Tag: Nanluoguxiang – 南锣鼓巷

I rarely find anyone to photograph on weekdays. Lovely Ghanaians are even rarer. Light grays always seem perfect for the Beijing winters. I love the cut of the coat, but I was in too much of a hurry to get the details on it or the interesting hat and scarf.

A graphic designer from Xian, she was in the hours-long queue for the famed cheese custard of Nanluoguxiang.

Though I’ve at times tried to model my life off Julian Sorel’s, I must say that I find red and black to be a distinctly Walmart-like combination – on women at least. It is done too much and implies a charisma and drama that the wearer rarely possesses. It’s particularly offensive in work clothing where it appears far too often. Black leather jackets are also far too rough (although, in this case, more excusable on a woman). If she had just been pretty and not had the nice smile, she may not have made it here. Someone, despite the reservations about the color combo, I like this look. Like many girls walking down Nanluoguxiang, she was trailed by at least one doting man with a camera.

For some foreigners, an annoying characteristic of Chinese fashion sense in
couples is the tendency to dress identically. Designers and partners in
Zebra-hunting, Fangfang and Ken, should be more than excused because they have taken the concept of coordinated outfits to a more advanced level, both in location and time period.

This isn’t the most atrocious example of couples coordinating their outfits. Wearing the same scarf is much less offensive than matching jumpsuits. Couples take note.

Sometimes the key to style is appropriateness; not elegance or fashion. This look is perfect for walking through winter in the hutongs. At the same time, Alice Liu looks like she just walked out of a Salvation Army with the most unique items she could dig up: a suede toggle coat and pleated jeans. A Beijinger, she has spent much of her life in London and has now returned to her hometown to make her fortune as a writer and cat breeder. In order to achieve the former, she has just taken a position at Danwei, the top English site covering Chinese media and urban life. For the latter, she is now allowing her non-spade female cat roam free in the environs of Nanluoguxiang. Interestingly, this cat herself is the product of a hutong romance between stray cats.

Canon should use Nanluoguxiang in its ads becaues every second person there has a RMB 20,000 DSLR, even those dressed not much better than migrant laborers. Were they to invest that money in their outfits, there would be much more for Stylites to photograph. This young fellow on the other hand, brings quite a magical flair to the the occupation. Mr. Wang is a rare photographer that actually cares about his own appearance in this quirky but certainly autumnal look. I wouldn’t have thought of an almost Keffiyeh type scarf with an argyle sweater, but he seems to be pulling it off. It is a mix of the Middle East and Europe perfected on a East Asian frame. This look may not rank as high fashion or even be particularly well-matched, but I did not see anything on its level of inventiveness three years ago.

What could be more appropriate accessories for a hutong dweller than a bottle of Yanjing and a stray cat? A repeat cat rescuer, Mr. Gao is an oil painter living on a hutong running east from Nanluoguxiang.

I was rushing to a reception at 798 given by a foreign fashion designer when I encountered Mr. Gao. My goal was to photograph for Stylites, but I suggested he accompany me. The booze was sure to be flowing and he seemed already to be enjoying an afternoon of drinking. Since I had no invitation, it seemed an artist would get in and enjoy a night n refined society or, at least, society that does its utmost to appear refined. This assumption belies any appearance I may give of understanding social life in China, the fashion world, or life in general.

Mr. Gao dropped the cat at his house and we set off. Troubles began even before we made it to the taxi. Mr. Gao insisted on more beer for the two of us to enjoy on the road to 798. I wasn’t one to oppose a “walker” over which the two of us could bond during the long ride. Sadly, the instant after the shopkeeper produced our new beers, Mr. Gao accidently slammed the bottle he already had on the glass top of the freezer containing popsicles. The glass cracked. The customers and owner fixed their glance on the oddball whose own glasses happened already to be cracked.

The owner said all the goods in the freezer would melt and that he must pay compensation at once. The two or three humble patrons of the shop instantly appeared aggressive. One middle-aged woman announced that we must pay. When Mr. Gao said that he didn’t have enough money and that he was rushing to 798, the woman said that his foreign friend, meaning me, would have to pay. I pretended not to understand. Mr. Gao frantically repeated that we were on our way to an important event at 798 and that we couldn’t be late. The shopkeeper demanded money. Muttering about 798, Mr. Gao handed over his one hundred yuan note. We hastily exited the shop with yells and snarls following us. Feeling guilty for not paying, I felt angry gazes on my back.

