You're SO FASHION!

Just came back from shopping here in ZhuZhou,  the shopping center of Hunan Province:)  haha,  everyone is so "fashion" here,  makes my tshirt and jeans seem out of place.  I know I come from a pretty conservative state and culture,  but i walk down the street here in ZhuZhou and I just wonder....

(said in whatever bratty accent you care to imagine)  "Girl,  what are you wearing?!??"

Its crazy,  Chinese fashion.  I just don't understand it!  Its so.......  cute.  and cute as in fluffy and shiny things,  cute as in a forty year old lady walking around with a hello kitty purse.  Cute as in sneakers with bunny ears as the tongue of the shoe.  Cute.  They dress like little girls.  It confuses me.  As a Latina,  we dress up to look good.  As in gooood.  High heels and lip gloss,  cuz we're women,  and we show it.  Its crazy how the idea of beauty changes wherever you go....but that's another blog in and of itself.  

When I came to China I was all sorts of confused.  Do they look in the mirror before they walk outside?  I remember thinking to myself in my first few weeks.  I see now that being in a city like ZhuZhou we're going to find all different kinds of people and fashions.  Being here for five months has changed my perspective on some things,  as in I like alot of the outfits I now see walking down the sidewalk,  but time has also given me more questions and confusion.  

Are they trying to overcompensate for something?  

My theory is that since everyone looks so similar here (most everyone in this part of China is Han)  they dress so extravagant so that they can have their own individuality.  In the US,  we have diversity in appearance so our looks already play a part in showing who we are.  The Chinese don't have the luxury of diversity so they have to make their statements in different ways,  starting with clothes.  

Why is it okay to wear tiny tiny skirts and see-through tops?  

Foreign girls get told off for dressing the way we do sometimes.  I've been told that women "should wear more clothes so that men can imagine what is underneath".  Welllll,  if men here have such a good imagination,  why do the women dress so provocatively and its okay with everyone???  

Why try to be western when you can be yourself?

I think there are different kinds of Chinese girls here.  Those that are very traditional and very Chinese,  as in more conservative in their way of thinking and dressing.  And on the other hand there are also those girls that try to be "western".  They try to imitate Gossip Girl because that is what they think all Americans dress like.  They see whats in the media and try to be the image of beauty that the media promotes.  Thats TV,  its not real. Its all so messed up!  

People are different no matter where you go,  as a foreigner in China I"m trying to understand the why and what of the cultural differences here.  Little by little.