Let's be real - I'm no fashionista (if I brought 12 pairs of shorts, one pair of jeans, 6 plain t-shirts, and 10 tank tops, how many different outfit combinations can I make before I finally have to do my laundry?). But, if I could use one word to describe the fashion choices of the Chinese, it would be...
eclectic. I now understand why.
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| Mucho faster than el El. |
I hopped on the subway train with some of my fellow public health students and traveled a few stops to a multi-story "wholesale clothing market" on Thursday afternoon. It was my first time taking the subway in Beijing! It was really easy because everything was written in both Chinese and English. The Jinkailide Wholesale Clothing Market resembled an indoor flea market in the states, and it contained what can only be described as the most
schizophrenic collection of clothes I have ever seen. It was kind of like being in Forever 21, only much tackier and cheaper (everything's not only made in China, but like...being sold in China!).
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| The sequin store was my favorite! |
There were ENDLESS halls of little shops, each selling pretty similar things. All of the girls in our group went home with something except for me, though I did spot a few cute things. Because shopping here does takes a lot of patience and a good chunk of time, I plan to return on another free afternoon (finally! clothing tailored to the Asian body type!). Some shops allowed us to bargain, and ALL the store owners were
very aggressive about selling their products. Also, as indicated by the subway picture above and the following pictures below, I've perfected the art of taking no-flash creeper pictures for my blog. The only downside is that they all come out a little blurry :(
And now, prepare yourself for an assault on your eyes and/or sense of good taste:
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| A dizzying display of colors. Even the shoppers' shirts were patterned, gah! |
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| A jungle of handbags... |
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| ...and a sea of jeans. |
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| There was a selection of traditional styles... |
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| ...and, er, a nice variety of some more untraditional styles as well. |
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| A wall of matching his-and-hers t-shirts. Say, how do you feel about bunnies, Omar? |
Oh, shopping in China. I can't decide if I really miss it. One of my best friends bought a 'couple' shirt with me once. Hers said "I only eat, I do not do the dishes" and mine said the opposite, but of course in Chinese. One of the better places I found to shop was Ya-Show in Sanlitunr, but I don't know if it's still there or not...very tourist-y and you HAVE to bargain.
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