Maggie Cheung


Sorry for the hand. I forgot to mention that I saw Maggie Cheung at the Lane Crawford party. She was in the process of being hearded off to the VIP room, no doubt. She is as beautiful as she is said to be and seeing her was one of the high points of my adult life. For Western viewer who may not know Maggie: she starred in In the Mood for Love. Americans may be more familiar with Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi, but for the Chinese themselves and – perhaps not so coincidentally – the French, Maggie Cheung is the most beloved Chinese actress and the most beautiful.

In the Mood for Love is worth seeing just for many reasons: the soundtrack, the story, the setting. For me, the beautiful qipaos she wears are reason enough.

There is a time lag on my photos, for which I apologize. The photos I take for That’s Beijing must appear there before they appear on my blog, according to our agreement. So the Lane Crawford party is quite old news in Beijing as is summer, but photos from these two events will be appearing on my blog periodically anyway. I am trying to remedy this problem. Given the fact that I don’t too much time to take photos, it is difficult. Regard the blog as a celebration of timeless style.

On Lane Crawford’s Menswear

Prepared to go acquiring, some men at the opening party of Lane Crawford are looking cool.

They could feel confident that Lane Crawford selected the best pieces from each of the labels on offer. Rick Owens, Burberry Prorsum, Viktor and Rolf, Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, Neil Barrett, and Alexander Mcqueen are in Beijing for the first time. The new Dior Homme shop opposite confirms that Beijing is no longer a men’s fashion backwater.

Here are Beijing’s best shoes. Check N.D.C Made by Hand brogues (4,100). Lane Crawford is China’s only distributor of these and the Spanish Preventi (around 2,500). Church’s (5,800-6,800), bench-made in the UK, are among the earth’s best shoes, though boring Zegnas are still the top sellers at Lane Crawford. Uh, not to mention the John Lobbs (14,000+).

The tie, shirt, and scarf selection was acceptable, but for lovelier choices, check Allen in Oriental Plaza. More pocket squares would be nice. Standouts were Burberry Prorsum slim ties (1,895) and Viktor and Rolf star print ties (1,000). Choices in attractive corporate-friendly ties lagged; brands missing include Hilditch and Key, Charvet, and Massimo Bizzochi. The Italy-made store brand shirts (1,400) suffice, but Turnbull and Asser or Borrelli would outclass. Skip Vivienne Westwood scarves – the orb is old – but indulge in an over-dyed Raf Simons “split ends” scarf (3300).

Officewear is Dunhill, Zegna, Pal Zileri, and Armani, familiar brands that will sate nearby ibankers and private equity thugs, and generate steady cash flow. The well-edited collections save trips to their boutiques, but truly exclusive brands like Barbera, Isaia, or Belvest might be nice. Choose Pal Zileri for its superior construction – a one button, peak lapel, s120 navy pinstriped suit (18,300) needs you. Non-sale prices include alterations. Skip the Paul Smith suits, but try out his beige, velvet-collared, crombie (13,700).

For divine experiences, blending high fashion with great tailoring, go for the silk/wool Alexander Mcqueen suit (26,700), which makes shimmering look good and will doubtless adorn a popstar, and the black Burberry Prorsum wool/cashmere coat with braided epaulettes (27,350) that seemed custom-made for me. Or you could get personalized replicas custom-made by a tailor here in Beijing.

Daily Men’s Style Tip #2

The best colors for dress shirts are white, light blue, and light pink.

These are the safest bets for most complexions. With at least one solid shirt in each of these colors, you should be able to match 95% of ties. Gray and navy suits in pinstripes, checks, and textures go with all three of these colors as do more complicated suit patterns.

Drifter Near Nanluoguxiang



She claims no profession and lives to enjoys life, presumably basking in her own rugged coquettery by night and rummaging through Xidan markets by day.

This picture was also featured in the November issue of That’s Beijing. Stylites in Beijing is a regular part of the fashion section of Beijing’s premier English Language magazine. Look out for pictures from Lane Crawford in the December issue.

Daily Men’s Style Tip #1

Just to stir up some controversy, I am going to begin offering a daily men’s style tip. The rules of men’s fashion are debated endlessly, so I expect there will be much disagreement with the advice I give. I invite readers to post all of that in the comments. The daily men’s style tips on stylites.net are just my opinion. Obviously, there are numerous exceptions and examples of people who look very stylish when they don’t take these tips. I don’t even follow all the advice I will be giving, but I wish I did. For most men, these are good ideas. Women’s style is extremely complicated, but I hope to invite some outside experts to post their opinions here. Eventually, we will offer a women’s style tip as well.
Men’s style tip #1: For odd wool slacks (those not part of a suit), go with browns and grays.
These colors are the easiest to match with odd sport coats and blazers, shoes, and dress shirts. If possible, to add interest to your outfit, find subtle textures in these colors like houndstooth, herringbone, checks, and birdseye weaves. Unless the stripes are highly unique, meaning they couldn’t possibly be part of a suit, avoid stripes. Don’t choose navy or black trousers. Navy looks like orphaned suit trousers and black is not as versatile or pleasant on the eye unless it is contrasted with white or paired with black – in these cases for fashion forward looks.

Pixie Professionalism


Wendy, the youngest and hippest bartender in Q Bar, makes it happen with her cute rebelliousness. The black tie affirms her professional credentials while anchoring the abrasiveness in her gaze. Her attitude is what makes it.

