I am seeing more and more of this silhouette, which has definite rings of 1920s scholars in Beijing.

After what seemed like an eternity, summer is here at last. This year’s Modern Sky Strawberry Festival was one of the first occasions to enjoy the sunshine. We will soon post more pictures of beautiful ladies and cool boys.

Tasks will include the drafting proposals in Chinese and English, building and maintaining relationships with media, and compiling clippings reports. Resumes can be submitted to nels@stylites.net.

We would also like to welcome our latest advertising client, Go-British, which is now having a mid-season sale for its Facebook fans.

Also, an Integrated Marketing start-up is looking to hire a couple people for managerial and assistant roles here in Beijing. The work environment, team, and projects would be quite fun though the work would be rigorous. Needed are young people fluent in Chinese who don’t require help on visas. Best are those with PR, event management, media, or proposal drafting experience.

LifeStyle is the leading bilingual publication in China focused on architecture, inner space, decor, luxury goods, travel, etc. Distributed in all of the five-star hotels in China as well as golf courses, membership clubs, restaurants, etc., this is the most recognized publication in its class.

Responsibilities of an editorial intern can include:

1. Helping to plan content and themes;
2. Formulating, researching, and writing original articles on architecture, art, hotel openings, etc.;
3. Editing English and, potentially, Chinese proofs;
4. Translating articles from Chinese into English or vice-versa.

Internships are generally unpaid, though people with something dramatic to contribute will always be rewarded. In addition, if you are interested in PR, please let me know.

Please email me at nels (at) stylites (dot) net

Here are a few more images from the Beijing Vintage Ride.  My images and those of Wang Peng also appear in this post on S Magazine.

There were some foreigners attempting a rather comical, not terribly stylish version of local attire, but most Chinese were dressed Western.  The one local that was in his native attire looked rather dapper.  Apparently he frequently rides to work on a bicycle and even has a seat in back for his daughter.

Tweed waistcoats were the most common type of attire for the men.

And the girls loved their tweed jackets and tassel loafers.

It was almost as if he was there to exorcise the demons that were raised during the Dior show, with its occult and militaristic references. I did not get to find out why this young man decided on an outfit that suggested the scarlet cassocks cardinals of the Roman Catholic church though he skipped the hat.

Partying pals for life, Adam, Wang Peng and Queenie can definitely tell you where to be tonight in Beijing.  Thanks to Wang Peng for photographing for Stylites that night.

Here’s another rather un-Dior outfit.  The vast majority of people were wearing black.

I think these two are models.

Jeffrey Ying is now the main man covering events for Style.com here in Beijing. Here is his piece on the Dior Homme show.

Dior Homme staged its first-ever fashion show outside of France on Thursday at the Central Academy of Fine Art (CAFA) in Northeastern Beijing.  Long-loved by local fashionisatas, this was the most eagerly-awaited event of the year, up till now.  Purportedly, other brands even changed the timing for their events to avoid being lost in the media excitement surrounding this event.  Etro was supposedly to be staging a major fashion show at CAFA this year, which now not going to be on until 2014.

Designer Kris van Assche gave adoring audiences a line-up of black, midnight blue and white that was well-received, as expected, though some commented that Prada had done this years ago.  My own critique, if you can call it that, was more related to the sinister, dystopian feeling of the show.  My immediate feeling at the end was that I just seen an army of futuristic stormtroopers from a conformist perfect society in a controlled by technocrats well-versed in the occult.  The triangles within a circle made me think of the all-seeing eye on the US dollar, and van Assche said it was a reference to men’s societies at institutions like Harvard.  Others spectators seemed to agree that there was a certain feeling of the National Socialists.  

The white coats were the most coveted item of the show.  These must-haves would not stay that color for more than a few seconds in Beijing unless you live in an air-tight apartment connected directly by elevator to a parking garage.  I think they should have done a lab coat as well, to fit the clinical texture of the collection.

According to the Dior PR, clothing from the brand is very popular among young style guys in Beijing.  The collection was shown here rather than Shanghai, because influencers are here and not there, she said.

The band this time was Hurts, a UK synthpop duo, that was not quite as colorful or fun as The Petshop Boys, who performed in the exact same place at the Prada show two years ago.

The models were very young.  The Western models got very rowdy and drunken at the afterparty.  The Chinese models had headed home long before of course.

They probably debated about whether to just call it the Beijing Tweed Run and then decided that tweed was too British or too obscure for local tastes.  For the participants, however, the look was most definitely tweedy.  I had no idea that there was quite this much check, argyle and houndstooth in wardrobes around the city.

From the 700bike site, here are pics of just about all the attendees.  Also, for comparison, their site has some very nice photos of tweed runs in London, Tokyo, and Moscow, which is oddly one of the most stylish assemblies of men I have ever seen.

At first, I was aghast that photographer Wang Peng was on a scooter during the Vintage Ride, but of course to take all those great photos he had to move a bit faster than the rest of us. I took this one from my bike. Thanks for all the great images, Wang Peng!

