by stylites -

Dior at CAFA


Photos: Penn

Dior Homme staged its first-ever fashion show outside of France on Thursday at the Central Academy of Fine Art (CAFA) in Northeastern Beijing. Long-loved by local fashionisatas, this was the most eagerly-awaited event of the year, up till now. Purportedly, other brands even changed the timing for their events to avoid being lost in the media excitement surrounding this event. Etro was supposedly to be staging a major fashion show at CAFA this year, which now not going to be on until 2014.

Designer Kris van Assche gave adoring audiences a line-up of black, midnight blue and white that was well-received, as expected, though some commented that Prada had done this years ago. My own critique, if you can call it that, was more related to the sinister, dystopian feeling of the show. My immediate feeling at the end was that I just seen an army of futuristic stormtroopers from a conformist perfect society in a controlled by technocrats well-versed in the occult. The triangles within a circle made me think of the all-seeing eye on the US dollar, and van Assche said it was a reference to men’s societies at institutions like Harvard. Others spectators seemed to agree that there was a certain feeling of the National Socialists.

by stylites -

Tweedy Beijing

They probably debated about whether to just call it the Beijing Tweed Run and then decided that tweed was too British or too obscure for local tastes. For the participants, however, the look was most definitely tweedy. I had no idea that there was quite this much check, argyle and houndstooth in wardrobes around the city.

From the 700bike site, here are pics of just about all the attendees. Also, for comparison, their site has some very nice photos of tweed runs in London, Tokyo, and Moscow, which is oddly one of the most stylish assemblies of men I have ever seen.

by stylites -

Wang Peng

At first, I was aghast that photographer Wang Peng was on a scooter during the Vintage Ride, but of course to take all those great photos he had to move a bit faster than the rest of us. I took this one from my bike. Thanks for all the great images, Wang Peng!

by stylites -

“Retro” is Better


Photos: Penn

Sometimes I think what people like to call “retro” – which often means “formal” or “proper” – is a code word for “more attractive”. The styles that are supposedly of a bygone era are just the ones that make most men look more attractive. As it has frenetically become a hyper-modern society, China has tended to opt for casual, rather mediocre, types of styles. We saw at the Tweed Run how much better men can look if they dress in a slightly more formal, but at the same time, more fun style. All body types are benefited by a bit more formality. In an excessively casual world, only those with perfect bodies still manage to be attractive.

by stylites -

Beijing’s Bike Lanes, From Above


Photos: Penn

Where did Wang Peng perch to take these photos?

The flatness and brevity of the ride made it perfect for preening. The weather was also perfect for neither working up a sweat nor getting chilly while wearing tweed sport coat and vest. In fact, at 10km – a fairly standard Beijing commute – this ride proved that it is quite possible to look good every day while riding down Beijing wide bike paths.

by stylites -

The Beijing Vintage Ride


Photos: Penn

Wang Peng captured some great images of all the tweedy people that came out yesterday for the first ever Beijing Vintage Ride, mostly inspired by similar events in London, Tokyo and elsewhere.

The event was startlingly successful in terms of number of participants, their level of style preparedness and the fanciness of their bikes. There was general level of enthusiasm for a stylish sort of bicycling culture, but more of my thoughts on this in future posts.

by stylites -

Girls of Winter


Photos and Interviews by Suzy

Summer is the season in Beijing that I especially loath, but cold weather has really endured this year. I keep having to turn the heat back on in my hutong. In offices and most high-rises, the heat has been off since mid March. The frigid temperatures indoors mean the tweed sport coats have had ample play recently. Supposedly, there is yet another colf front coming in tomorrow. All of this probably means that it will be an even more sweltering summer than normal. Temperatures above 30 degrees will probably start next Monday.

I kept thinking that these images from over the winter would not really fit given that it was already late in the year. Perhaps this most violent and eternal of winters warrants this reprisal that includes all the photos from the last winter that were not posted here. So below are some profiles and photos from the snowiest, longest winter in all of my years in Beijing. Suzy talked to some of the hip young ladies that give Beijing its character and bohemian charm.

by stylites -

Stylites at No More Mono

Stylites Partner Suzy will have photos on display at a event called No More Mono. It will be a great chance to see photos from this blog in printed form. Mono is short for Monoculture. More information here, from Douban.

The opening aperitif is tomorrow (Friday, Feb 22) at 19:00 in the LD Design Center (东四十条94号 ). Tasty, locally produced and “as organic as possible” food from Laura Fanelli’s ‘The Veggie Table’ will be served as well as one of the only very good cheeses made in Beijing by Yang Liu’s ‘Le Fromager de Pékin’.

by stylites -

Threads for the Serpent Year


Photos: Eric

My dear friend photographer Eric Gregory Powell, famous for his work for Monocle, Wallpaper and other major publications, joined Jeffrey and I for some drinks at Jeffrey’s bachelor penthouse the other night. Jeffrey made some delicate gin cocktails including the Aviation and Last Word. It’s good to have a friend who always has Maraschino and Chartreuse on hand.

Eric decided to shoot a few images of Jeffrey in his Senli and Frye suits. The one above is in Shandong silk that works nicely as a separate, something that cannot be said for many suit coats. Jeffrey also has a suit like this in rust.