People Watching At Audrey: The Way We Walk

One leg in front of the other is simple enough. It’s the different ways in which we all do it that captivates me. Here are a couple I saw today at Cafe Audrey:

The Pretty Girl – This girl’s walk commands your attention. You don’t want to look, but find yourself doing so anyway. She walks with grace, or attempted grace at the very least. She has a little bounce in her step. She lets her hips sway loosely, her hands right there with them. Her face is relaxed, her eyes usually focused straight ahead but her periphery vision usually alert. She knows that you’re looking and she wants to make sure she looks good when you are.

The “Pretty” Girl – She may or may not be attractive, but she seems to be certain that she is. She wants you to look and her runway walk down the street asks you to please, please, please do so.

The Shy Girl – She may or may not be attractive, but she seems to be certain that she is not. She walks by cautiously, not particularly wanting to be noticed. Yet somehow her humble walk begs to be noticed. She is a contradiction.

The Round Walk – Our bodies, it seems, make an adjustment in our walks to account for the extra weight we take on. I’ve noticed the extra round people walk extra round. They sway from side to side as they move forward, as if carrying their hips and legs with the upper half of their body. They walk their legs, their legs do not walk them.

The Tough Guy - His arms (sometimes muscular, most times not) are extended outward from his body, swinging deliberately with each step he takes. He walks in rhythmic strides as if listening to a rap or hip-hop song. He makes eye contact with people as they pass. He will acknowledge if a Pretty Girl walks his way. And if anyone happens to look at him the wrong way, well, you know what's up.

The Nice Guy - Every every everything about the way this guy walks suggests he is nonthreatening. He's polite and will smile at passing strangers if he happens to meet their gaze. His pace is brisk, but casual. His hands are in his pockets or very near to them as he saunters ahead.

The Cool Guy - He lives here and he likes it. He may only be going from Point A to Point B, but he is well aware of everything in between. This is his turf and his assured walk announces this fact to fellow streetwalkers.

The Man On A Mission – Hands slide briskly from side to side as if to propel him faster forward. This person may catch eyes with you in passing but quickly disappears somewhere in a haze. He has somewhere to be and something important to do and he’ll be damned if he doesn’t get there soon. (I use this walk in large crowds even when I don’t have somewhere to be or something important to do, which tends to be, um, always. Mostly because I hate walking in large crowds. Getting through as quickly as possible with an air of “please don’t talk to me” seems like the most practical choice.)

The Tourist Walk – This walk is often in combination with the Round Walk. This person is always part of a duo or group, so it can be guaranteed that they will be moving slowly. Also known as mosey-ers, tourists don’t really know where they’re going so they take their time as they walk crookedly down the street. They look around at ev-er-y-thing, even things that aren't of notice or importance. Their eyes take it all in with lucid curiosity. Unless of course you catch them on the latter end of a day of touring when their eyes instead reflect the exhaustion of their body and brain.

The Hipster – Hipsters tend to walk nonchalantly, moving forward in the simplest, least conspicuous way. Their walk doesn’t have to announce anything about themselves because their appearance (attire + accessories + hair) already does.

The Boyfriend – He walks with purpose and with pride with his lady on his side (oh snap, didn’t even mean to rhyme that!). He tends to keep one hand on her lower back, protectively guiding her through. Otherwise his fingers are intertwined with hers or his arm wrapped around her shoulder. Regardless of the destination, his priority is her.