Tag: Hutongs – 胡同

This would have been a perfect outift for Christmas, though it worked for a bit after new year too. She guides tours in Thailand.

What an ordinary but nice Beijing doorway! The waist-length blue coat is especially nice. Despite appearances, she is, however, a hard-edged Public Relations consultant working for an American corporate behemoth.

Several years back, some guys, probably in London and Milan, decided casual white shoes match everything. Maybe I am wrong and white shoes have been popular all along. It does seem they have been growing rapidly in popularity here in China. While not a bad trend, white shoes don’t seem ideal for Beijing, where all stylish men wear them. The overall outfit successfully mixes items that seemed too distinctive to be mixed. He is wearing a double-breasted fashiony peacoat over what appears to be a double-breasted waistcoat.

In one of the best outfits yet to appear on Stylites, Joy runs JMAX, a Nanluoguxiang boutique offering jewelery made from wool, leather, wood and feathers. The little black cat in her arms, Sami is a couple months old and brings good luck to the shop.

Formerly a fashion designer, Kevin now devotes himself to developing fashion brands in the China market through consulting. His main efforts are focused on educating on marketing and branding, creating a hip image essential in competing with well established Western brands.

Shanghaier Shen Shen was accompanying her spouse to Beijing. She has been stylishly unemployed for some time, and spends some of her abundant leisure time viewing street fashion sites like this one. The cardigan and skirt are both “made in Japan” and she bought them used. Her interesting style comes mainly from the Anxi Market, described here as an emporium of retro goods that were cool then and are cooler now. On Anshun Road, it is a must-see for me during my next trip down to Shanghai, which should be next month. If all goes well, I will be taking street fashion pictures for a new Shanghai-based women’s magazine.

Yang Laji (洋垃圾) or “imported trash” is held accountable for both evil and good. Much is real trash like toxic waste and computers ready for poor villagers to take apart with their bare hands. This business causes cancer and other negative health effects in some regions. Even in the realm of fashion, the reputation is mixed. There was a time when clothes imported from the West and Japan were thought to transmit sexually transmitted diseases and be generally vermin-infested. This clothing was considered to be fit only for the poorest. In recent years, trendy used clothing, accessories and shoes have become increasingly popular. The prices are not on the level of Salvation Army due to rarity and the cost of importation. Shen Shen’s husband pointed out that without imported trash in the form of records and tapes Chinese rock musicians in the ’80s would never have been exposed to the Western music that has been such an inspiration for their work. Imported trash that brings The Clash is probably better than the kind that includes Cadmium.

This gentleman from Hong Kong is doing the casual waistcoat thing well. I’m normally not so positive about them, check my earlier entry on waistcoats around Beijing. Despite my formerly condescending attitude about waistcoats, I decided to commission a double-breasted velvet one in gray with shawl lapels that can be used casually and perhaps under a morning coat for winter weddings, if they occur.

These two public relations executives show what us that there is nothing stuffy or square about being a young professional in Beijing today. Sometimes I feel an injection of some stuffiness or traditionalism of some type (I guess it’s not traditionalism here) would feel fresh in this environment. In all likelihood, they are even more fashion-forward and sexy than their colleagues who work in the New York or London branches of the same company, which I think was Hill and Knowlton or perhaps one of the other daughters of WPP. For the gentleman, I would prefer a longer jacket and perhaps the color navy, but black and short are the way to go these days in Beijing. If you are young, why not wear a shorter jacket? Altogether a sassy and appealing pair.

Edward commented that Sarah Palin was a very rough and tough seeming woman. The thought of her leading the US at some point, since McCain is so old, was both amusing and frightening. Were he able to vote – and he does strongly believe that there should be American style elections in China – he would choose Obama. Apparently love for Obama is not confined to China’s youth. Over 70% of Chinese surveyed say they prefer that the US have its first African American president. They believe Obama will have a much better understanding of foreign countries and the position that the US should have in a more globalized world.

As far as his outfit goes, I really like the concept but would recommend two changes. First, black shoes would probably be better with this look. Second, a real tie rather than a clip-on would elevate the look several levels. It’s not that easy to find real bow ties around here though. The long cardigan/plaid pants combo is neat.

I actually run into Edward rather frequently in my neighborhood and forgot to put up this picture from earlier in the year. At this point he was working in the new Westin Hotel, where President Bush stayed during the Olympics. Edward is a graduate of the main university of foreign affairs in Beijing. He is now a freelance journalist.

Stylish youngeons abound in the hutongs of Beijing. Older fellows in something other than a baggy suit and faded shirt are rare. That’s why I was surprised to see Prof. Zhang right outside the front door of my courtyard amidst all of the workmen and vagrants. There had to be some kind of foreign connection – and there was. He taught medicine in Houston and Tampa for some years, apparently finding both these provincial towns quite acceptable. Now he is back in Beijing, living in the vicinity of Panjiayuan.

Despite his time in the States, Prof. Zhang did not seem interested in the election. He does prefer Obama, but the reasoning is that Obama is the more well-liked candidate. Mr. Zhang is content to go with the crowd on political matters.

Holding her first album, which she gave me, Mimi, 21, is a Hunanese Folk Indie singer now studying Chinese literature at Beijing Normal University. She reads classical Chinese literature and modern western literature. She wasn’t aware that there was an election going on right now in the US and didn’t know the names of the candidates. Ignoring foreign most foreign news, her main focus is on events relevant for ordinary Chinese people. In her opinion, major problems facing China right now are environmental degredation, the growing wealth gap (she has an ipod nano), and, she says smiling, government. These challenges are similar to those facing other countries and the foremost one at this moment is probably the financial crisis, which she has heard quite a bit about. Her colorful bag was specially made for her by a friend.