After three grueling weeks on the corner of Grand and Thompson, Teighlor Bray, 26, tragically died of exposure after waiting for her outfit to be captured by a street photographer.
Bray occupied the trendy corner, hoping that someone from Jak and Jill or The Sartorialist would discover her irreverent, one-of-a-kind style. As the season grew colder, she lowered her expectations to “anyone with a Tumblr.”
A close friend of Bray lamented, “It was a really inspired look.”
Longing to be discovered for her editorial prowess and preternatural ability to work with patterns, Bray moved to New York in June to stand on corners and walk the streets of Manhattan in order for men to take her picture and put it on their blog.
Bray was proud to have mastered the ability to constantly appear as if she has somewhere important to be, for fashionable candids and “authentic, spontaneous moments of life in the city.” She refused to ruin her ensemble with a sweater or jacket, even after concerned passersby warned that her playful summer prints were already becoming irrelevant.
After a couple days of late-September rain, Bray grew tired and was seen leaning against the storefront of Michael Kors. She eventually sat down on a standpipe, maintaining a flattering crossed-legs posture into her final moments.
A medical examiner discovered Bray’s low-hanging purse was connected to a slyly hidden catheter, allowing her to linger “during the hours of particularly flattering natural light.” As her body grew cold, he was impressed at her ability to maintain a “cool, collected, model-off-duty stance.”
Bray was eventually photographed by Bill Cunningham of The New York Times, who decided not to run the photograph after realizing Bray was already deceased when the photo was taken.
She is survived by her loving family in Ohio, and the three connections she made while living in New York.
