Shanghai Style

The women in Shanghai are gorgeous: most are slim, crisp and fresh in daunting (hot and humid) conditions, confident, smiling, and flirtatious, and move gracefully. They dress either in a sleek and sophisticated way with dress designs more from Vogue than Walmart: interesting cuts and draping without being flashy; or slim pants and edgy t-shirts. The men-- pants and t-shirts. Only a few jeans. The t-shirts have English text which often does not make sense, even as mistranslations.On the train, I was sitting next to a girl of about six. Even then, I could see in the way she walked and ran, and expressed herself generally, an affected  adorableness and cute/perkiness. Not that she wasn't naturally that way, but there was something in her that seemed clear that she had learned certain ways of projecting her persona. For girls, the graphic themes on clothes are a kind of self-conscious vacuous, romantic optimism: a picture of a fairy/elf in a forest and the text: pleasure-- a promise of happiness. Or: Love is a Beautiful Wonderful. It seems to preclude anyone, including the girls themselves, taking them seriously. Sort of like here. Maybe they don't realize or understand what the words are about, and it is just a brand name. Boys are more varied, and often seem to be mashups or remixes of other phrases. Brend New. I'm a Gooner to Death. Hello Teacher; Good Horning; Goodbye. I'm Captain Santa-- come with me to Santa Island. A tourguide wearing an official looking baseball cap: NYMPH Police, which at first glance looked like NYPD. A girl's top that said: Stockings things/women's thigh things/ thighs are our own/ belonging. And many more.

Beijing lacks the glamor. It's more a Walmart crowd, and the women move and sit more like cows. When they dress up, they wear garish makeup and strange ruffly, chiffony party dresses-- like first communion dresses only in crayon colors. And Beijing women do not move with the willowy grace of their southern sisters. They are more bovine in aspect-- plop down in their seats with knees apart, no flirtatious interaction. So different! Supposedly they are more occupied with political and theoretical issues. But I think that Jacob's idea that matters of sensuality and esthetics take on more importance in more tropical venues might be closer to the truth.