Villains, we jumped into a cab before we could see whether the angry woman and shopkeeper were after us. Mr. Gao was protesting that we should take the bus, but I assured him I would pay for the cab. After a long ride of strained conversation in which I determined that he was around 40 and lived his parents, we arrived at the factory where the fashion event was being held. We entered, me trying to appear confident as possible, while worrying that Mr. Gao might present some kind of difficulty. I was there to take pictures, but quickly I realized that I would have to give my guest full-time care in an environment where he was such a fish out of water.

I snatched a glass of champagne at once, hoping this would be all my new friend needed to calm his spirit. The place was filled with the usual crowd of poseurs. As usual, my duty was to find the ones who were truly special, the ones that had a certain grace and substance. I always look for the people whose style or eyes suggest there may be something more profound, a good story, or, at the very least, creative affectations. China is complicated and dense. Despite this or perhaps as a result of it, even after all of these years, I still fail to unearth the gems.

Several people’s outfits were worthy of the mighty Stylites. Before I could photograph more than three, a security guard was tapping on my back. Mr. Gao was arguing with him. The guests at the event felt unsafe with such a vagrant like this around. Though the event was so casual that not a single person was in a suit, I felt like a real fool for having dragged the old boy into such an unsuitable situation. The guilt was mainly toward the artist himself. I have no idea if his art is worth anything, but it seemed wrong that I had caused harm to someone who had been rescuing stray cats an hour before. The guard said there was no way he could stay – no matter how famous of an artist he was. We rushed away from Beijing’s fashionable set and headed back toward the old city. I wondered whether I should regret my careless taste for spontaneity and misadventure. The night had not been a success in terms of photos for Stylites.

I’m on crutches for another two weeks and this is less than ｈａｄ　ｂｅｅｎ　ｅｘｐｅｃｔｅｄ. It has been a trying time for taking photos on the streets. Sometimes I have to settles for people whose outfits don’t make a profound statement about fashion in China. This young lady is from the rustbelt Northeast and she is here in the city to make it big as a beauty. I say this at the risk of appearing sexist but she did have two photographers in tow and about an inch of make-up caked on her face. At the same, she had a very sweet way about her. What else might one expect from a girl wielding a whirly device such as that one?

When you watch movies from the fifties or those pictures of Cary Grant, I am always struck by the slimness of the ties – often combined with surprisingly thicker lapels and not exactly narrow collars. In any case, it is always a dark slim tie that they wear. Here an imperial crown motif is added to the tie – a nice touch.

This thick oversized sweater is being used as autumn outerwear.

Theater students Haini and Coco also like Obama. They comment that Obama is younger and seems to have more of a long-distance vision. Haimi, from Mao’s home province of Hunan, comments that with his fresh views, Obama can bring the US out of its current rut. She points out that even though America is very advanced, its current growth economically and otherwise is slow. A new type of president will bring new energy and all-important “change” like his famous slogan says. Obama is also a “nicer person who seems to love peace,” unlike Bush, and that is the face the US needs to present to the world. The world’s citizens now regard America as “hegemonic” and warlike, Haimi adds. Obama represents something different.

Photographer Wang Yimeng, from Liaoning province, did not immediately recognize the Chinese names of the two candidates in the US election. The important thing is which one can bring the economy out of the current economic crisis. In general, however, Wang feels the US election is too far from his life for him to give it too much consideration.

With the US election next week, Beijing residents are sharing their views. NYT columnist Kristoff opened this column on world opinion of the US and Obama with one such view. Stylites will be presenting savvier views of hipper Beijingers. Chrissy, a theater student, would vote for Obama, originally because a favorite rapper (Ludacris?) supported him in a song. Now she has seen convincing proof that Obama is “better than the other one.” The main reason is that he is black and stands out from the boring succession of white men. She wants America to have a black president because it never has in its entire history. Obama will bring improvement in the US economy, now so afflicted and the conservatives were bad because they “always go to war.” Several leading pundants did note recently that opinions of pretty pedestrians in Beijing could tip the balance.