173 What Exactly Is the Formal Wear for Chinese Men?
Li Dazang, a "classmate guest" from Leftover Talk, returns to discuss Chinese men's formal wear culture. In early 2026, the benchmark men's luxury brand Zegna revealed in a conference call that it had closed 10 stores in the Chinese market over the past year, including its flagship store at Beijing Huamao Center. Beyond lamenting the changing times for foreign clothing brands in China, we also took the opportunity to explore the Chinese men's formal wear market and the cultural soil behind it. What do Chinese men actually wear on formal occasions? Surprisingly, there is no standard answer. Over the past 100-plus years, changshan (long gowns), Western suits, and Zhongshan suits have all played similar roles; after the Reform and Opening-up, Western suits briefly became the norm, but today, whether in the workplace or at public formal occasions, new styles of dress have replaced the status of the Western suit. What social and economic factors are at play behind this? Li Dazang brings his observations.
Original Chinese title & description
173 中国男性的正装到底是什么？
《边角聊》“班味嘉宾”李大脏返场，聊聊中国的男士正装文化。2026年初，标杆性的男性奢侈品牌杰尼亚在电话会议中透露，过去一年已经在中国市场关闭了10家门店，包括北京华贸中心的旗舰店。 除了感叹外资服装品牌在中国的时移世易外，我们也借机探讨了中国的男士正装市场和背后的文化土壤。中国的男性在正式场合到底穿什么？这个问题意外地没有标准答案。在过去100多年的历史里，长衫、西装、中山装等担任过类似的角色；改开之后，西装一度成为习惯，但如今，不论是职场还是公开的正式场合，又有一些新的穿搭取代了西装的地位，这背后又有哪些社会和经济的因素在发挥作用？李大脏带来了他的观察。
Participation credit “本期参与者”：沙青青（微信公众号：13号埋立地、小红书：Sha-13号埋立地）。
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