The Fashion Question

Let me start by saying that I could write a book—nay, volumes—on Chinese fashion. That being said, if I had to summarize in a sentence, I’d have to say that it’s much like the country itself: multi-various, self-contradictory, and in transition. Not to mention, just generally confused.

Believe me when I say that people watching takes on a whole new dimension here—it could be a competitive sport. First off, it goes without saying that the subject pool is significantly larger. I myself have two ways to play: category or ensemble-based. For the former, pick a category, be it footwear, dresses, or Chinglish graphic T-shirts, and start comparing. If targeting footwear (my personal favorite), arbitrarily assign points for various attributes, be they bows, lace, or sequins. Otherwise, you can examine the relationship between heel-height and degree of tottering, or even tally the number of people wearing platform shoes with unbuckled straps (how they walk in such a state is entirely beyond me). Another fun case study is to survey the relationship between multi-hitters—in this case, women wobbling in sky-reaching bejeweled, lacy heels with bows—and purse-holding, crutch boyfriends (note that when I say “crutch,” I mean it quite literally; remove the man’s supportive arm and she’ll surely topple over like a poorly-constructed Jenga set).

But let’s take a moment to go back to the ensembles. As an art major and a former Banana Republic sales associate, the entire outfit is, of course, quite important. Hypothesizing how Item A and Item B were selected is almost always a fun brainteaser. My current existing theories include 1) Dressing in the dark; 2) A highly experimental Arp-inspired clothing collage—i.e., throwing clothing and accessories on the floor, and allowing chance and gravity to determine the result. The alternative—that the pink, frilly flower-print dress was in fact intended to be paired with the green, sparkly flower-print flats—is honestly a bit too much to bear.

Perhaps I’m being a tad bit harsh. Let me clarify by saying that not everyone is bizarrely dressed, especially not with the rise of the upper-echelon and 名牌--name brands. Fashion is certainly changing here. After all, the true test for the popularity of any given trend is whether they’ve started making cheap knockoffs in China.

Which brings me to my earlier point, which is the fact that Chinese fashion is in a constant state of flux. Having spent time here summer of 2008, I prepared for my return trip with longer skirts and modest necklines. I remember being flummoxed by the girls in the height of summer wearing jeans and t-shirts. Just the thought of any additional or unnecessary fabric makes me schvitz.

While there’s still quite a bit of that modesty, you wouldn’t believe how things have changed since then. The hemlines have jumped to an unseemly degree, and are coupled with high heels to boot! Of course, the effect is a bit different on a twiggy, anorexic Chinese girl than it would be on her better-nourished, more buxom counterpart. All the same, I wouldn’t have guessed.

In sum, the one rule for fashion—like for the rest of China—is that there are no rules. The fashion question has no answer. For a brief introduction, you can check out this blog: Accidental Chinese Hipsters.

Enjoy!