hutongs - 胡同

Most locals can’t hear from his accent that Olli is an Englishman in Beijing.  Whatever the nationality with which he contends, his approach has been to suffer ignorance and silliness with a smile.  After editing The Beijinger for a couple years, Olli just left Beijing for Jakarta. As a long-term supporter of Stylites, he will be missed [...]
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Shanghaier Shen Shen was accompanying her spouse to Beijing.  She has been stylishly unemployed for some time, and spends some of her abundant leisure time viewing street fashion sites like this one.  The cardigan and skirt are both “made in Japan” and she bought them used.  Her interesting style comes mainly from the Anxi Market, described here as [...]
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This gentleman from Hong Kong is doing the casual waistcoat thing well.  I’m normally not so positive about them, check my earlier entry on waistcoats around Beijing.  Despite my formerly condescending attitude about waistcoats, I decided to commission a double-breasted velvet one in gray with shawl lapels that can be used casually and perhaps under a morning [...]
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These two public relations executives show what us that there is nothing stuffy or square about being a young professional in Beijing today.  Sometimes I feel an injection of some stuffiness or traditionalism of some type (I guess it’s not traditionalism here) would feel fresh in this environment.  In all likelihood, they are even more [...]
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Edward commented that Sarah Palin was a very rough and tough seeming woman.  The thought of her leading the US at some point, since McCain is so old, was both amusing and frightening.  Were he able to vote - and he does strongly believe that there should be American style elections in China - he would choose [...]
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Red converses have been making the rounds as we tire of black, blue and white. The best part here is the waste-length jacket, actually a vintage piece made in the good old US of A, though the overall effect seems more London than Motown.
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Stylish youngeons abound in the hutongs of Beijing.  Older fellows in something other than a baggy suit and faded shirt are rare.  That’s why I was surprised to see Prof. Zhang right outside the front door of my courtyard amidst all of the workmen and vagrants.  There had to be some kind of foreign connection [...]
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