The past few weeks have seen Beijing weather a bout of bad news; it seemed as if reports in the international and domestic press were as depressing as the humid and polluted weather that we’ve been subject to for the past few weeks. First there were reports of the yang rou chuan’r, made from chemically-laced pork, then there was the international scandal surrounding sub-standard toothpaste from China and a US ban on Chinese seafood products. But the one that hit home and caused the biggest waves was the report (complete with hard-to-refute video footage) that some of the baozi being sold on the streets of Chaoyang contained “chopped cardboard, softened in an industrial chemical and made tasty with pork flavoring.”

Ladies had their turn yesterday. Now for those of you fellas scratching your heads wondering what beachwear is like for you, read on. We want you to be looking your best at the Beijinger’s Ninth Annual Bar & Club Awards, and as ready for an afternoon of drinking in the sun as you’ll ever be.

Another year, another Bar & Club Awards. But this time around, we’ve got a theme: beachwear. Think sun-kissed skin, polka dot bikinis and straw trilby hats. Who cares if we’re thousands of miles away from the nearest beach? Use your imagination. With temperatures expected to reach 90 degrees Fahrenheit (or over 30 degrees Celsius) on Saturday, we're there weather-wise at least. For further inspiration, check out the outfit we’ve put together below.

Cold cement benches swathed in woolly pelts. Asphalt floors offset by bronze and mirrored walls. Sleek leather couches made unpretentious by lovingly worn creases. One feels very small at Alexander Wang’s second store in the world, a 4,000sqm space that perfectly captures the brand’s aesthetic contradictions: austere but natural, functional but flattering, and trendy but timeless.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any more ridiculous. Last year, we marveled over the latest courier services offered by certain e-commerce sites, in which deliverymen would wait outside your door while you tried on purchases and then haul away anything you didn’t want. Now check out Tao Girls, a platform Taobao has been running quietly for the past couple of years. Over 40,000 young women have set up “modeling kiosks” on the site to show off their looks and senses of style, and to promote themselves to various modeling agencies. It seems that Taobao is currently in talks to expand the function of Tao Girls, giving customers the option of choosing a prospective model to deliver goods to your home for a small fee.