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Also, I am visiting Europe at the moment, so updates will be a little bit sparse for the next few days. Regular daily updates will recompense next Monday, when I return to Beijing.
Refined and Rebellious
Sai Le (赛勒) adores Japanese culture and fashion. Often going by the name Asako, she also reads Japanese fashion magazines like Mina and Vivi. A media consultant living in Chaoyang district, Asako spends free time in the old city, usually around Nanluoguxiang or the Lama temple.
The look may not seem exactly revolutionary, but I like the way she achieves such attractive outcome, while harmoniously incorporating so many elements I normally despise: an unconventional piercing, unnaturally colored hair, ripped jeans…the list goes on. The lush green velvet jacket and decadent jungle cat flats paired with ripped jeans achieve the type of “casual with a twist” look that I rarely see done so well here. The boyish hair style and stud are an interesting contrast with this look that is at once refined and rebellious. The orange hair works nicely with the green jacket. Others should take note. Recently, there have been a growing number of young ladies with ginger hair wearing bright red coats. This is insane – and in a tedious way.
Classic Beijing: Rockers in Skinnies
I should start a “classic Beijing” category. It would include young rockers like this and old men in Mao jackets, which is the sort of funny combination that makes this an interesting place to live. Thinking of the city and its denizens, I immediately think of an image like these two. I was going to add “post 2000” but in images and movies of youth in the city from the late 1980s, I’ve noticed some of these types. Is the current breed as tough, as genuine, as their spiritual forebears?
It’s a much more pleasant image than that of a chubby businessmen with alligator loafers holding a pleather murse or a kept woman in pink fur carrying LV, which are what I think of for several other prosperous towns. Beijing is China’s bohemia. You noticed, I’m sure.
The city never feels bereft of boy rockers in their skinny jeans. They have appeared on stylites many times: last year and more recently. Plenty of girls too: Norwegian, Gia, and rather pretty.
Black, White and Gray
Eva is a jewelery designer from Guangdong province, who focuses on designs in silver. She was up in Beijing on business, but she was also enjoying some sightseeing in the old town. Designing for a range of major brands, she recently made the decision to discontinue the website she used to maintain for showing her designs. She explained that too many of her designers were being copied. This experienced designer is obviously no novice when it comes to dressing with a careful, coordinated and personalized style. Others should take note.
Hardly Dowdy
Swede Jesper Lindquist is the co-Creative Director and co-founder of the Dowdy fourhundred, a leather bag maker. Ali Nosrati, his partner, has been on Stylites before. The model in his hand is the Edith, named after the singer. “Dowdy” refers to unfashionable and unattractive people, while “the fourhundred” is society’s elite and the production run for each of their models.
Another Korean Student
They are pouring into Beijing. I like this hip ladylike look. If this is a standard look in Korea, it must be a fairly stylish place. I haven’t been there since I was ten. Choi Ahrang is also a high school here in Beijing.
LEON lands, UFOs at Fashion Week, and other News
The Chinese edition of LEON, published by Rayli Media Group, will launch next week. LEON is a more serious and useful magazine than the current crop of fashion publications available to Chinese gentlemen. It provides useful advice for upwardly mobile 30 to 45-year-olds trying to find their way to looking stylish. Stylites is very happy about the arrival of Leon. a magazine more about style than pushing the latest trend.
At China Fashion Week, designer Jiang Zhou drew inspiration from a recent UFO sighting. Some interesting comments on that at the gadget blog. That designer was part of an International Young Fashion Designer competition for the Hempel Award. Some fun comments on fashion week from the Huffington Post.
In Shanghai Daily, fashion marketing consultant Mark Greiz, of the boxy black shoes, tells Chinese fashion clients to reject the former practice of using foreign words for brand namess, saying that only a Chinese name can bring fast growth with consumers who are increasingly proud of their own country. Key growth is in the second-tier cities.
Hugo Boss plans to prioritize China as its profits plunge elsewhere.
