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Shots taken in Beijing’s famous hutongs, the historic alleyways that wind through the center of China’s capital. The hutong area in the center of Beijing is the largest continuous stretch of historic cityscape in any major Chinese city.
This hairdresser failed to fire a visual bazooka at us unlike most of his tacky colleagues. Might not seem like much, but this young Northeasterner is showing us proportions that menswear might increasingly opt for in the future. Many designers and consumers are tired of tight clothes and formalwear could also begin to go more toward fuller cut trousers.
In this adorable pair, only lovely Lu Lu, in the black trousers, spoke. From Anhui, she hosts a fashion show on TV. Over-sized tee-shirts tend to be irritating but here the braces and wide leg trousers are a good frame. With a touch of loucheness, this droopy outfit looks comfy. The trousers, what initially drew me to take a picture, are actually from Zara, which seems surprising.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Frankie is a well-known magician from the Northeast. Here he is outside of the Central Academy of Drama (ä¸å¤®æˆå‰§å¦é™¢). He says he doesn’t care at all about fashion; his personality and trade are quite enough to give him a distinctive look. He can be hired to perform at parties and other events.
Noticeable from a distance for the drape of her gorgeous linen skirt, this young Qingdao girl is starting her own brand – she designed the skirt – focusing on linen and simple designs that will be available throughout Beijing very soon.
From Tokyo, slim Akira has been in Beijing for eight years and thoroughly loves the place. Having just succeeded Charles Saliba as General Manager, he is dedicated to building on the successes of D-22. His fashion heroes are glam-rocker Mick Ronson, Iggy Pop and Ziggy Stardust (Bowie) and his favorite film is a Clockwork Orange. He recommends that hip Beijingers buy their rags at Underground Kids on Gulou Dongdajie.
Gao Jian grew up in a Hutong nearby Gulou and graduated from the Central Academy of Drama and Theater on Nanluoguxiang. He is in modern dance and his main theory for dressing is to wear clothing that is loose and comfortable. I’m not a lover of crocs, but they seem to be appropriate for him. Despite rumors, the New Zealand team didn’t end up wearing them during the opening ceremony.
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.