6.22.2005
Too sexy for his shirt.
One thing I did miss about China whilst I was away is the, how shall I say, nontraditional fashion sense? Take this dapper dandy, boldly prancing about town in his 101 Dalmatians T-shirt.
Yes, where else but China can a grown man walk about town in a fake Disney product without a care in the world and have no one--at least, no locals--think anything of it. (Well, maybe there is somewhere else, but I haven't been there yet. Orlando, possibly, but who knows?) (Note to self: if true, never visit Orlando.) And the thing is, he's not the only one. Naturally, I don't have pictures of them all, but adults wearing Disney products are not an uncommon site here. Surely Walt himself is spinning in his grave, most likely because the House of the Mouse isn't making a cent on any of it--and that's not even considering the conversion rate!
Anyway, I could probably make an entire website dedicated solely to unfortunate Chinese fashion. For example, besides the FFV (full face visor), I have, even during my brief time so far in Shanghai, noticed two new clothing trends that I had not seen before. (Although I have been assured that these are summertime trends across China, and are not Shanghai specific.)
The first is the white cape, which is pretty much just what it sounds like. Women walking or riding around outside will put on a cape, complete with long sleeves, to protect their skin from the sun while out and about. The second is the shirt tuck, a strictly male maneuver in which, on a hot day, the man in question rolls up his shirt to just below nipple level, thereby exposing his stomach and--apparently--cooling him off. Yes, both are just as ridiculous looking as they sound. Hopefully, I will have pictures soon. And since the next, oh, three months or so are supposed to be really freaking hot, it shouldn't be hard to find subjects ...
PS: In case there was any doubt, the "conversion rate" comment was a joke. Just like the other day when I told Holly that some of the clocks in our place were probably running fast because they, in China, they use the metric system. (Ding!)
Yes, where else but China can a grown man walk about town in a fake Disney product without a care in the world and have no one--at least, no locals--think anything of it. (Well, maybe there is somewhere else, but I haven't been there yet. Orlando, possibly, but who knows?) (Note to self: if true, never visit Orlando.) And the thing is, he's not the only one. Naturally, I don't have pictures of them all, but adults wearing Disney products are not an uncommon site here. Surely Walt himself is spinning in his grave, most likely because the House of the Mouse isn't making a cent on any of it--and that's not even considering the conversion rate!
Anyway, I could probably make an entire website dedicated solely to unfortunate Chinese fashion. For example, besides the FFV (full face visor), I have, even during my brief time so far in Shanghai, noticed two new clothing trends that I had not seen before. (Although I have been assured that these are summertime trends across China, and are not Shanghai specific.)
The first is the white cape, which is pretty much just what it sounds like. Women walking or riding around outside will put on a cape, complete with long sleeves, to protect their skin from the sun while out and about. The second is the shirt tuck, a strictly male maneuver in which, on a hot day, the man in question rolls up his shirt to just below nipple level, thereby exposing his stomach and--apparently--cooling him off. Yes, both are just as ridiculous looking as they sound. Hopefully, I will have pictures soon. And since the next, oh, three months or so are supposed to be really freaking hot, it shouldn't be hard to find subjects ...
PS: In case there was any doubt, the "conversion rate" comment was a joke. Just like the other day when I told Holly that some of the clocks in our place were probably running fast because they, in China, they use the metric system. (Ding!)
