This one needs a bit of an explanation. Over the recent years, with the increasing influence of western fashion trends, food etc. a lot of things get lost in translation in between. Chinese fashion from a very traditional and reserved look to…..overkill. (although the older I get the weirder the clothes everywhere seem to look) A lot of things look as if some fashion designer in China looked at a fashion show from New York or whatnot, and decided those really creative outfits are what people elsewhere wear on a daily basis. And the young generation in smaller towns seems to have really jumped at this. Or at least in mid sized towns (not the main mega metropol cities). As a result, some outfits can be quite shocking, and age seems to have no effect on style. Very often, my 50+ year old coworkers will wear extreme stilettos, fish nets and perhaps a tutu with some weird lace shirt. Throw is some random beadwork and sewed-in jewelry and you’re almost there! By contrast, what I wear looks very boring, and colourless.

With all that said, there are still certain stigmas to what is considered appropriate, and what comes off as borderline pornographic. Chinese ladies have lovely legs, and mini skirts to the point of ass cheeks are totally acceptable. Shoulders and cleavage on the other hand are a big NO-NO. And while I respect things the way they are and you will see the odd girl in a sleeveless high-collar shirt, wearing long sleeves in 38 degree heat is just not practical!

PS: On another note, I am looking for some help translating my comic into proper Chinese (not my stuttering attempt or the russian roulette which is also called google translate) as I have not yet had much opportunity to show this work in China and am really curious to how people other than my friends would react. If you are keen to help please do message or comment, we can talk a bit of business!