A visiting artist outside of his hutong home.
Tag: Hutongs – 胡åŒ
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.
Refined and Rebellious
Sai Le (赛勒) adores Japanese culture and fashion. Often going by the name Asako, she also reads Japanese fashion magazines like Mina and Vivi. A media consultant living in Chaoyang district, Asako spends free time in the old city, usually around Nanluoguxiang or the Lama temple.
The look may not seem exactly revolutionary, but I like the way she achieves such attractive outcome, while harmoniously incorporating so many elements I normally despise: an unconventional piercing, unnaturally colored hair, ripped jeans…the list goes on. The lush green velvet jacket and decadent jungle cat flats paired with ripped jeans achieve the type of “casual with a twist” look that I rarely see done so well here. The boyish hair style and stud are an interesting contrast with this look that is at once refined and rebellious. The orange hair works nicely with the green jacket. Others should take note. Recently, there have been a growing number of young ladies with ginger hair wearing bright red coats. This is insane – and in a tedious way.
Hardly Dowdy
Swede Jesper Lindquist is the co-Creative Director and co-founder of the Dowdy fourhundred, a leather bag maker. Ali Nosrati, his partner, has been on Stylites before. The model in his hand is the Edith, named after the singer. “Dowdy” refers to unfashionable and unattractive people, while “the fourhundred” is society’s elite and the production run for each of their models.
Another Korean Student
They are pouring into Beijing. I like this hip ladylike look. If this is a standard look in Korea, it must be a fairly stylish place. I haven’t been there since I was ten. Choi Ahrang is also a high school here in Beijing.
Clubtime Photographers and Rockers
These two fun street style photographers took a picture of me for clubtime, another site that features Beijing street style photos. They are also rockers and the one in the green trousers is rather pretty and good-looking. It seems websites about clubbing are the thing these days in Beijing. There is also a clubzone, with design and content as busy and stimulating as clubtime. My lips aren’t nearly so pink as that picture suggests, though I do tend to wear too many colors and boldy and foolishly disobey the edict that elegance comes from removing the first item that catches the eye.
Le Divan: For Beijing’s Happy Few
Here are Aurelien and Tony, the badboys of Le Divan studio in red and black. Their pieces, crafted right at their studio in Caochangdi, comes both prêt à porter and made-to-measure. The prêt à porter is in extremely limited quantities and would only fit a very blessed portion of the population. Contact them directly to schedule a viewing as their brand is not available at any shop.
Tony had been wearing a thick winter hat immediately before the shot. Also, considering Aurelien’s hair, I’m worried that there may not be a hairdresser out in Caochangdi. That would be a good excuse for any hair condition, since Caochangdi is about ten-thousand li from the center of the city. I didn’t hear the explanation for Tony’s shoes.
Aurelien has appeared on Stylites several times, wearing black and white and silk tweed. Tony has been here, too. Both also were on the Sartorialist.
Their work will be on display at next Thursday’s Uniform X party at Punk.
Women Can be Heroes Too!
This young tourist is a college student from Zhengzhou, Henan. Ku Ke （库ç‚）is studying to be a broadcasting host at Huanghe Science and Technology College, a private institution. She was on vacation for a week in Beijing with one of her friends. Most of her time was spent around Nanluoguxiang and Houhai.
When Plastered tee-shirts first opened shop on Nanluoguxiang, I thought it would appeal mainly to foreign tourists looking for a hip gift. In fact, I directed several of my guests to the shop. The appeal that the brand, started by a Brit about two years ago, has had for Chinese tourists and locals is quite impressive. I have seen the shirts incorporated into very fashionable ensembles at at parties all over town.
So was it Mao that said “women can be heroes too” （女人也能当英雄）？
Stylish High Schooler
This is perhaps both the youngest and most stylish person in Beijing. I photograph many people whose styles I find very interesting. The way they look, the way they dress, and what they tell me can form an alluring little story. However, I rarely find styles that are truly inspirational as well as original. This is one of those cases. A tenth grader at the German Embassy School (Deutsche Botschaftsschule Peking), Vera, originally from Austria, has lived in Beijing for nearly ten years, since she was quite little.
Xiao Yang, Photographer
Who should I run into on Gulou the other day but Xiaoyang, the photographer who formerly shot me for 1626? When he came over my place for the photoshoot last year, we finished a bottle of wine and had a great chat. At that point, he said that he didn’t have much in the way of work. Now, recession and all, he has a full-time job photographing for a magazine. Some of the pics he took of me are on the About Nels Frye and the Senli and Frye pages. This is a particular favorite.
Happy Valentine’s Day; A Beijing Couple
These two high schoolers were out enjoying the weekend. I was very struck by the fellow’s trousers.
Valentine’s day is always a time of great consternation for me, so I don’t really have the spirit to say more at this point.
Nice Puffy Coat
Several of my posts and articles rail against the shapeless puffy coats that too many women resort to during Beijing’s winters, which are really neither cold nor long these years. Though they may not provide as much warmth, my preference is always for wool coats. This is not to say that a puffy coat cannot look good, as this young lady proves.
Intern Uniform
People everywhere tend to dress in ways similar to their peers. In downtown Chicago, suburban soccer moms having a night out all wear high-waist baggy jeans and manly black leather jackets. Williamsburg hipsters
all wear tight but low-riding jeans and Converses (their counterparts in Beijing wear that too). In first-tier cities, white collar girls all have brand name handbags and an air of sophistication. Chengdu girls on internships
in Beijing go for colorful puffer vests, blues and greens, and plastic bows. All the bright colors and they still look quite harmonious.
Adorable Harmony
Sometimes I like to throw some of my neighbors into the mix. They may not look terribly fashionable, but they are terribly adorable and have a style perfect for Dongcheng District. They also look far more presentable and approachable than most of my other pajama-clad neighbors. They live nearby the Drum Tower and profess to have absolutely no interest in fashion.
A New Color
This short peacoat grabbed my attention. Camels, beiges, light browns and other earthy neutral tones are not popular choices for outerwear here in Beijing, especially among more stylish youngsters. Such colors are commonly viewed as less than ideal for the Chinese complexion. The usual preference is for colors perceived as offering high contrast: blacks, navies and grays. Most Caucasians also hesitate before picking up a camel colored coat. Still, this particular wearer is looking good. I had no time to chat, but I can just tell that he does something involving rock music.
Li Ning
Stylites is not all about giving beauty yet another platform to show its wares and invoke our envy. This fellow has something far more valuable anyway: His name is instantly recognizable. Li Ning has the exact same name as the athlete and brand Li Ning. The more famous Li Ning is probably known to Western audiences mainly for his lighting of the olympic torch at the opening ceremony last year on August eight.