Q Bar makes the best cocktails of any bar in Beijing and it also has the widest selection. Highlights include the frozen daiquiris, all types of martini, and the Q Bar signature drinks. They will know what you mean if you say” “rusty nail”. The prices are almost on an international level, reflecting the better service and presumably real booze. The crowd is almost exclusively foreign and the bar doesn’t have anything particularly “Beijing” about it, aside from Wendy, and the view of high-rises outside. It is good place to hang out if you live in Beijing, since the only other places with real cocktails tend to be hotel bars. If you are visiting, I would recommend checking out more atmospheric places like Lan, Suzie Wang, Bed Bar, Rockstar, and Salud.

Dad’s Tie, Schoolboy Cardigan


Dayang wears a cardigan from his elementary school days and his dad’s necktie. He does design and rock and roll and appears to dedicate himself to authenticity, preferring to avoid retail outlets if possible. It’s rare to see such a thrift-store like look in Beijing, where buildings, clothes, and everything else tend to be spanking new. However, Dayang’s look seems very appropriate for Nanluoguxiang, Beijing’s foremost Hutong turned cute commercial district.

The present, or perhaps already passed, obsession with “authenticity” displayed by many in the current generation has not yet become mainstream in China, but one can see the start. While young people from humbler backgrounds may question why I would choose a courtyard home with all of its quirks over a swank modern apartment built just last year, more educated types, normally with some exposure to the West, have started to get it. The backlash against manufactured, homogeneous and often contrived culture might begin. A style of consumerism that displays individual choice and an appreciation of genuine products and natural materials is growing. Still, pleather boots and neon shorts still outnumber the cashmere cardigans and second-hand brogues picked up while rummaging through a street market in London.

Under Construction

There are a number of technical, editing, and design problems that need to be resolved on the site. Please forgive the delay in getting the website completely ready. It will be updated regularly despite these various glitchs and problems, so please keep checking back. Everything should be sorted out within the next two weeks. Thank you for your patience.

Stylites: Courtyard BBQ, Mini Yard Sale, and Bacchanalia

This gathering on Sunday, November 4, at Xinghua Hutong will celebrate my mother’s visit, the reemergence of stylites.net and the beauty of Beijing’s autumn. Please come between 1:30 pm and sundown. There will be chuan’r, mulled wine, and other booze and food. Also, a small yard sale, the proceeds of which will go to a TBD local environmental NGO. Bring fashionable rags to sell if you are interested and also any contributions to the liquor cabinet. Please RSVP to nels@stylites.net for instructions and a map.

 
 

Scottish Fabrics Arriving

The world’s most durable and attractive wools and cashmeres hail from the British Isles, in my opinion. Now they are coming as part of a trade delegation to get their piece of the ever more gigantic China market.
http://business.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1727002007

As Chinese businessmen learn more about the art of fine dressing, they will demand that their suits be made from brands like Holland & Sherry and Johnstons of Elgin, both part of this delegation. It will be interesting to see whether brands like this can achieve even greater success than they have in Japan. I want to find out how to get hold of some of this fabric, also.

Lane Crawford Opens

Burberry Prorsum, YSL Rive Gauche, Dries Van Noten, Viktor and Rolf – boyz you can finally get their latest pieces right here in Beijing! For the more conservative types, there is a better selection of Pal Zileri, Armani, and Zegna than is even available in their rather patronizingly edited boutiques.

Ample champagne, beautiful clothes, and more stylish people than I have ever seen in one place – the Lane Crawford opening party was great fun and the pictures I will add over the next week will highlight this. Stay tuned for my review of the new store in the next That’s Beijing.

Before that, let me proclaim: the arrival of this store here is a revolution. Beijing at last hosts a well-curated treasury of global fashion’s top designs. China’s cultural center deserved a fashion emporium that matched its artistic spirit. It is here. Other retailers and many retail consultants underestimated the maturity of the market, thinking that designers could get away with offering a selection combining re-runs of old seasons, loud branded dross, and a whole load of Hugo Boss and Dunhill. The Beijing fashion consumer is more sophisticated than that, as Lane Crawford astutely realized. Should I be their chief of PR?

The men’s selection maximizes time and taste, two values essential to the global cognitive elite. Men can now find the most stylish pieces pieces on offer in the city on just two floors. It is better than anything in any of the single-brand boutiques or department stores here before.

Lane Crawford fills a gap and the nouveaus with the cash to shop there and not enough time to find a good tailor will have a big advantage. The problem in Beijing is that if you want off-the-rack apparel that combines quality with style, you can only turn to the expensive stuff or a tailor. There is no decent high-street, no consignment shops, and no discount shops like Filene’s Basement.

Much more on this to come.

Verdant Primate Lover

The greens are an attempt to evoke the natural environment for which he must long, since he has reentered the beige and gray fray of his hometown, Beijing. He attended university in Nicosia, of all places. A short Fiat ride from the city are a wider range of azure and emerald shades than could ever be imagined by any maker of fashion dyes.

Paul Frank is widely available in China, where it is produced. The Paul Frank logo can be found on socks selling for fifty cents in markets throughout Beijing. On a side note: my girlfiend just purchased a brown mat for our cat that bears the Yves Saint Laurent logo.

Frequent Changes – Stylites.net under construction

This website is in development and will eventually acquire a unique design, but will still be updated daily. I beg you to tolerate the inconsistency of the design of stylites.net for the time being. Please do not let this deter you from checking back regularly. The essence of stylites.net is in the photos and words as well as the enterprises we represent.