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Tehran Takes Beijing

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They lack the over-sized suit coat, but they are buttoning the top button. It’s not just these two either. All over Beijing and the world, men are becoming comfortable with this look that was formerly considered too daft or too nerdy. New England mothers used to clip off the top buttons of shirts to make sure their little boys wouldn’t look nerdy, but with a little bit of help from Prada runway shows and certain highly influential subcultures (somebody is bound to bring them up), the buttoned collar now seems linked to a stylish firmness and a confident rejection of needless ornamentation.

Well-known social and literary critic Thomas Meaney has a fun piece on Saddam Hussein’s rejection of the necktie at his trial. It is seen as a symbol of both the cross and, more rationally, westernization. In fact, the top buttoned look is more commonly associated with Iran than Iraq. Iranians sometimes refer to the shah’s rule as “the regime of the Crown and Necktie” and when I was there I noticed countless religious types with styles similar to the young fellows in the photos. Iran is still at the point where leaving three buttons undone shows one’s rebelliousness. The fact that China has made it to the point where buttoning the button is seen as free-thinking is notable indeed.

Saddam did have a square, so clearly couldn’t resist a little ornamentation even at this dire time.

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Isn’t this the truth? This young man spins records and lives in the hutong next to mine and knows why China is big. We can never forget that all of China’s most brilliant moments have come under a strong and unified central government. It is critical that the masses rally behind it.

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The Colors of Sunflower

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People who like to pose are lovely. They are like interviewees who enjoy telling their own story. The dress may not be a perfect fit or material, but the slouchiness and that of the hat give this young student a perfect vibe for summer. As you’ve probably noticed, the truth is that I haven’t been in Beijing since it was basically still that season. This is all going to change in a week.

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Men in Hats

Too many guys wearing hats recently! Hat-wearing rate has spiked massively over the last six months. Girls are even getting on the action. Personally, I have lost several rather pricey pieces of headgear over this same period. I had a particularly nice hat from Sicily, made of velvet, that seems to have been purloined by the hair dresser. His logic is sound. Without the hat to cover my scruffy rug, there is no choice but to invest more funds in its appearance. The sneaky hair cutting man stands to benefit from reducing my wardrobe’s hat population.

For some reason I guessed that the fellow in the pic was a Korean, but he is from Beijing. He does the hat and shorts thing admirably. In fact, his example convinced me to invest in shorts (or rather to invest in scissors to convert some of my more flarish trousers into shorts) right as the summer was drawing to a final close. Now that it is cold, try to get a glimpse of me doing the English schoolboy thing with a blazer. I’m debating about whether to do a suit with shorts for next summer. Sadly, my shaggy and thick legs really don’t warrant all of this.

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Red, White and Blue Braces

Converses – international symbol of free-thinking and youth – have always been best when red, at least in Beijing. I have read articles that praise a range of rockstars being the first to don the red Converses. This summer there were even more. It must have been the patriotic fervor surrounding the Olympics. Skinny jeans also became black, and girls studying finance adopted the Brit-rocker style of many of the young blokes, complete with the narrow, red, white and blue braces.

This type of braces have been around for a while, but I have been noticing this red, white, and blue stripe theme showing up everywhere. It is a signature detail for Thom Browne’s suits and coats, as in the following:

Pretty neat. Thom Browne’s quirky designs reference American classics and sports popular in Fairfield County. This leads one to believe that this highlight on the coat is not-quite-concealed patriotism. Still, the order of the colors is the same as the tricolour, of France. Chinese youngsters are most partial to referencing England, its rock and punk culture and its flag, in their attire. Let us try hard to interpret of these colors together as a sign of support for all three Western members of the security council. It is no surprise that US, France, and England have a strong grip on young people’s worldview.

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Hatted Photographers

This perfect pair would fit in on any trendy street in Asia. They capture the current fascination with hats on boys. This kind of hat actually looks better on Asia guys, so I think this style will remain. These two photographers have a certain louche aura, but the one on the right is a practicing Muslim from the Hui community. This is not to accuse Muslims of not being louche enough; Hui are simply less common than others. There are a mere 10 million of them, one-tenth the number of Chinese with the surname Li.

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Tedious Trend Three: Skulls

Calling this trend “tedious” is far too glib, considering the long history of the skull in art, jewelery and fashion. As this fun Esquire piece contends, the current omnipresence of skulls matches our global society’s unabashed embrace of wealth and materialism with its ephemeralness. The skull is probably even more fitting for this moment in China’s history and quite an appropriate symbol to mention on a website that celebrates a new blossoming of individualism and vanity. The skull has, often, represented the meaninglessness of these eternal human pursuits. There is not enough time to consider whether the skull might have any relation to this day, on which the Chinese people celebrate standing up for fifty-nine years, ever since the Great Helmsman declared the birth of the People’s Republic. I did want to wish everyone a happy October first.

Anyway, here are just a few pics, of hundreds I could have chosen, to show that skulls in all forms are just as common in China.

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This one is a little bit pirate-like. This was right next to the bird’s nest.

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Here we have a creative skull that seems to have an almost Central American influence. The wearer works in the new Mac store.

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Here is a skull on the leg of a skater.

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And a skull with paper clips.

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This one looks as if illnesses have haunted it well into the grave.

This post reveals my ignorance more than anything else. More research clearly needs to be done on the subject of skulls in Chinese culture. When young people in China wear shirts with skulls is it rebellious (like it was previously in the West) or is more fashionable (like it is now)? Clearly it has to be associated with death. Some might respond that they are just wearing shirts that they find amusing, but it cannot be that simple. There have been decorative skulls made from jade dug up at sites in China, suggesting ritual importance for the symbol.

