HubThreads: Celebrating Boston Street Style

Photo by Diana Levine

Critics say this city has no style. We’re here to prove them wrong. Welcome to HubThreads, where we chat with the most stylish people we find out and about in Boston. Think you or someone you know has the best street style? Let us know.

JOSEPH

What do you do? I’m a musician and I just got a job in a head shop, so I guess I’m that too.

What kind of music do you play? Electronic. I’m a composer, so I make all of the songs and I produce it myself and I put it out online. I go by the stage name IBabylon and the album is called More Tech Noir, like Pinot Noir, it’s on all of the streaming services.

What brought you to Boston? A long adventure, the end of the road. I went out west and came back and experienced a lot and fell in love with this city. There’s a lot of art here and stuff.

A lot of musicians move to New York. I love New York, it’s just a big playground, but the art there is less accessible and it’s more expensive. Boston has a lot of smart people doing interesting things and they aren’t afraid to put it out there. It’s kind of turning into an east coast Portland. That’s where I’m from originally.

Have you been in Boston for a long time? Like five years. I used to be a writer. I mean, I still write, but it’s hard to make a living.

What did you write about? A lot of prose, poems, short stories. I never finished my novel, you know how that is.

You still can! Well, I got more into writing music. With words it’s difficult to get people to look at it and read it and consume it. With music it’s so much easier.

How would you describe your style? It’s electronic. It’s basically a reggae tone break beat with all synth. I know how to play live music, but it’s just cleaner on digital.

Sorry, I meant your clothing style. I call it punk sport or sporty punk.

Do you have any style icons? Oh man, so many. I take inspiration from everything I see. I love Supreme, Jebbia—he’s an awesome guy, I love his whole schtick. I like all of the street wear brands.

Where do you shop in Boston? I just grab stuff wherever. I like to mix and match, high-end and low-end style. I look for bargains. I just have an eye for stuff, so if I see it somewhere and it looks cool, I get it.