Zhongxing Fashion: China’s Homegrown Tomboy Style

Fashion Trends, Simon — By Simon on April 27, 2010 at 5:57 pm

Androgyny and fashion have a well-documented history — one that owes much to the sixties and British supermodel Twiggy. Yet despite its strong British roots, gender-bending fashion has taken on a life of its own in China. Sites like MCC (“Make Cute Club”) are large online fashion hubs for the post-nineties generation and hosts a rich array of Zhongxing Style (‘middle sex’ or androgynous) examples.

Trademarks of the Zhongxing Style

  1. Short spiky hair. Definitely a divergent point in terms of a typically tomboyish western look which would perhaps favour an unfussy buzz cut. Zhongxing hair styles are no simple affairs. Expect to see highlights, spikes, sweeping bangs and a whole lot of construction time.
  2. Baggy jeans/shorts. This is generally the defining point of Zhongxing style. Expect her to wear [fake] levi’s fenoms. Also, jeans need not be a boring dark, light wash. Expect to see print, tears, rolls ups, zips and all other sorts of customization.
  3. The ‘lipstick’ pretty girl-friend/girlfriend. Forget the big bulky(fake) visvim backpack — a Zhongxing’s ultimate accessory is the UBER cute girly friend. Seen together they are night and day — polar opposites of fashion, yet both paying the same amount of attention to their specific style choices. For the cute girl it’s high heels to excentuate her tiny-ness, for the tomboy its clumpy, gareish airforce ones to tuck her jeans into.

"Lipstick Girl" & Her Zhongxing Friend

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    2 Comments

  • Tait says:
    April 28, 2010 at 10:55 pm

    I’m finding these fashion posts pretty interesting. Fashion is something I don’t usually pay attention to in China or back home.

    “Zhongxing” is a new term for me too. I wonder if it might be better translated as “butch” for women. In lesbian relationships, the terms “butch” and “femme” are used to describe women who are either more manly or more girly. See Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butch_and_femme . Does that sound right? Or is it different?

  • Simon says:
    April 29, 2010 at 12:01 pm

    Thanks for the comment Tait.

    From what I understand Zhongxing doesn’t necessarily imply sexual orientation so I would hesitate to use the word butch. I think ‘tomboy’ is probably the closest term in English.

    Stay tuned for more fashion posts!