northern peace

hey, so, um, i haven't updated in...forever?

i just read vogue's newest issue and it's forced me to get back into the swing of things!

here are some final pictures from around beijing. i really, really, really miss that city. it'll be so tempting after college to just move to beijing and become a professional expat.

liz and the city, on our way to wudaokou for her birthday.

we ended up that evening in d-22, where i'd always wanted to go, and saw liz's friend's band.

a guard at tiananmen

tiananmen dusk. beijing really glows at night.

by george

this is from my last tea party. gia apparently likes crazy/cute combinations of patterns, textures, and colors. she looks cozy and quirky-stylish, as usual.

scarves en chine

a couple of my last outfit pictures from china--i think i wore a scarf there every single day.

at the terra cotta warriors in xi'an. i bought this scarf in shanghai, and lost it in beijing at a concert about a month and a half later. depressing. it was my favorite for a while...i had a tempestuous love affair with gray and yellow.

at the temple of the eight immortals in xi'an. when we first got there, it was fairly warm; i didn't even bring a coat from beijing. yet literally on our last day there, it got disturbingly cold. i was wearing all of the clothing i had brought. in this picture, i look cold but happy. the scarf is from a brilliant 10-and-20-kuai (up to about $3) scarf shop in downtown xi'an.

the smell of chinese ink of the stone carvings was indescribably rich and dark and perfect.

i went twice to the great wall at jinshanling, outside of beijing. it's my favorite site by far on the wall: wild and lonely, and only partially restored. i'm wearing chinese pink pearl earrings--there have been stretches since then where i haven't taken them out for a couple days at a time!

lor-baby

lauren, at the tea party, somehow makes sportiness and bohemian-ethnic details work together. i really like the luminous jewel colors here, too--everything matches, but it's not overpowering.

stunning earrings. what a crazy shape! they mirror the scarf perfectly.

nicolectric

nicole is one of my favorite people to photograph.

love the tights...yep, they've got built-in knee patches. i also never get up the guts to wear tights with peep-toe shoes, and this is evidence that i should just do it.

all coated up and ready to head outside. note the footwear change! i can't figure out the coat...is it double-breasted?

winterseve

in the two seconds that i was home over winter break, i managed to throw a tea party.

 

alexjandra doing her usual tomboy thing with aplomb.

  

chris, focused on music as usual. plaid all around.

 

shanghai art

shanghai art museum, on one end of the people's park in the center of town, has tons of patriotic/propaganda art. this one is so gorgeous that i stood and stared for a few minutes.

moganshan/m50 is shanghai's newest answer to the jing's 798 art district. i love these girls' outfits, especially juxtaposed with the bike and cookie monster. the graffiti'd sign behind them that says some stuff about "new asia conglomerate" and a limited liability corporation! from industrial park to art space, just like 798.

stormtroopers, angry pandas, etc. i liked the feel of the outer fringes of moganshan--much like 798 pre-commercialization, i'd guess. the heart of moganshan, though, was commercialized and touristy yet still charming, like 798 today.

chinatown

hannah, cozy with winter sweater and scarf, over soup at joy yee in chicago's chinatown.

backpacker

ah, tourism.

this was from the lovely champagne-colored elevator in my shanghai hotel...who says that i can't wear a nice big ring and a good scarf at the same time i am toting a giant backpack?

a western peace

xi'an 西安 means "western peace." i went twice this past fall/winter. i really love it, especially the part of the city within the stone walls. the muslim quarter and its bazaar are brilliant, packed with history and food and shiny things...i'll post more photos of the night bazaar later, from my second trip to xi'an.


i fell in love with this moon door while exploring an old courtyard house complex in the muslim quarter. while it's impossible for me to blend in as a local in china, it's fun for me to try not to dress like an american tourist. that means linen pants instead of jeans or short-shorts, neutral colors, and puma sneakers. people usually presumed that i was french or russian.

costumes were available for tourist photos on the drum tower at the heart of town.