The Symbol for Creativity
It’s not the Star or David because the line is double. Still, it is hard not to think they are implying that Jews are more creative. I find it odd that there is a symbol for creativity and even odder that someone would get a tattoo of it.
Stylites on Huffington Post
DISGRASIANâ„¢ wrote this about Stylites and it also was featured on the Huffington Post. It captures quite well the value of Stylites, which is far more about people and a period in history than about fashion.
Clubtime Photographers and Rockers
These two fun street style photographers took a picture of me for clubtime, another site that features Beijing street style photos. They are also rockers and the one in the green trousers is rather pretty and good-looking. It seems websites about clubbing are the thing these days in Beijing. There is also a clubzone, with design and content as busy and stimulating as clubtime. My lips aren’t nearly so pink as that picture suggests, though I do tend to wear too many colors and boldy and foolishly disobey the edict that elegance comes from removing the first item that catches the eye.
From Hubei to the Rive Gauche?
From Hubei, Liu Yiwen (刘伊雯) is a French language major at People’s University of China. She hopes to go into the hotel management business and visit Europe at some point. Interestingly, a designer friend has just mentioned to me that Parisians love wearing black and green.
Her outfit may not seem particularly startling, but is notable in both use of proportion and color. Also, college students hardly ever wear outfits that are simple and attractive. The goal is usually to throw as many odd pieces together as possible.
“China’s Françoise Sagan”
From Heilongjiang Province, Niu Mingyu (牛明昱), 27, has been described by French friends as China’s Françoise Sagan. His life is far more adventurous and debaucherous than hers was, he says. In addition to novellas, he writes regularly about beauty, culture, and lifestyle for Trends’ L’Officiel, Rayli, New Weekly, and a range of other publications. Last month, he wrote eighty-thousand characters.
Mr. Niu also works full-time as an editor at China Cosmetics (ä¸å›½ç¾Žå®¹æ—¶å°šç”»æŠ¥), a recently founded bimonthly magazine that is an offshoot of ten year old China Beauty (ä¸å›½ç¾Žå®¹æ—¶å°šæŠ¥) magazine and claims a circulation of 170,000. These are part of the media group founded by one Zhang Xiaomei, who is also a CPPCC National Committee member and keeps a blog.
His jacket is from Croquis, the male line that is part of Hangzhou-based JNBY, one of China’s most successful brands that was formed completely locally.
Lady High Schooler
Korean youngsters are fond of this type of ladylike style. I approve. In Beijing for six months so far, Korean Choi Ahrang attends international high school. Recently, we have seen more high schoolers: one from Austria and others from Beijing. Beijing boasts a wide selection of shops offering style from Korea, both of this more “youth elegance” type and of the more streetwear variety. Last year, I profiled a young lady who owns a boutique specializing in this type of Korean fashion as well as her employee. Prior to this, there has only been one actual Korean on Stylites.
Except on the weekend, it’s pretty hard to find Chinese high school students outside of those horrible nylon uniforms that look like something that might be favored by Jersey mafiosas. Still, they do find ways to be a bit rebellious, usually with shoes. Until very recently, if a Chinese student dressed and made-up like the Korean one above and had her hair permed, they would probably be told off by the teacher and grounded by their parents. It would be taken as indisputable proof that they were pursuing relations the opposite sex.
the dowdy fourhundred on 360fashion.net
On 360fashion.net, Ali Nosrati launches a massive attack for the dowdy fourhundred, with a little bit of help from a friend.
Shichahai Community Green Market
The Shichahai Community Center is hosting a green flea market focusing on the crafts they make and secondhand goods that residents of this community and beyond can bring to sell, exchange or give away. Contact me if you need directions. Hope to see you all at 9:30 tmw!
Show this address to your taxi driver:
什刹海社区æœåŠ¡ä¸å¿ƒ
西城区德胜门内大街刘海胡åŒ11å·
Contact me if you become lost.