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Raspy from Anhui

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The Beijingers appearing on Stylites usually hail from the self-described “creative elite” or the white collar world of foreign multinationals, but it was clear from Daphne’s rough accent and manner that she claims neither of these two backgrounds. Unlike most girls from the provinces or others without foreign exposure, she has some natural grace. Maybe she also knows that adding a tincture of raspiness to a sweet appearance can have a special appeal. All items are from the zoo market. The flats are a kind of plastic webbing material perfect for rainy days – they seem a good alternative to crocs, though I guess rain isn’t the only justifications for crocs.

From Anqing, she has been in Beijing for two years, working in events organizing. Anhui is quite the trendy place these days since it is offers a great location, in the Yangzi River Delta, but without the high costs of Shanghai, Jiangsu, or Zhejiang. Suddenly, it seems like everyone is from Anhui – whether it is young tailors, cleaning ladies, owners of refrigerator factories or Hu Jintao. According to some, Anhuiers are still willing to work up from the bottom rung, whereas young people from more affluent provinces have a new sense of entitlement and expect to start out as managers or owners. All this is to say that Daphne can definitely make it in Beijing. And let’s face it, all Anhui girls like this can probably make it anywhere.

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Global Applicability

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Beijinger Li Yuan could be from many nations. A professional model who has appeared in a host of trendy fashion magazines like Milk, 1626, Kaila and 0086, she describes her main appeal as her gender neutral looks – friends call her as “handsome” – but she can’t stand men who dress androgynously. When not modeling she likes to wear relaxed clothing and doesn’t particularly care about brands. She wears athletic style underwear.

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Crafty Journalist

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From Hokkaido, Hitomi Oyama has been staying in China for over five years and has worked for radio, as a translator, and as a freelance journalist, writing for both Chinese and Japanese publications. Her main focuses are art and culture and a major hobby is handicrafts. She makes clothes and the white bag in the picture. I’m quite a fan of this look – she is so unmistakably Japanese and still so eclectic.

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So Little Cynicism

Well, what is one supposed to say in this case? He must represent some sort of triumph for individualism in China. Here we have the younger generation eagerly showing it is not constrained by any conformist guidelines of fashion or conventionality. We even have a clear rejection of the old pursuit of status. What is he trying to achieve if not a sort of upbeat independance? Why he is so upbeat would be the subject for a longer post. He must have been born with very few cultural complexes or he must at least have a unique ability to not think about these hangups too often.

China’s miracle suggests a hundred different questions. One of them is why all the other non-Western countries cannot develop in the same way. Part of the reason might relate to the absence of young men in those countries who can at once be uninhibited and disciplined. Chinese never tire of mentioning their five-thousand years. The amazing thing is that all those years have left them with so little cynicism. In the Middle East for example, cynicism seems to have come before wealth. Or maybe wealth came too soon bringing cynicism? In China, the cynicism is either so well entrenched in people’s pscyches that it becomes barely noticable, or people really are this optimistic. Brilliant enough growth can produce hope for all that can triumph over all blatant inequalities and deficiencies in a system.

People in the West have eaten too little bitterness to understand, and as always the best answer is probably to not bother attempting to explain things. I can’t even figure out which shoes I should buy next – forget trying to understand a country.

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Drastic Eyewear

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There have been several people from Norway appearing on Stylites and Hanne was bound to appear here at some point as she is always so funky. The specs may not be the most appropriate for daytime but they do pick up the red in her dress. Apparently, this eyewear is popular at clubs these days. I wouldn’t know. For me the nightlife involves writing and sleeping. I party during the day.

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A Well-Dressed Man

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It’s rare that I encounter men looking halfway decent in suits here. This is too bad for me because several men’s magazines – including China’s GQ that is supposed to start in 2009 – have asked me to take photos of a more sartorial nature. The fact is that I am finding this request extremely challenging. I barely ever see men who look good in anywhere close to a traditional way. Perhaps I go to the wrong places. Hanging out in office towers is not my idea of a fun afternoon. Even when I do go the World Trade Center or other places with a good supply of white collars, I tend to be reminded that suits are just not part of China’s heritage. Perhaps they are also associated with migrant laborers or doughty employees of state-owned companies. Young men are not accustomed to seeing professionals looking good in well-fitting formal businesswear, and locals rarely make use of the local tailors the way this Japanese PR executive has done.

Let me just clarify: This suit is not from Senli and Frye. If it were, you could expect a better fit.

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Autumn Comes to Beijing!

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Today was chilly. Autumn appears to have arrived and with it some of the sophisticated fashions for which the capital is famed. Boots are always a favorite and nothing seems to match with them better than shorts – especially in classic denim. What a smart but creative look to make the transition between summer ad fall!

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Conceptual Cuts

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Aurelien Lecour, co-creative director of Le Divan, a design studio at Caochangdi, divides Chinese male dressers into three demographics: (1) the typical man who wears an over-sized suit and doesn’t care, (2) young professionals who timidly seek to be fashionable but rely on their female partner for all decisions on purchases, and (3) young teenagers and students who care much about looking different. Le Divan offers unique and detail-oriented garments for those with a more conceptual attitude toward fashion.

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Balearic Beauty

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From Mallorca, Xisca loves Beijing and wishes she could stay more than the two weeks her vacation allows. She particularly likes the affordability of the place, mentioning that the high prices make it almost impossible to have fun in Barcelona. The cute dress was bought in Hong Kong. Spanish girls always seem to be the sweetest ones from the Continent.