Tag: Nanluoguxiang – 南锣鼓巷

Well, what is one supposed to say in this case? He must represent some sort of triumph for individualism in China. Here we have the younger generation eagerly showing it is not constrained by any conformist guidelines of fashion or conventionality. We even have a clear rejection of the old pursuit of status. What is he trying to achieve if not a sort of upbeat independance? Why he is so upbeat would be the subject for a longer post. He must have been born with very few cultural complexes or he must at least have a unique ability to not think about these hangups too often.

China’s miracle suggests a hundred different questions. One of them is why all the other non-Western countries cannot develop in the same way. Part of the reason might relate to the absence of young men in those countries who can at once be uninhibited and disciplined. Chinese never tire of mentioning their five-thousand years. The amazing thing is that all those years have left them with so little cynicism. In the Middle East for example, cynicism seems to have come before wealth. Or maybe wealth came too soon bringing cynicism? In China, the cynicism is either so well entrenched in people’s pscyches that it becomes barely noticable, or people really are this optimistic. Brilliant enough growth can produce hope for all that can triumph over all blatant inequalities and deficiencies in a system.

People in the West have eaten too little bitterness to understand, and as always the best answer is probably to not bother attempting to explain things. I can’t even figure out which shoes I should buy next – forget trying to understand a country.

Today was chilly. Autumn appears to have arrived and with it some of the sophisticated fashions for which the capital is famed. Boots are always a favorite and nothing seems to match with them better than shorts – especially in classic denim. What a smart but creative look to make the transition between summer ad fall!

D is the singer for D and the Hutong Cats. He was born on Shajin Hutong in the ‘80s but really should have been born in Nashville in the ‘50s. The style of his band and dress is decidedly rockability as he says himself. There was already a photo crew following him through the hutongs when I found him.

Who did I run into on Nanluoguxiang the other day but Richard Lu, a long-time star of Stylites? Founder and CEO of Classical Public Relations Co., Ltd., Richard believes men’s style in Beijing is ever improving but needs to gain a more “international” flavor. He suggests that men here read more fashion magazines and find girlfriends who have taste and are happy to dress their girlfriends. The foreign men of Shanghai are much more fashionable than those of Beijing, whose style Richard describes as “square.”

From Changsha, Wind Lee is a freelance stylish and merchandizer seeking new assignments. He used to work for Jack and Jones, but he doesn’t wear their clothes, which he thinks are too boring, preferring pieces from more avant-garde labels like the Dries Van Noten casual jacket purchased in New Zealand that he is wearing in the picture.

You may have noticed that recently the number of men appearing on the blog has been growing. Beijing men are not known for their refined taste or genius in replicating the latest trends from Milan and Paris. Though men’s style is governed by a million little rules of taste, cut, and fit, most men here are ignorant of these guidelines or choose to ignore them. Foreigners arriving in Beijing happily adopt a laid-back or lazy style of dress since most of their local colleagues could care less. This means there is ample aesthetic trash on the landscape, which in the case of men is usually not even entertaining.

The positive side of this is a sort of freedom to experiment for those who are interested in style and wish to be creative. The need to look good remains for women in Beijing, while men face little pressure. Money and status tend to be the main attractions a man can offer to the opposite sex, here even more than in the West. For men, dressing well is more of a hobby; the men who dress interestingly sometimes look like they are having more fun than the women, since society requires that women have some sort of style. The well-dressed or quirky men also stand-out a great deal more from the gray and navy blue crowd than the women do.

Allen said he chose Harry Potter as his stylistic muse for the day and I think he did a good job bringing his own personality to the look. The specs were definitely also channelling David Hockney though some primary colors would need to be added to complete the look. A freelance writer who tracks fashion and culture, his main assignments have recently been for internal publications for circulation within organizations under the Ministry of Culture.