Níhao,
As I have mentioned in my first post, I am hoping to pursue fashion as a career in graduate school. I am so in love with fashion and the way that it makes people feel. Yet throughout this blog, I haven’t really spent too much time focusing on it as a topic.
I am amazed at how well everyone dresses in China compared to the U.S. I’ve seen patterns of which I never thought could be paired together, yet people rock it here.
One of the very interesting aspects of Chinese fashion and overall beauty standards is the idea of masculinity. In the U.S, we have this very strict idea of a man and how he should present himself. More than likely while you are reading this, you’re imagining a tall, muscular guy, with dark hair and light eyes — maybe he even has a beard.You get the gist. There’s this idea of hyper masculinity that we envision..
Well, in China, that whole ideal is completely crushed. The men that are used in fashion ads or just campaigns in general are very pretty. By pretty, I mean that they have very soft features to their faces, and their eyes are very gentle.
Another thing that I’ve noticed is the usage of purses. Purses, purses, purses. The first time I walked the streets of Beijing, I noticed a guy around my age walking with a Chanel Classic Flap purse. Of course, I was shocked at first because in the U.S., that is frowned upon. As this trip has gone on, I’ve been noticing it even more. It’s really not surprising to see men walking around with a Chanel, Valentino or Chloé purse. It turns out that not only is it seen as fashion forward here, but also as being more practical. Why stuff everything in your pockets when you can have a nice bag to place your belongings? I’ve absolutely grown to love fashion here in China, and I’ve already started researching fashion schools in Shanghai.
Walking the streets of Guangzhou was very hot. Literally. The temperature stayed in the 90s and the humidity was in the 90th percentile, so needless to say it’s not a hard task to do some sweating around here.
Guangzhou’s architecture is a bit different from the architecture that we had seen earlier within this trip. This probably has a lot to do with the extreme need for ventilation, but the southern region is definitely more tropical and more westernized. This portion of China was also inhabited by French and British settlers for many decades, so one can see the influence.
Tomorrow is the very last day here in China, which saddens me. I feel as though this amazing experience has gone by so fast, and I’m not ready to leave.
Tomorrow, we are going to the zoo to see the pandas, a Buddhist temple and possibly some last minute shopping. I definitely look forward to it! Until next time, zijian!
