STYLITES IN BEIJING

The Green and the Black

Though quite simple, this color combination is not common and has an elegant effect.  Jia Jiajia is a travel agent born in Beijing.  She now lives around Wudaokou though she prefers the Gulou area for shopping.  While acknowledging that the Olympics are a source of pride, she bemoans the loss of much of Beijing’s original character to make way for modern construction projects, mainly malls and high-rises.

Add comment August 7th, 2008

“One Color Tone, Please”

Co-creative director of Le Divan, Australian designer Tony Hua thinks most Beijing men wear oversized clothing and ensembles that don’t match in color or proportion.  He recommends that men choose a style and stick with it rather than trying to mix and match too much.  Most local men would benefit from wearing basic colors like black and white and steering clear of patterns, logos, and advice-giving girlfriends, whose tastes are often highly suspect.   Le Divan’s shop will be opening soon at Soho Shangdu.

1 comment August 6th, 2008

Pen Ablaze

Laura is a freelance journalist from Taiwan who writes for a range of Mainland publications including Modern Weekly and Vogue.  She covers luxury goods, jewelry and other fashion topics.  She loves Beijing, staying here at least three to four months out of the year.  Her favorite is the part of the city within the Second Ring Road.

1 comment August 4th, 2008

Black Coffee with Sugar

I love it when people appear on Stylites more than once -especially lovely people like Kiki.  Last time it was in winter. Always on the way to a rehearsel or show, Kiki, the lead singer of Milk and Coffee, returns in black, as usual, but her smile and the heart make the color warmer.  Sometimes I feel that black looks a little bit uncomfortable on a hot day though.  But what is the fluffy thing in her hand used for? 

7 comments August 2nd, 2008

Gentleman Director

These hats are popular in Japan, from whence this young film student, studying directing, hails.  He commented that there is not much good fashion for men in Beijing and everything he wears if bought in Tokyo.  It’s nice to see a little bit of pattern and not the usual black on his slim tie.  The mustache also adds a certain edge to otherwise precious look.

1 comment July 31st, 2008

Constantine the Creative

Constantine Comenos teaches music, plays base, and has designed his entire wardrobe, having it produced by Beijing tailors.  He loves the process of sketching his outfits and selecting fabric, best found in Southern cities.  It always perplexes him that more men fail to take advantage of the inexpensive tailoring to exercise their creativity.  The key to staying cool in summer is moving slowly and infrequently, according to Constantine. 

1 comment July 20th, 2008

Skinny Ties, Still Going

Norwegian students like André Holthe always look pretty interesting. Unfortunately, he says, there is no real source of good fashion for anyone who has experienced the multitude of hip and innovative smaller brands on offer in Oslo.

2 comments July 6th, 2008

Another Smoker

Yes, a lot of people smoke in Beijing.  Poor workers smoke, but so do cool creative types. Smoking appears to have the same subversive appeal that it does in the West, but the habit is aided by the very cheap price of cigarettes.  On the way to practice, she had no time for chit-chat, but she did say that she wouldn’t pose if I was from City Weekend.  I said I wasn’t, but I think she probably didn’t want to be in any of the English language magazines.  Of course, my photos appear in That’s Beijing, soon to be called The Beijinger.

1 comment June 16th, 2008

Long Cardigan

Before the hot weather started up a week ago, long cardigans were everywhere. Look also at the post below. I associate long cardigans like this with Japan and Hong Kong. It is probably no surprise that Uniqlo carries its own version.

A PR executive from Hong Kong, Patrick remains fan of Beijing after living here for eight years. He says the odd thing about Beijing, in comparison to other Asian cities, is that it does not bother trying to fashionable. Young people in Beijing have their own style throwing things together in ways that can be either disastrous or interesting but are always oblivious to the trends. I also like the color of his suede shoes and the details on his shirt, from Yohji Yamamoto.

Patrick doesn’t seem like the type of guy that hangs long underwear out to dry on the side of a public street in a bar and coffee shop district. Around Nanluoguixang, those types still abound - thankfully. It adds the charm and flavor, we foreigners seek.  In fact, the same people that hang their underwear out to dry publicly, also walk around the street in just their underwear. That’s also charming, though I think more of an effort should be made to add personality to these inner garments if they are going to be used as outerwear. Some options might be tie-dye, little embroideries, or perhaps even some of the features of normal clothing drawn on. For pants, they could draw pockets, cuffs, and a zipper in a whole range of colors.

2 comments June 11th, 2008

Pout and Grin

At an American PR firm, Wang Xiaodong rocks the long cardigan and works mainly on Vidal Sassoon.  Song Ying, in media, just got back from studying in Korea and she says that the air is worse in Beijing now but the people are much more fashionable.  Does that mean that overall things are improving aesthetically?  In any case, Beijing girls still don’t care as much about appearances as Korean ones, who literally all have had plastic surgery.

7 comments June 10th, 2008