Chinese People Are ColorBlocking My Brains Out!

As a fun and easy post for both me and you, I give you the first set of:

"Chinese People Are ColorBlocking My Brains Out!"...

There will be many, many more such posts to come before this blog is over, as there is colorblocking of all types and for all ages in Shanghai:
















colorblockmaster inside

Installment 2: Brilliant Colors

*UPDATE (Jan. 8) - My roommate thought I was loosing my firm grasp on the English language from being in China for 3 months, so he suggested the alternative title of "Installment", which I will continue with for this series.

So anyway... (almost original post)
Because it's the New Year, I felt bad having a negative post greet my readers. Thus, I give you Installment 2!

Although not as flawless as real Givenchy couture by perhaps some definitions, it's still worthy of being installed amongst MY all-time-favorite styles I've seen practiced in Shanghai because it's a functional/modern interpretation of (seemingly) ethnic clothing, which renders the subjects as appropriate but enigmatic (these outfits are spatially and contextually appropriate, but the subjects are definitely different from most Chinese people in terms of clothing).

DISCLAIMER: I have to admit that this situation was a bit sketch. I saw these two people outside of my bus window and tried to snap some quick shots. I missed but it didn't matter because they ran to get on my bus. What luck! They came RIGHT to where I was sitting on the bus, and they were so interesting both individually and as a pair that I tried to get as many shots as possible, and this is what I got (post bus ride):


Here's a peak into the inside of this techni-colored coat, which looks like a beautiful white something. The trim is also techni-colored!:

And his and hers close-ups (you really should enlarge all the photos and try and see as many details as possible):

It's a New Year

And my New Year's resolution is to have 6 to 8 posts per month. Your resolution, if you're still looking for one, should be to never become victim to the Burberry plaid...

The first girl I saw was in a puffy "Burberry" coat, although you can't really see it in the pictures because the coat was metallic and reflecting wicked amounts of light. You can also see that underneath she is wearing a Burberry skirt. No comment:


I'd like to note that I realize this pattern is part of Burberry's tradition and brand, but a major problem is the way the pattern is used/distributed/exploited and the fact that it is easy to counterfeit. Because of these factors, such low-culture products can be widely counterfeited and produced through China's massive manufacturing culture, creating turmoil for the development of individuality and personal style.

So anyway, on another very, very similar note (I might as well say the same note), here is this girl. I have nothing else to say about this one either:

Sniped Shanghai Street Shots: Top 9 of '09

I've had three obstacles thus far in putting together a Top 9 of '09 list like this (I kind of did it):

1 - I've only been in China for 12 weeks and thus don't have that many great pictures to choose from.
2 - I've literally been sniping shots (stealing you could say perhaps) of people on the streets because no one will ever pose when I ask them... they are highly suspicious of us foreign folk, which has made it difficult to get perfectly posed pictures.
3 - I'm usually trying to take pictures as inconspicuously as possible while walking on the street, riding the bus, in a cab, or on my roommate's scooter. So please, if the pictures are off-centered or blurry, don't judge me... the pictures are ranked by considering both the subject's style/stance and the quality of the photo.

...So I've finally edited it down to the Top 9, but this post might spoil some later posts because the pictures are released before they are really contextualized. But it's the New Year soon, so there are many, many new pictures to be sniped of otherwise unwilling subjects, but just to forewarn, you will see some of these pictures again.

Honorable Mention - She would have made it into the Top 9, but I spotted a Burberry scarf in her outfit unfortunately. But I know that it's at least real because it's not conspicuously the central piece of her look. Rather, it's blended as a part of a beautiful composition, and I have to give her props for making the world's single most offensive piece of clothing almost bearable:

Number 9 - This guy really isn't Number 9... I just thought I should start off the list with a strong and interesting look to entice you to read further, and this guy has style to the max. His layers are great, the colors are beautiful, and the composition is perfectly and quirkily accented by the silly shape and color of the hat:



Number 8 - Jean jackets are back! Or rather, they never cycled out of the Chinese fashion system. We are still a couple of decades behind here, so I could understand one or two jean jackets here or there. But there are MANY, and they are EVERYWHERE (as I'll blog about later). What's worse is that jean jackets are inevitably paired with, how creative!, jeans. But he looks like a working boy, as he's obviously a bit tired, so his jean suit is probably uber functional:


Number 7 - Here's a construction worker with a loosely tailored and semi-disheveled look that I thought was super cool. If you were working as a construction worker, wouldn't you want to still achieve some amount of individuality from the billions and billions of other construction workers in China?? I've never seen an anyone in such a profession in China so interestingly dressed, but the proportions, colors, cuts, and styling are all there. Appropriate, but still exceptional:

Number 6 - I love the conspicuousness of this woman's PJ set... I never knew a pink to pop like that, and what makes this particular ensemble even more special are the heeled boots and cell phone she's sporting around with her stroller:

Number 5 - So poised, yet not posed... this young gentleman has interesting layers and proportions, as well as nicely composed colors.

