disarming

I've never felt so out of place as I did in New York. I've explored a number of cities now, lived in a few, and always felt, more or less, like I could pass as a native. But in New York my scruffy leather jacket, the days-old facial hair, the t-shirt, tattered jeans and old tennis shoes (in a town where I noticed at least six shoe stores, no less) made me feel like a vagrant--which perhaps I was. Everyone was wearing nice clothes, new clothes, well cut, trendy, fashionable. The clubs I went to were upscale, the restaurants were nice. I didn't see anything which looked old or run-down or traditional.

I found myself smiling at everyone, exceedingly friendly with the locals, feeling vaguely overwhelmed. I wonder if I can try harder next time, or if I should simply look harder for people like me, the haunts I'm familiar with, if I was just in the wrong part of town.