Q&A with Big Rube: His first fashion memories, favorite bloggers

We know you've walked down the streets of Philly and caught yourself staring at a stranger's steel-toed boots thinking, "how cool are they?" Most likely, Big Rube has probably snapped his or her photo. In the Philly fashion world, Reuben Harley is known as "Big Rube," and he's been offering daily doses of Philly's best street style to the city for quite some time.

On Friday, Nov. 16, from 6-10 p.m., take a look inside Big Rube's creative and fashionable mind at his photo exhibition, "My Lips and Heelz," a part of Replica Creative's Replica after dark artist series.

Read below as we chatted up the creative director of streetgazing.com about his fashion beginnings.

Tell us about your first fashion memory.

My first fashion memory is seeing my grandma dressing almost like the women on [the soap opera] Dynasty, i.e. Diahann Carroll and Joan Collins with their classy style.

When did you first pick up a camera? I know your brother bought you a DSLR in 2010, but did you ever dabble in photography before?

Yep, I always had Polaroids and point and shoot film cameras that I shot with as a kid. And I documented my years at Mitchell and Ness with the celebrities I worked with. But that real DSLR was my first where I ventured in and learned through my mistakes of shooting.

What kind of camera was it? And do you still use that one?

It was a Sony A330 DSLR. I still have it, but it's actually broken. It got wet from the rain.

I got my skills from a Minolta 7000 maximum film camera. Part of the experience was shooting manual and tuning my eye with 36 exposures, not wanting to waste a shot.

How would you describe Philly street style?

Philly street style is very eclectic because there is an influx of youth. You have the older Philadelphian hipsters on East Passyunk, then Rittenhouse style and all the Universities, like Penn and Temple. We see trendy boutique style all the way to straight laced business attire.

Philly is a city of fashion and style. Great manufacturing has been done here like Stetson hats and Albert Nipon womenswear.

Have you seen your own personal style change over the years while doing this?

Certainly! I've always been a style leader in whatever I did, like bringing throwback jerseys to the center stage of the world. I used to wear everything oversized, which was because of the Hip-Hop era I grew up in.

I now streamline my outfits to fit me and customize them. I add shirts from Commonwealth Proper to thrifted vintage tweed sports coats, and Allen Edmonds loafers to Nike run free sneakers.

Do you prefer taking posed shots or do candid shots thrill you more?

Candid shots all the way because I'm capturing the subject's true essence within the moment. I want to take the viewer on a visual journey when they look at it.

Do you see yourself heading towards editorial photography in the future?

Yes, by letting the opportunities present themselves and having my work speak for me. The wheels are spinning everyday!

How do people usually respond to having their pictures taken? Do you have any funny stories?

Right now it's a go 99% of the time but two years ago it wasn't like that, people didn't know how to react to me and I got a lot crazy faces and people trying to yell at me. A funny story is when I shot a woman on 15th and Sansom and she yelled at me, so I purposely put her in my Street Gazing column. She later emailed me and said that she was sorry; she didn't know who I was.

Who are some of your favorite style bloggers/what are your favorite style blogs?

My favorite style bloggers are Mr. Newton, Chicmuse and Vanessa Jackman. I read them every day! My favorite style blogs are The Sartorialist because of how he revolutionized this format we're doing, and Tommy Ton's JakandJil site for how he captures details that hot.

What is your favorite clothing item?

I have a lot of favorites but right now it's between my vintage Gant Harris tweed sport coat and Barbour quilted Lisdale jacket.

What about Lips & Heelz are you most excited for?

I'm excited for everyone in attendance to see my journey from street style to my fashion photoraphy within the last couple of years. This has always enticed me growing up, especially being from a fashionable household and seeing magazines of artful pictures. I finally translate those through my artistic eye.

Can you tell me a little bit about your previous job as Marketing Director for Mitchell & Ness?

My journey at Mitchell and Ness has been a dream come true. I was chronicled in local press, from the Philly Daily News to Time. I connected the dots from a marketing stand point. Mitchell and Ness was geared towards older white men, and I came in and told them there was a crowd that the colors of the jersey would electrify. It would be an audience no one paid attention to, an audience that I came from- the progressive hip-hop generation. I sought out the biggest tastemakers in that arena and made it happen, a worldwide phenomenon.

How has that influenced you today? And where do you see yourself in the future?

It opens any door that I need to open because my business and marketing prowess makes people pay attention to my new ideas. Don't get me wrong, people try to box you in because who would have thought I'd be a so called photographer making a name in a different arena. But I'm creative by nature and let happiness rule my decisions. If something doesn't make me happy, I'm not getting involved with it at all. I look to stay creative and motivated.

I write my story by living in it every day!

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See Reuben "Big Rube" Harley's photos Friday, November 16 at Replica after dark. 38 S. 18th Street. Philadelphia, PA 19103. 6-8 pm.