I interrupted Tata at work outside F.S.C. Barber. As I was taking his picture he volunteered that he wasn’t wearing his new Adidas.

What kind of new Adidas did you get?
Just shell tops, like Run–D.M.C. shell tops. It’s funny cause they’re my first pair of Adidas. I just bought them, like, spontaneously, on New Year’s Eve. I was like, ‘I need new shoes.’ It was five minutes before I had to clock back in for lunch. I bought them at the Foot Locker over on Mission. It was raining today, so I was like, I’m gonna wear my shitty shoes. [They were black leather Vans]

So you work here?
I’m front desk. Basically help customers with their times and whatnot, like let them know how long their haircut should be, sweep up hair, do laundry. But I’m a barber as well, I just don’t have my license at the moment. I gotta take my state board tests and then hopefully be cutting hair here. Hopefully I pass, cause the first time I missed it by three points.

Do you know what you got wrong?
Just like small shit, like, I forgot wiping out the sink after you’re done.

That shirt really caught my eye.
Actually it’s a throwback Wrangler. I came up on it in Berkeley. Usually I try to pick out the most spontaneous shit. They had like four different designs, and I had to go with the one that was the most different. It was like ten bucks? It’s back stock, so it hasn’t been worn, it’s brand new.

Is it important, working at the front desk, to look good?
Yeah they want us to be the ones kind of trend-setting for the customers that come in, so I try my best, but half the time, I’m like…Until I’m a barber, my wardrobe is just going to be so-so. Then when that happens I’m a be flossin’, hopefully, as much as I can. I just got these new glasses, too, to go with my day-to-day outfit. And I can see now.

Haha yeah, that’s important for when you’re a barber, right?
Exactly.