Tag: Nanluoguxiang – 南锣鼓巷

Ouou Lee is the designer and art director for Sweet 8 Studio. He was looking quite smart for a city as casual as Beijing. Slim black and gray ties are everywhere these days. They come in polyester as well as silk, but trendy guys wear them in just about every context. The slim tie and fitted puffy jacket look has also swept the ranks of Beijing fashionistas this fall, but the cap and brilliant scarf set Ouou apart.

This is one of the best outfits I’ve photographed. This young designer doesn’t seem trendy, but he is hitting several major ongoing trends in men’s fashion. Some viewers might object and say we should look for total originality – people who avoid styles of the moment – but I think it’s rare to find people who know how to wield them well. People that are in-fashion and stylish and original are getting quite a bit right. Sure, military is a bit played-out, cardigans seem to have been the “it” fall piece for at least three seasons, and volume has supposedly replaced slim fits, but this guy still weaves it all together admirably. He was also really modest and amiable, so I hope I run into him again – not too much to ask for in the village of Beijing.
According to the photographer walking down Nanluoguxiang with me at this moment, his companions were a well-known rock band here in Beijing. I guess I spotted the designer amongst the rockers. Some of them could have appeared here too, but this guy seemed the most put-together.
The chilliness of Nanluoguxiang that night – I was just wearing a tweed jacket – made me hurry and produced a blurry photo.

Bole just graduated from the Central Academy of Drama and is now looking for work. Maybe she can model boots? It is rare to people who can pull off stuffing trousers into boots; the hoards who can’t should desist immediately. The hat almost looks like the style worn by the Afghan Mujahadeen, which gets street credibility in my book. And yes, I do live and hang-out near the Central Academy of Drama. It also happens to have the most stylish students and it is the only university within the Second Ring Road of Beijing. Famous graduates include Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi, but I believe all the major directors also attended.

The confidence and poise of Mr. Sun convinced me to waylay him and snap this shot. He sports the much-derided collar outside of blazer look from the seventies. I think doing this takes a certain spirit and I also appreciate that he bothered striking an interesting pose. Mr. Sun was eager to exchange numbers and when I have a chance, I will find out more about what he does. Stylites.net showcases people who believe in being stylish just as much as it features style exemplars. If there is some universal definition of the ineffable concept of style, I would be not be the one to determine it.

You may notice that I photograph quite a few men, despite the accurate perception that men are not as concerned about style as women are. Granted, young Chinese men tend to be somewhat more into looking good than their American counterparts, though the interest in style here is nothing like the obsession in Japan. That may come of course.

There are two more basic factors that explain why I photograph a large number of men. First, like men everywhere outside of truly fashionable cities, the average Beijing man is not stylish and is not trying to be. So, just by trying to be stylish, men stick out more. Every single woman is trying to be stylish. Second, women are slightly more likely to refuse to be photographed. It’s embarrassing to admit this, but I am also slightly reticent about approaching women who are with a man, which is silly since men are often flattered to have their girlfriend or wife photographed.

I will try to work to adjust this. An accurate view of the style scene here probably calls for more shots of women than men. Or perhaps 50/50 is good?

This gentleman is part of the first group of 24 male students to be admitted at China Women’s University. He studies poster design there. This shade of light gray is in fashion for outerwear this season and I like to see the coordinated hat/glove/scarf/bag ensemble.

Hats are appearing more and more, which is nice considering they still were considered granny-like last winter. I expected that she would be a theater student, like young stylish girls on Gulou Avenue. I was surprised to hear that she studies finance at the University of International Business and Economics. It is always nice when appearances are deceptive. Style seems to be spreading to students of the pragmatic arts.

Daniel designs for Finnish and Italian sportswear companies, so he gets to visit Helsinki frequently, where he picked up these incredible green leather shoes. I ran into him on Pingan Avenue, which is fast becoming one of the more stylish streets in the city. That’s a good trend since Pingan Avenue goes straight through some of the older parts of the city with the most interesting architecture. Most of the nicest hutongs, including Nanluoguxiang, are all off of Pingan Avenue.

Knee-length stockings, the tights Chinese girls love that go down to mid-calve – we’re used to this – but sexy knee tights are fresh. Knees do get cold easily. Add a coat and Mino, a graphic designer, will be ready to wear shorts in winter. This is one of my favorite looks, partially because she was very friendly and photographed me as well.

Hanging loose but still looking sharp is a goal many men strive for but miss. Evan, a student from the Northeast, shows us how to do it, with comfy but well fitting pants and rolled-up jacket sleeves.

Algae, an “artist who uses photography as her medium”, shows us how to do converse and a skirt and also proves that light-weight scarves do not look pretentious before it gets cold if you have the right smile and tilt to your feet.