Number 4 - I always find people on the street wearing super interesting uniforms... an interesting factoid when you consider the country's recent sartorial history. Anyway, this maiden clad in all white gets the Number 4 spot for her cute haircut and incredulous stare:

Number 3 - This little girl is ColorBlocking my brains out! She deserves Number 3 all to herself for how cool she looks (and the pose I got was great!), but I'm adding another little girl's picture right below just for some contrast... I bet the ColorBlocker didn't dress herself that way, but at least someone in her family had the decency to not dress the little girl in a fake Burberry coat at the tender age of 5:


Number 2 - This old guy has the most endearing smile, and I somehow managed to capture it... and this close up to him too! The iPhone has revolutionized picture/video-taking, because I would never have been able to have gotten this close to someone and sniped this kind of a shot with a regular camera. Anyway, I love his sweater pattern and color combination on top, and he's dressed appropriately for his age. His personality though definitely is what makes the picture Number 2:

Number 1 - She's the coolest f'in lady I've seen in China. I ran across the street and almost died to get this photo, but it was well worth it. She's super unique and quirky by Chinese standards definitely, but she's just chillin' and doing her own thing with that bright blue bow tie. I think she was as intrigued by me as I was by her, which allowed me to snipe this great shot and expression:

Imagine the Funniest/Coolest/Best Thing You Could Possibly Wish to See in China...

and then watch it in this video. This occurred at 9 a.m.:



I absolutely LOVE this video for a number of reasons:

1 - You NEVER see people breakdancing in China in public, especially not old people. Thus when context is considered, he's super unique and not afraid to be different... stylish, I dare say (which I don't say often).
2 - His trench, hat, shoes, gloves, and sunglasses are phenomenal, but when he takes off his trench at the end he reveals an even more beautiful brown suit and a burnt orange sweater underneath.
3 - The video demonstrates an interesting point that Lu Kun once told me. He said "People stare in China because we learn through our eyes. We watch, and we learn"... there's one guy at about :35 attempting a similar mode of dance as our main man, but it's a little confused (but nevertheless endearing... he's trying to learn!).

Enjoy this video as a special holiday gift from my blog to you... And look for another special post on New Year's Eve! For those of you stateside, it will be posted December 30th at 11 a.m. EST.

Rain and Cold as Catalysts for Color?!

It's officially winter in Shanghai, but who would have guessed that the city would become punctuated with such saturated hues during these cold months??

Outerwear and other forms of protective gear have given Shanghai's normally dreary and dull sartorial landscape a much needed relief... every color of every composition is usually so muted (unless someone is going for a bling-bling style... more on that in the future for sure) that the onlooker is overwhelmed by just how boring monotony can be.

However, intense colors can definitely change the atmosphere, and here are a few folks that have brightened up my otherwise dreary days. Enjoy the colors!:

Bund18's 5th Year Anniversary Fashion Show

Wow, I just realized how far behind I am in life... this post should have happened a long time ago, as this fashion show was held November 18th in order to commemorate Bund18's 5th Year Anniversary. However, I still think this fashion show was interesting because it showcased 6 of the best Chinese designers I can think of (there are obviously a few other legit designers that didn't show at this fashion show, but not many...)

The first two pictures come from a very new Chinese American designer, Angela Gao (www.angelagao.com). Her collection is pretty timeless, and it is now selling in YOUNIK on a made-to-order basis. All of the other designers also sell at Bund18's boutique YOUNIK and are based strictly in China, as well as some other notable designers like Mary Ching and Qiong Er. Enjoy the pictures!

Angela Gao:


Zhang Hao (aka Stephane Cheung):

Pari Chen:

Coko Wan:

Jane Zhu:

and of course, Vunderkind Uma Wang: