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.

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.

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.

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.

Leggy Late Christmas

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I did a special report for That’s Beijing on stylish people’s perspectives on bicycling, and will be including some of the photos from it here.

Hinting at Christmas in pleasingly provocative style, software designer Aileen just arrived in Beijing from Hubei and has not had time to buy a bike. However, she believes Beijing is not good for driving since it is so crowded. Unlike many modern Chinese girls, to her it doesn’t matter if her other half owns a car or not.

我为《城市漫步》北京版写了一篇关于时尚潮人如何看待骑自行车的报告。我会陆续在Stylites上放一些报告中所使用的照片。

Aileen刚从湖北来到北京,是一名软件设计师。她的装束带有一点圣诞节的感觉,让人看到就觉得开心,但同时也有一点“淘气”。Aileen还没来得及买自行车,但是她觉得北京的交通太拥挤,不适合开汽车。与现在的很多中国女孩子不一样,她觉得男朋友/丈夫有没有自己的汽车不太重要。

Not Quite Risqué – 不太过火

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With all of the beautiful girls and handsome boys appearing, several people have suggested that Stylites double as a dating website. I will consider this option, though it can be difficult enough convincing people to pose without having to explain that they may be contacted by random romance-seeking strangers. This time, to forestall any curiosity, I am first adding a picture of this mini-skirted young girl with her man.

因为我的博客上有很多美女和帅哥,有人建议我把Stylites也变成一个交友网站。我会考虑的,但是有时候要说服别人给我pose已经很难。如果告诉她们可能会有追求爱情的陌生人联系她们,可能会更难说服她们让我拍照。这次为了避免让这些陌生人太好奇,我想先加一张这个穿短裙的女孩跟她的男友的照片。

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The skirt is surprisingly short, but does not seem risqué on her. In fact, her particular aura almost makes it difficult to notice that the skirt is so short. The military coat and handbag keep the look smart while the Converses and tee shirt are a rugged touch.

这条裙子超级短,但她穿着的感觉不会让人觉得太过火。其实她这种穿着风格让人很难会注意到她的裙子那么短。她的军装风格外套和皮包让她看起来很精神,同时她的裙子、鞋和体恤衫又带来一点粗狂的感觉。

Modern Sky – 摩登天空

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Kiki works with Modern Sky, China’s largest independent record label. She is also in a band that performs frequently at Dongcheng District clubs. With a different bag she would look even more sixties Brit Pop than she already does.

Kiki在摩登天空工作。摩登天空是中国最大的独立唱片公司。她是一个经常在东城区演出的乐队的成员。如果她手里拎的包不一样她会更有像六十年代英伦的风格。