It feels so wonderful to be back home after only three weeks in China. I hate how much of your blogs I've had to miss and I feel like I'll never catch up; those of you following me on twitter (which I'm still getting the hang of using!) know that in China the website Blogger.com and most other blogging websites are blocked! I don't want to bore anyone by making them look at a hundred pictures of China-- forced slideshow viewings are the domain of the ever suffering families and boyfriends in my opinion, but if you're really interested you can check them out on flickr and facebook. For the rest of you, I'll sum up my trip in terms you can truly relate to: an outfit!
Blouse: Chengdu Fashion Market
Satchel: Shanghai Antique Market
Traditional style slippers: Chengdu
Jade bracelet: Beijing Jade Factory
Leggings: long story. Got them for free from Emory University Dorm dump, an adventure you can read about on my fellow dumpster diver's blog Crafty Cortney.
We started out our trip with a few days in Shanghai. We stayed on a busy pedestrian strip full of shops and restaurants and beautiful well-dressed people on their way to fashionable important places. The city lights and the style watching was the best in Shanghai. One day we went to an Antique Market that was mostly full of kitschy Chairman Mao memorabilia and some flat out fakes of older things. This is where I bought my vintage carpet-bag satchel.
The next place we went was Chengdu, in Sichuan provence where we attended the main attraction (not to mention the original purpose) of our voyage to China: the wedding of our Chinese friends!
This is "David" and "Spring" throwing the bouquet during the first half of the wedding which was very western. The second half she changed into a red dress which is the traditional chinese wedding color. I'm the fine honey in the background with the sparkly red dress.
Though it's a smaller and lesser-known town (maybe better well known now due to the earthquake) we had the best time here because we had all these lovely sweet Chinese friends to take us to all the best places and make sure we didn't lift a finger! The bride, Spring, took me shopping at her favorite cheapest place where I got my shirt. Read it a little more closely:
That's right, I am a supporter of "OKLAHONA FOOTEALL!" This kind of fractured English was all over the place in China and we enjoyed warning signs in our hotel bathrooms that said things like "Careful, Landslip" and tea shops with signs reading "you can attempt have any tea prior to buy." Young people like to wear shirts with English writing on them, but often, like the shirt I bought, the words are little more than gibberish. Maybe it's the English major in me, but I love it.
I also bought my chinese slippers in Chengdu. One of my favorite fashion statements in China was when girls and women would wear trendy modern clothes with these traditional shoes.
Our last stop before heading home was in Beijing, because of course we couldn't leave China without seeing the major tourist attractions of the country! The pink umbrella I bought from a street vendor in Tiananmen Square (famous for the 1989 student massacres that you've probably been hearing about in the news lately). It was an emergency buy! The weather was in the 90s (30s for you Celsius lovers) and I couldn't find a drop of sunscreen for what I like to refer to as my porcelain complexion. Pale skin is considered a sign of beauty in China, so lots of women walk around with umbrellas in the middle of a sunny day, so that's what I did. I have to say, it's a clever thing to do. Like carrying your own portable shade with you everywhere you go!
My umbrella coming in handy on the Great Wall of China.
This last photo represents my three major obsessions while I was in China: delicious tea, fashion magazines that I couldn't read, and pandas!!
Jasmine tea ball that blooms when you add water.
A picture is worth a thousand words anyway.
Pandas doing what they do best at the Breeding and Research Center in Chengdu.
Can't wait to find out how everyone else has been spending their summers!
23 comments:
So happy you had such an awesome and safe trip! I have a pair of those traditional Chinese flats, they are super comfy! I also love "reading" fashion magazines in asian languages I can't understand! Lol
xo
Sophie
Adorable finds! Sounds like you had a great time.
P.S. My red shoes are from Chinatown, not China...I wish it was the latter. :)
What a wonderful trip! Thanks for sharing your experience and photos! Loooooove your hair and those fab flats! Welcome back, darling :)
xoxox,
CC
It sounds like you had an awesome trip! I love your satchel, and think its really cool you're into dumpster diving.
Thanks for stopping by my blog! And yes I adore Noir! Though my all time fave will always be DNAngel. I have to update my anime blog, I've been kinda neglecting it. =(
xo
Sophie
Lovely recap!! Yes I did miss your blog posts I have to sy. That shot of your umbrella on the great wall is epicly beautiful. :-)
this was so much fun to read! As hard as it can be to come home from a fun trip, I have to say I'm selfishly happy to have you back in my blogfeed!
those pandas are the cutest!
wonderful finds! and is your tattoo on your foot hebrew? may i ask what is says?
sounds like you had a fantastic time!
The pandas look like they're really enjoying a good life.
How fun!! Sounds like such a great trip! I would love to go to China some day. My dad's family is from the south (closer to Hong Kong)- but I'd love to see the whole country.
Your pics are lovely- those pandas' rock ;)
Oh and I always got a kick out of English mispelling on tees. Spain does the same thing. It makes me think of all the Asian characters that we have here (on tees and tattoos) that probably say things like "liver paste" and not "eternal happiness."
lovley clutch
I'm so glad you got the opportunity to visit China! I have so many memories from China, that I couldn't go into here... but it was a big time in my life. It's gorgeous there, and you brought some of its gorgeousness back!!! ^_^
You look darling, and welcome back!!!
love the flats!
http://pinkchampagnefashion.blogspot.com/
How AWESOME! Would love to go one day :) And Okalhona Footeall is my fav sport!
GUESS WHAT??? YOU WON!! YAY! That's right, come to my blog and pick which dress you would like (it's between the two Forever 21 ones :) CONRGATS! (as they say in China)
Hi love! Just wanted to invite you to enter my blog giveaway. I'll be giving away 2 headbands from my Gossip collection.^-^
xo
Sophie
great finds! you have a wonderful style, totally digging your blog <3!
Ah, my summer.
Dance, interning, summer homework, interning, dance, summer homework, dance...
Haha :)
bisous,
La C.
Wow! You trip sounds so exotic and exciting! I hope one day to visit China! What an experience, eh?
Thank you so much for you wishes on my engagement! You are so sweet:) thanks ...
xoxo
Mimi
thanks for sharing these! love that carpet bag, the pics of your shadow and of the newlywdes. i missed chengdu before the earthquake disaster (heard the shopping's great). when i was in tibet few years back, i took pictures of hotel instructions that sounded all wrong. haha.
Looks like you had the best time! What amazing pictures! Im so jealous. Your outfit is fantastic. I bet you love owning pieces of clothing that you know noone back here in the states will have. Glad to have you back in the blogosphere!
xoxo
cya girly
have you ever been to engrish.com? I bet you'd get a kick out of it ;)
those slippers, so cute in every way!!
those shoes are so nice. god-damn I want some!
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