Bathing in Blue

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She was posing for pictures, so I took one too. Giving full allegiance to one color and draping oneself in it can pay off – and this blue is not a bad choice. She seemed a bit like a foreigner, but is local.

Lovely Couple with Attainable Style

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These days the Burberry plaid can only be done well in accents like the roll-up cuff of hot Hannah’s padded jacket. The fitted, herringbone blazer is perfect for Sunday and Chris knows how to pull it off casually. Their individual looks go well with together. The tweed coat worn by Chris is perfect outerwear for fall and even early spring. He had it made at Senli and Frye.

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Just to give more of an idea of this coat, here is a photo of me in mine. I was in desperate need of a haircut that day.

Color Wheel Opposites

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This is one of the more creative looks. A student at famous People’s University in TV and radio broadcasting, Hannah likes to dress in color wheel opposites with green being predominant. Seems a bit like a Tokyo person in London or perhaps Dublin, which is not bad at all for a native Beijinger.

Swede in Fried Bean Hutong

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This was on the famous Chaodou hutong, which means “fried bean.” Joen has a deep raspy voice and is head of a publishing operation. He is the first guy appearing here whose style I would actually imitate. Milan, Paris, London…Stockholm. Absolutely! Being tall and slim tends not to thwart style, but Swedish men go the extra mile with details like the velvet color, lavender lining and ticket pocket. Socialism and gender equality appears to beget men guys with taste. As it turns out, I am half Swedish myself.

Partners in Black

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Zhao Le and Li Bo, from Harbin, were in Beijing for the weekend, but they hope to come back permanently in two years, following graduation, to work in the field of interior design. Their favorite type of art is postmodern and they both describe their style of dress as androgynous.

Her True Colors

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Michelle, a self-described “desk-slave” in US public relations company Burson Marsteller, believes a girl should be loyal to a set of colors and hers are rose, sherbet, and lemon. Cute, princess-like styles suit Chinese girls best and for her that means round-toed flats and soft textures rather than fashion-slavish attempts to seem overtly sexy and chic; they should fight their inner sweetness. As for Beijing’s straight men, they have thousands of li left to travel style-wise, she says.

Loose and Billowy

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From Guangdong Province, she says Beijing is less stylish than Guangzhou due to inferior access to products, but calls it a more authentically Chinese city than Shanghai. This very Hong Kong-style girl wonders how the locals can stand bicycling through such foul air though.

Trench Coat Media

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This pair grabbed my attention at once.

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She is one of my favorites appearing here, for some reason or another. This quirky TV executive rides her bike every day. She says it’s the best way to get around in a city with such traffic, and bicycling also helps the environment and allows riders to fully enjoy their natural and urban surroundings. However, riding can be an unpleasant experience outside of the second ring road. Her cotton trench is from Sisley.

Natural Forever

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A photographer, Ms. Xie proudly rides a Forever 28, but only for leisure. While commuting, she turns to her electric scooter. She wears cotton and other natural fibers, though she tries to avoid animal skins for ethical reasons.

Train Conductor

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On weekdays, Ellie slaves away at Guomao wearing what her husband describes as more “standard” clothing. On weekends, she can let go with outfits like this that make her look like a cute train conductor or some other kind of manual laborer.

Rockers

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Central Beijing is filled with them. This guy uses black to good effect. The mystery of the color blends into this young rockstar’s character.

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With the right attitude, the classic look of jeans and a tee-shirt always distinguish a man. Bo Xuan, the bassist from Hedgehog, illustrates how it also helps to be a rockstar and have the body to wear such tight clothing.

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Dashing to practice, this young rockstar relies exclusively on this trendy cycle for transportation around the city. He says it’s the most convenient way to move here.

Clashingly Cute

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Civil engineering students in Tongzhou, Wu Ying and Zhang Guangyuan think bicycling is better than driving because it avoids traffic and pollution (hence the mask) and offers freedom. However, they cycle mainly because they are still students, and think they will probably end up in cars once they start work.

Sailor Shirts

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These two are students at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing (对外经济贸易大学). In a few months, they are both going to Rheims, France, where they will study for a total of three years.

Military influenced items and actual items from the military are quite popular with Beijing youth. Though originally intended for men, these shirts are worn by both sexes. Wearers tend to be young artistic types in rock bands, creative industries, etc. Stripy shirts, in the sailor style, other than these authentic naval ones do not seem to be overly popular. People want the real thing or nothing, it seems.

These shirts are available in several outlets in Beijing, though the biggest size, 1, is equivalent to an American small.

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Liu Jian only wears Chinese navy shirts – he owns 25 in total. Since they only come with long sleeves, his had several of them altered a few for summer wear. These shirts are actually a pretty appropriate choice for Liu Jian since he served in the Chinese military for six years. He is an author and folk musician and a member of East District Power, a Shanghai-based folk rock collective.