Retail therapy, Chinese style

Everyone who knows me  knows I love shopping (I've been accused of being a shopaholic, which is simply not true! I only buy what I need. And I can stop whenever I want). Before arriving in China, I'd been told clothing was cheap, but then China was still a blurry alien planet in my mind which wouldn't house anything as mundane as clothing stores. Someone reassured me that I shouldn't worry "because they have Armani and Prada everywhere in China." Right. Because it's like I can afford that kind of stuff. In China of all places. But we'll get to this.

When I arrived, I was pleased by the presence of H&M and Zara. Globalized retail within reach.
As I began to explore more, I became more aware of real "Made in China" clothing. I mentioned before that Chinese fashion is weird for my taste. Lots of frills, lace, sequins, cutesy designs, shiny bright colours that do the Caucasian complexion no favours. Good luck finding a simple, plain jacket or shirt or, for the matter, a skirt that's at least knee length, never mind longer. That's another thing, tiny mini skirts and hot pants (worn with tights underneath) are all the rage. It seems that the era of the blue and green Mao jackets and matching trousers is gone for good.

Still, perusing markets and malls leads to interesting discoveries and cute items-- at truly ridiculous prizes. We're talking the equivalent of six or seven euros per item. Which leads to the question of brands, and to perspective. Never mind Armani. You know H&M? The place you go to get cheap, if not amazing-quality clothing? Well, it starts feeling like Armani in comparison.

Another thing: the Chinese like to bargain. Hard, apparently. I consider myself a decent, though not exceptional bargainer, I'm from the Mediterranean after all. But I still don't feel up to it here, mainly because of the language barrier. Ok, I can say numbers, but can't pull the I'm-on-a-budget number. So right now, either I consider the price acceptable or I don't and just leave the item where I found it. As usual, we'll see how things progress.