you you’re wrong, but we are going to tell you that Bill Belichick’s was hotter. 

We’ve known Belichick was dating GF Jordon Hudson (who, elephant in the room, is 24) for a while now, but they recently made it IG official when Hudson shared some truly iconic photo dump-style pics of their summer together. 

Images include: Belichick dressed like a Mass. dad in what appears to be a European city, Belickick golfing at sunset, smiling at Hudson, and, the crown jewel, wearing a Taylor Swift sweatshirt(?) in front of a lighthouse. 

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

📸 Thanks for reading! No tea, no shade, we hope they’re happy. That said … so far, he’s a lot better at coaching football than being an Insta BF. 

🦜 The results are in: 53% of B-Siders say that they would love to take their pets on vacation, including one who said: “I’m literally on vacation with my cockatiel right now.” Not exactly what we were thinking but … sure!

💃 Keep up with us @BostonBSide on IG, TikTok, and Twitter. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected] or [email protected].