Renaissance: Buffalo

New York licenses: check
New York state of mind: check

New York City: 346 miles east...

Buffalo may be a healthy six hour drive away from the city, but its ambitious residents aren't discouraged when it comes to art...

OK I admit, before I got there I was skeptical too. But after perusing around the city and meeting some of the laid-back (likely stoner) store owners on Elmwood, my attitude towards Buffalo has changed. One store in particular pulled at my heartstrings, and wallet. Two purchases later I found myself repping a "Buffalo Roots" t-shirt and helplessly linking Terrell Owens with the word "Hope." The power of marketing rears its charming head at me once again. Go figure. Buffalo, a city forgotten, but not gone.

The store: CITYLOVE, a clothing store not named for New York's largest and most affluent city, but Buffalo, the crown jewel of the western Empire (State). Its products are the city's own walking advertisements. Its media: t-shirts sported by all those Buffalo natives who aren't ashamed of their blue-collar heritage. It's time to get rid of that worn and played out Che Guevara shirt and join a new revolution. CITYLOVE is on the front lines, using prints from local artists to promote its cause- saving Buffalo.

CITYLOVE's urban feel and optimistic attitude has earned it a spot atop the young social scene in Buffalo. And why not? It's a cool idea. Whether you're from the B-Lo or not, you've got to enjoy a place that has turned the humble mindset of a city into a marketable product.

Shirts range in design from humorous punch lines like "I Love Dick...Jauron," to more subtle inked etchings of a steadfast bison with small print on the back, advising wearers to "still B proud." The unique style and idea hold a small-town charm found nowhere else.

Buffalo. Who would've thought?

CITYLOVE

http://www.citylovebuffalo.com/