Live and Let Lee: The Braam-buzz

This was all because I put up a black and white photograph of myself wearing a pair of small vintage sunglasses – a pair of sunglasses that don’t even belong to me.

I never considered myself a hippy or hipster but I do remember how cool I felt when I put those sunglasses on. I remember wondering if I looked anything like the cool inner-city girls one always sees on Instagram.

Growing up, cool would have never been the word I would’ve used to describe the inner-city. To be fair, the first time I ventured into central Johannesburg was in my late teens and the experience was not to my liking.

The place was crowded, and not just in the malls, shops and restaurants. It seemed that the life of central Johannesburg was on the streets where hairdressers parked their mobile salons (a chair and small hand mirror), street vendors had taken over the pavements and unlike suburban lifestyle, there was literally nowhere to walk comfortably.

It would be safe to assume I never went back.

Most of central Johannesburg is commercially driven but there are parts which have become home to many – Braamfontein is one of these places.

All the cool girls go to all the cool places in “Braam” – well that’s at least what I gathered from social media.

Braamfontein seemed to be all about the head wraps, vintage sunglasses, crop tops, bohemian skirts, suspenders, leather jackets, combat boots, leggings, shirts tied around the waist and of course high waisted everything. Everything I had seen suggested that if you wanted to be part of the artists, the free thinkers and the cool crowd, then you had to be in Braam.

So that’s what I did. I put on a pair of high waisted woven shorts and a subtle pink shirt and asked everyone at home how I rated on the cool scale… I didn’t rate too badly.

Arriving on Juta Street, it was immediately evident why the street had over the years become the city’s newest and most lively place in Braam – it the creative district.

The restaurants were spilling with people – black, white, young, old, hippy and cool – and the pavements were alive.

I passed a small intimate camera shoot on the corner of Juta and Jorrisen.

Crossing the street was an old VW Caravan embellished in vintage clothes, shoes and books which were on sale.

A newly renovated hotel up Jorrisen street offered live music and food in its bar area and to my surprise, I found a rooftop beach just a few steps away from that.

Across the street is a steakhouse that offered an open patio vibe and right next door was a cocktail bar with no available chair – well not for too long anyway.

The array of museums and small boutique shops on Juta street made for a very chilled atmosphere.

I went to Braam to see what single thing I could do but there was just too much to do. I loved the atmosphere, the people were a little intimidating but the few I did speak to were very friendly. Everything about Braam is founded on street culture and I was wrong to think I could decide on one place to write about.