Thursday, September 30, 2010

It's National Day y'all!

Yup, it's that time of year again!... The day that the great People's Republic of China was founded.

So I thought I'd celebrate by posting some festive pictures of the times. You see, it was recently also the Mid-Autumn Festival (fondly known as "Mooncake Festival" by some of my rounder American counterparts who enjoy a delicious array of whatever-filling mooncake that are widely available/gifted throughout the country the week prior to the actual date), which was a definite turning point in what people were wearing out and about the streets of Shanghai (due mainly to the weather).

So the lunar and national calendars declared September 22nd, 2010 as "Mid-Autumn Day", and it was definitely Autumn (the day before, it was still full-blown summer). The weather coincidentally(?) dropped more than 10 degrees Celsius, and I felt the first nips of the fall/winter season approaching Shanghai.

So luckily, because of the weather, all the shirts of the pot-bellied Chinese men have all been rolled down before my new camera could snap some shots, so you'll have to wait until next summer to witness this ghastly habit (additionally, I think that the Expo's "harmonization" of the city really has changed people and their habits in Shanghai, but I'll be a better judge in retrospect). But yay!, coats and puffy pajamas have started to re-make their appearance (the pajama-wearing outside thang is another habit that the Expo is trying to eradicate), as this holiday season is all about chillaxin' and beating the cold.


I like her, even though I can't see her face... She's got on an appropriately nationalistic ensemble (what could be more Chinese than wearing your puffy, red pajamas on the street?) while still beating the cold.



The two above examples might not be as color-appropriate as the first (actually, the colors are a bit nauseating to be honest), but at least they be comfy. I mean, that's what this great week is all about, right?! (oh ya, did I forget to mention that EVERYONE in the country has a FULL WEEK off from work?)

So sit back, relax, and, out of solidarity with our brethren, get in your pajamas like them Chinese be doin' this October 1-8:


Don't worry, you can still go buy a fish in your pajamas.


You can still have a ciggy on your scooter in your pajamas.


You can still go to the convenience store in your pajamas.


And you can still watch your country's rapid modernization in your pajamas.

But don't you be fooled... even though these people may look comfy and are technically on vacation right now, they still be workin' (meaning, their still trying to portray their "wealth" with their clothing).

In China, pajamas worn outside of the home very clearly communicate to everyone that the pajama-wearing subject lives nearby (and, if it's a ritzy neighborhood, it declares to others that the subject is "wealthy")... And we know Chinese people like to be very literal and clear-cut with their clothing and how it portrays their "wealth", but I actually prefer this method to mindlessly consuming another LV bag.

So as you consider this National Holiday and general Chinese culture you see here, please consider how our own culture (and clothing culture) is interacting and affecting the Chinese people and their culture. I think that now is a better time than ever to make people aware of the mechanisms of cultural imperialism (in fashion, specifically) so that they can be stopped.

Witness Exhibit A:


Brainwashing Exibit B:


Creating, in the future, something like the creature that is Exhibit C
(awkward gait and all):


So..., cultural imperialism = BAD, nationalism (sometimes) = GOOD

Oh ya...and this final pic is a shout out to all of my Chinese brethren embracing AMURICA:

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