SHANGHAI STYLE FILE

I first took notice of this micro-trend at Cotton Club while soaking up some jazzy blues a few weeks ago. The tunes were entertaining, but that didn’t distract me from conducting a thorough up-and-down of the fashions onstage. In my mind, a musician’s look is inherently cool, no matter if he wears a simple uniform of jeans, black tee and Rockabilly-esque boots.

After their set ended, my ears kept buzzing from the music. More so, even after daylight broke the next morning, in my head was still ringing that inaudible fashion chord plucked by that guitarist. The loud music, the dark and smokey ambiance and the spirit of old Shanghai in Cotton Club must have seeped deeper into my bones than I thought because I kept noticing the cuffed jean everywhere. Quite omnipresent. I couldn’t escape it. Even as the temperature plummets, people are still enjoying this little styling trick, which can add a lot of oomf to a basic denim look. No guitar needed!

What is the most popular stereotype of Asians in the US, particularly amongst students? They are nerdy. While it is neither fair nor politically correct to brand a group of people based on rash reasoning, being labeled as highly intelligent or scientifically adept is hardly a slap-in-the-face. Whether the Chinese youth’s embrace of the nerdy trend- adapted via the adornment of over-sized reading glasses, suspenders and bow-ties- is a tongue-and-cheek nod toward this stereotype is debatable; however, one thing is as a clear as if examined under a microscope: all the cool kids are doing it, not to mention with a casual effortlessness.

The pictures in this post showcase daytime looks; however, I first noticed this trend while going out on the weekends to Shanghai bars and clubs. At a wine bar with a friend recently, I was struck by how chic a few of the girls nearby were dressed and scribbled down mental notes… “Shanghai girls sweep their jet-black long hair into sleek high pony-tails and toss on leather biker jackets over mini-dresses, and then downplay this sexy look with a giant pair of black reading glasses (with no lenses).” The result is often a sophisticated mix of sex “dorked-down” by nerdy accessories. Successful because they always look like they belong in the moment and never call upon images of a a sexually repressed librarian or an awkward geek who somehow ended up a rock concert.

I am not condoning stereotyping by any means. Yet, the “Cool Nerds” in Shanghai pull this look off incredibly well; so well in fact that they it makes me wonder if there is some validity behind this assumption…

Next time I am out on the weekend, I will try to get some pictures of the evening looks of this Trend Spot!

中国上海时装