Sometimes I think what people like to call “retro” – which often means “formal” or “proper” – is a code word for “more attractive”. The styles that are supposedly of a bygone era are just the ones that make most men look more attractive. As it has frenetically become a hyper-modern society, China has tended to opt for casual, rather mediocre, types of styles. We saw at the Tweed Run how much better men can look if they dress in a slightly more formal, but at the same time, more fun style. All body types are benefited by a bit more formality. In an excessively casual world, only those with perfect bodies still manage to be attractive.

Where did Wang Peng perch to take these photos?

The flatness and brevity of the ride made it perfect for preening. The weather was also perfect for neither working up a sweat nor getting chilly while wearing tweed sport coat and vest. In fact, at 10km – a fairly standard Beijing commute – this ride proved that it is quite possible to look good every day while riding down Beijing wide bike paths.

Though where was some strength that came from numbers, I think the ride should also have shown some that the city is still not that bad for bicycles. In most areas the bike lanes remain wide and relatively un-cluttered with automobiles. Of course, I suppose the route they picked was probably more bike-friendly than most.

Wang Peng captured some great images of all the tweedy people that came out yesterday for the first ever Beijing Vintage Ride, mostly inspired by similar events in London, Tokyo and elsewhere.

The event was startlingly successful in terms of number of participants, their level of style preparedness and the fanciness of their bikes. There was general level of enthusiasm for a stylish sort of bicycling culture, but more of my thoughts on this in future posts.

The event started at the West gate of Worker’s Gymnasium.  It was a 10km ride to the Africa Center at 798.

More of a profile with a man on the left later.

The most fascinating thing about the event was that some of the genuine tricycle drivers came out of their own volition.  Apparently they just registered online and showed up.

The girls tended toward tweed coats and brogues or tassel loafers.

Summer is the season in Beijing that I especially loath, but cold weather has really endured this year.  I keep having to turn the heat back on in my hutong.  In offices and most high-rises, the heat has been off since mid March.  The frigid temperatures indoors mean the tweed sport coats have had ample play recently.  Supposedly, there is yet another colf front coming in tomorrow.  All of this probably means that it will be an even more sweltering summer than normal.  Temperatures above 30 degrees will probably start next Monday.  

I kept thinking that these images from over the winter would not really fit given that it was already late in the year.  Perhaps this most violent and eternal of winters warrants this reprisal that includes all the photos from the last winter that were not posted here.  So below are some profiles and photos from the snowiest, longest winter in all of my years in Beijing.  Suzy talked to some of the hip young ladies that give Beijing its character and bohemian charm. 

Name: Hannah Ren

Age: 32

Job: Jewelry designer & entrepreneur 

Style Icon: Rooney Mara

Favorite spot in Beijing: I love going to Cafe Alba for a coffee, because its interior is really authentic and food is rather good

Name: Ester Wang

Age: 30

Job: freelance writer

Style Icon: It’s a cliche, but Kate Moss. She always looks so fresh.

Last movie that made me cry: “How to Survive a Plague,” a documentary about the AIDS crisis in New York City in the 80s and 90s.

Song I can’t get out of my head: The Boys Noize remix of Sebastien Tellier’s “L’amour et La Violence.” So good!

My perfect Sunday in Beijing: Any Sunday that starts off with a big mug of coffee, continues with some snuggling on a couch with a good book, and ends with a dinner party with friends.

Favorite scent: Nothing beats the smell of freshly baked bread!

Best place for after work drinks: Mai Bar on Beiluoguxiang – it has great cocktails! And the owners are very sweet.

Name: Ami Li

Age: 24

Job: Music Promoter

Style icon:  Jean Seberg, Cat Marnell

Secret Beijing spot: Lucky Man Bar. I don’t feel bad about revealing it because they are closing in 6 months! So sad.

Best clothing shop: Dong Liang.

Best place for live music: 2 Kolegas (local acts) & Yugong Yishan (foreign acts) 

Name: LIU Meng Yao

Age: 29

Style icon: My friend Eva, a fashion buyer

Clothing Shop: MEGA MEGA vintage

Clothing Brand: JNBY 

Name: Su Yun

Age: 23

Job: student

Last movie that made me cry: “Amour” (Michael Haneke 2012)

Favorite shops: Mega Mega Vintage & Zara

Best place for lazy afternoons: Sculpting in Time

Name: Zhang Yinan

Age: 25

Job: Writer & Blogger

Name: Man Han Zhao

Age: 20

Job: Finance student

Style icon: Emma Roberts

Last movie that made me cry: Life of Pi

Clothing Shop: Old News & Mega Mega Vintage

Best place for lazy afternoons: Broadway Cinemas in Wan Guo Cheng

Name: Zhao Peijin

Age: 22

Job: Law Student

Style icon: Sienna Miller

Favorite Shops: Vintage Shops in Gulou area, Roro-Zhang Jewelry Design, Old-News

Another one from Suzy’s feature for Aritzia, 17 is a young artist from Hebei who chose the name – perhaps with a hint of irony –  in the hopes of staying forever young.