Seeking Shanghai Fashion: Chinese style through the eyes of its bloggers

17 Jul

As I’ve mentioned before, it can be a challenge to find clothing that’s un-bejeweled here in China. I’ll admit that in Hangzhou (a city just an hour from Shanghai), clothing shopping felt pretty bleak. But there’s hope to be found on the streets of Hangzhou’s more popular, trendier neighbor, Shanghai. I’m happy to report that I’ve started to notice some enviable outfits passing me on the sidewalk.

It’s obvious that there’s something to be learned from Shanghai’s unique, albeit nascent, fashion scene. Inspired by the interesting outfits I spotted outside, I decided investigate whether any local bloggers had managed to climb the great firewall in order to track the trends in Shanghai.

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire

During my hunt for a good Shanghai fashion blog, I found a number of interesting Chinese and Hong Kong fashion bloggers, but there was one local tastemaker who stood apart from the rest. The high caliber photography and charismatic styles captured by Roy Zhang make his site, Shanghai Express, the obvious winner. Thanks to his photos, people around the world can catch a glimpse of Shanghai’s best fashion statements without roughing the sweltering heat of the Shanghai streets.

Take a gander at these great looks from Shanghai Express and contemplate the ultimate question regarding the local fashion scene: Just what is it that gives the Shanghainese such unchecked sartorial courage?

SHANGHAI EXPRESS
the Sartorialist in Shanghai
http://royonthestreet.tumblr.com/