Photo Shoot by 1626
December 29th, 2007
Beijing-based fashion and lifestyle magazine 1626, targeting 16 to 26 readers whether in body or spirit, is featuring me and stylites.net in their next issue. Hopefully I won’t be so vain as to post the photos here.
Xiaoyang, a freelance photographer, came to shoot at my home. A 25 year old from Guangxi province, he has been in Beijing for nearly three years. He studied graphic design at University but later switched to photography. A rock fan, his favorite Western bands are Joy Division, New Order, and others in that category. Luckily, I had Joy Division on hand to listen to during the two-hour shoot.
He purchased his Dior Homme pea coat on Taobao, China’s leading online auction site, for RMB 330 (USD 45) after some bargaining. Not sure whether it was genuine or not, Xiaoyang pointed out that it might be for export to Japan. Xiaoyang shops only on Taobao because of the convenience, low price, and superior selection. Generally, Xiaoyang only buys from Beijing based sellers since that allows for transactions to be completed the same day. Unlike Ebay, Taobao has a system whereby buyers don’t have to complete payment until the item is delivered and deemed satisfactory and genuine. The payment is initially held in a kind of middle compartment from which the buyer can still recover it.
Online buyers in China are concentrated in the developed parts of the country, mainly Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou province, so shipments do not normally have to go to especially distant regions. Shipping is usually RMB 10 to 25 (USD 1 to 3) for clothing.
Entry Filed under: Beijing Street Fashion - 北京街头时尚, Nels Frye
3 Comments Add your own
1. Chelsea | April 4th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
I really want to know your opinions about wearing pirated clothes. My friends think buying pirated clothes would put them to shame. So they hardly buy clothes on Taobao(60% of the clothes on Taobao are pirated.),but for me, it is OK to wear piracy. You don’t have to pay maybe USD 1000 to buy a LV handbag, on Taobao, USD100 would be enough. And I think only a few Chinese can afford a genuine LV bag. Some people might like LV’s designs, but they could’t afford. Buying piracy might not be so bad in my opinion.
By the way, there might be some grammar mistakes in my comment because I am only 16 now, my English is not so good.
2. Roxanne Au | August 7th, 2008 at 3:30 am
A little mistake i’d like to point out…
Guangzhou is not a “province” but the capital city of Guangdong Province. The Xiguan Culture (西关文化) once had its prosperity but now is losing it gradually. However, many social groups, individuals and media are trying hard to protect it. Hope someday you can come around and enjoy it.
3. stylites | August 7th, 2008 at 3:39 am
Wow, I really did write “Guanzhou Province”.
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