*Source unknown
Shanghai, with all its international amenities, can still be very wearing on an expat, especially after what will soon be 4 years. The heat, noise, strange stinky tofu smell mixed with sewage (or is it urine?), the sidewalk air conditioning units dripping dirty water on my head as I walk, the accidental bumping of my shoulder (twice this morning) and the occasional spitting very close to my feet, leaves me feeling plain old exhausted.
But, when I am smart enough to remember, I have a ‘go-to’ image in my head. I actually have a few, coincidentally most are of fashion capitals around the world, but this is one currently most prevalent. Funny because I recently had a bad tiff with a french woman. Or maybe that is why this is the one in my brain at present.
I think this and I am ok again.
She came into the BeeKeeper shop. She gave me a curious look, with a head tilt, then proceeded to try on some high waisted shorts in the middle of the store. Outside the store, when asked if we could take her photo, she started posing. I suggested maybe away from the telephone?
In our second attempt at a photo we see she has taken it down a notch. Immediately. She tries to convince us, on the other side of the lens, that she is as demure and normal as anyone else. But, clearly, that is not the case. Her outfit may be mediocre to some, but she designed the button up shirt she’s wearing. Much better, I say, than another H&M or Zara piece. Boring. My favorite part of this outfit is the invisible pair of high heels she thinks she has on. She’s practical; she didn’t need to shell out $3600 for a pair of heel-less Antonio Berardi shoes. On her tippy toes, she has a lot of personality that even she can’t hide. And that is the most fashionable thing a person can wear.
After she was gone, I Google Hong Kong-ed her and found out she is a fellow designer. And that her quirky follows her everywhere she goes, and is in everything she touches.
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