Street Chic is what happens when street style shooting grows a personality and gets curious. You've seen those photo columns, and the IG and XHS reels – just shots, no story, like showcasing fashionable NPCs gliding through the city. We thought: what if we asked these people something? Who are they? Where are they from? Where are they going? What do they do in the city? That tiny twist turned into something you, the reader, have actually connected with – turns out it's nice to know your city's characters beyond just the 'fit they sport. Now it's a proper column, a little streetwear, a little sociology, and a lot of chilly or sweaty charm (depending on the season) from the sidewalks of Shanghai. Because fashion's fun, but people are the main event.

It is official summertime, people are switching their jeans and jackets to shorts and tank tops, as it can get SCORCHING hot. Despite the challenging weather, the month of June always brings some sort of special energy – the long-awaited summer vacation for students, beach days, late-night strolls, special June celebrations, whatever you might be celebrating this month.

For this specific iteration of the Street Chic, we tried to capture as many guys as we can, since it's usually the girls who slay the hardest. However, I suppose the hot weather leaves only the most dedicated fashionistas still dressing nicely… So, we had to work on what we had, luckily, we managed to find some cuties. Plus, something that I am going to include into the Street Chic from time to time will be my outfits of the day, explaining my thought process on it for that day.

1. Yours truly

That day it was not only hot, but I am pretty sure the humidity levels were at the highest they have been since I've come to Shanghai. However, after shooting for the SC, I had an event, where the dress code was "Smart casual with pink accents". The sheer pink top and fancy striped pants were the best I could come up with without losing consciousness on the street. If the dress code didn't have the word "smart" in it, I would not have had the white tank top underneath, #freethenipple, but alas.

2. Flipping through the Page's outfit, Page, 20

Speaking of free the nipple, Page is a friend of mine, so I was inclined to tell him to button his shirt up, because his tank top left very little to the imagination. He, like me, is a fashion design student at Donghua University, and has just finished his first year. He comes from Nantong City, very close to Shanghai. Page is quite talented when it comes to sewing and design, especially for his age. Very hardworking too. For his outfit today he described it as "chill vacation at the beach mood." I couldn't have said it better myself. He always takes videos of his outfits; luckily, Shanghai is an ideal place for little vlogs and fit checks.

Check out Page's socials:

Little Red Book (小红书): @Mrpage88v1111

3. The off-air crew member, Min, 31

Arriving the day before and leaving the day after, Min is a stylish flight attendant from South Korea smashing the Shanghai route. The first thing that came to my attention when I spotted him was how in God's name, he is wearing all back in this heat? But upon a closer look, his pants and shirt are both made of very light, breathable linen, which is ideal for such humidity. I asked him how he enjoyed his day in Shanghai, and he said that it had been his favorite place by far. "I personally really like Chinese food. Shanghai has so many delicious places and also so much shopping, I am getting the most out of my 48 hours here."

4. Gen Alpha is stepping up the fashion game, Estelle, 14

Okay, first of all, for some reason it didn't register that I was interviewing a 14-year-old, maybe because I really liked her outfit. Look at that style. Thankfully, her mom was right there, and with her permission, we took some photos. They are Shanghai locals, it is no wonder that their casual family hang out was so stylish. Gen Alpha have a lot of fashion and style inspirations to look up to, so I am not surprised they be looking way different than we, Gen Z looked like at 14.

5. Full of dreams and hopes, Lyosh, 19

Lyosh comes from Ukraine, he studies international economics and trade at the Shanghai Ocean University, which all sounds all too complex for my fine arts brain… And to do something so daring, moving to a foreign country, studying in a foreign language for such a complicated subject is really admirable, and something I personally relate to too. Lyosh would describe himself as someone who is ready to take life as it is, with all its obstacles and transform them into valuable experiences. "The most important thing to me is to take everything as a learning moment, trying to find who I truly am in this huge world. A place such as Shanghai is ideal for it, there is something constantly shifting, changing and updating. Especially when I walk around the 陆家嘴(Lujiazui), and seeing all those huge banks and offices and people working there, it is nice to know that I can do anything and achieve everything if I put my mind to it."

Check out Lyosh's socials:

Instagram: @lyoshb

Little Red Book (小红书): @creativelyosh Mrpage88v1111

6. Shanghai born and raised, Kingsley, 26

Interestingly, on the day Brandon and I were out shooting, we found it particularly difficult meeting local Shanghainese. Perhaps because it was mid-day at Xintiandi, and at this hour and place, it's more folks who are tourists or foreigners.

But here we have Kingsley, this young man who you might pass on the street, works in marketing. He often is mistaken for either a foreigner or just from a different place in China, since he says he doesn't really fit into the standard visual standards of a "Shanghai person." "I lived in Singapore for 5 years; I took a lot of style inspirations from different types of people. Tan skin, tattoos, they express my own identity much clearer."

7. Girls having fun, Fernanda (23), Andrea (27)

The two lovely girls come from Mexico. They are zipping around Shanghai with a tourist group. Andrea is the group leader, in charge of her fellow countrymen to not get lost in the maze that Shanghai can sometimes be. While Fernanda is on a student exchange program here, studying business administration in Shanghai University for a month. Even though they won't be here for a long time, they are definitely here for a good time. "We really enjoy the structure of the city. So many beautiful buildings and landmarks, as well as shopping places of course. Today we were craving some good ice cream, and we heard that this area (Xintiandi) is famous for its big variety of stores and flavors, very good for such a hot day!" And they are right; I would say 70 percent of foreigners and tourists I see around here are all eating ice cream. I think I might be the only person left who has never tried a Xintiandi ice cream yet…

And now a few additional passersby that we snapped...