Questionable?? Asian fashion choices

I am Chinese, and this means, supposedly I should be able to shop for up to six or seven hours on stilettos that can probably kill a person due to how pointy it is. I need that level of tenacity. I need to train myself to wear heels for hours on end, since I'm failing miserably at it now, and I just choose to wear trainers all day every day.

And supposedly, as a Chinese person, I do not understand the concept of winter or snow or hail or rain since I will be wearing skirts and short shorts even when it's negative 20 degrees.

This also means I like outfits with bright colors - extremely bright colors, on things that shouldn't be brightly colored…like Uggs. So obviously the words 'monochrome chic' does not exist in China when everyone is trying to dress up as the brightest lightbulb in the room, or you know, a Christmas tree.

I also like my accessories extremely bright and pink too, that is, my MCM backpack.

All kidding aside, I am maybe allergic to color, as my wardrobe in the winter consists of black, and maybe muted creams or whites, but mostly black. In the summer, I dress more lightly colored, just to enjoy some of that summer spirit and not be a grumpy old hag all the time.

The thing is, I like color. I like color a lot, but it is extremely hard to wear color without blinding everyone that comes into your way or to wear color without looking like an overgrown fruitcake.

I would think that I need to eat some courage pills if I ever had to wear bright blue Uggs with a pink sweater and a pink MCM back and maybe that pink quilted Chanel bag.

That brings to me another point - brands. Why is it that as long as something is branded (YSL, or Gucci, or LV, or Chanel), then it is automatically stylish and fashionable? It's not. Also can I say that that big luxury logo on your leather bag? Tacky. Tacky as hell. Well…unless you can work it, in some way that's not mildly insulting to the rest of the public.

I never understood big logos on shirts, or bags, or anywhere, it just screams 'loud' and 'notice me', and I've always been a little bit more on the understated side.

Despite how much I dislike some fashion choices that people make, there are some people who can work everything I've said previously extremely well, wearing those Play: Comme des Garcons shirts and those BAPE hoodies that would put everything I've previously sad to shame. It's all on how someone styles something and what message they wish to convey through their clothes.

So, wear what you love, love what you wear, and if you like color, then wear the hell out of it. Be comfortable with the color you wear, even if you do look like a traffic light. I've told myself numerous times to branch out and dive into color, but it's all about the baby steps, you never know, maybe one day I'll step out looking like a fruit cake, and I'll love it.

 ♚ Yushi

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Let's talk about manbuns

Well I can't really explain why it's happening, but I know for sure that it is happening. Like the plague working its way through Europe in the Dark Ages, this trend is permeating every aspect of fashion and corrupting every catalog. Buzzfeed (the love of my life) says it's part of the lumber sexual look. But is it really???

Yushi and I question the purpose of this look and all the people that follow it without looking into the process first. What is the point of the small knot on your head that's barely visible? There is no purpose. I can barely see it, and when I do, I question the purpose of life.

But perhaps the purpose of the manbun is the same as the purpose of the ant. It's practically invisible, but when there's a crowd of them, it's weird and unnerving.

I'm being a hater. But as the old saying goes, hater's gotta hate and potaters gotta potate.

♚ Cindy

Let's talk about New Balance

Good morning y'all. Today is about a pair of shoes I can't live without.

My pair of go-to shoes is a pair of New Balance WR996 that I bought a year ago. It's navy blue with tiny little flowers in a multitude of colors like red, orange, yellow, and it's a pretty darn girly sneaker.  It doesn't really dress up an outfit, but it sure can dress down one and in a super casual outfit city like Toronto, Canada, that's certainly useful. You don't see ladies wearing flowing chiffon dresses with three inch high heels, but I sure can wear a chiffon dress with my New Balance sneakers.

Except, I realize that no one in Toronto really wears New Balance. In winter I mainly see Uggs, and in summer I mainly see Toms or Keds or the like, I see boat shoes and docs, but no sneakers. That makes sense since New Balance is hardly a brand that Canadians are raving about.

And since I bought these pairs of NB in China, where it's the shoe that youngsters and hipsters alike choose to wear on a day to day basis I feel pretty out of place when the streets aren't wearing it in Canada. But that's granted given how Canada views New Balance.

In China, the marketing of these shoes are targeted towards youngsters, with commercials that have plotlines about falling in love and pretty people wearing pretty shoes. You don't see New Balance running shoes geared towards running performance in commercials, you see the common shoe styles that are more for walking or casual wear (e.g. NB 574). At a point, New Balance has become a fashion sneaker rather than a running shoe in China.

When you look at the Instagram of various New Balance. The shoes that are heavily advertised in Canada are performance running shoes whereas in Asia (since China has blocked Instagram) you see an emphasis on casual every day shoes with style and comfort placed as a factor before performance running.

Though, what really gets me hooked onto New Balance is their commercials. Brilliantly made, they're called "mini movies" in China and features a story line with actors in it all wearing New Balance shoes. Before I know it, I've been brainwashed into liking a certain pair in a certain frame. Pretty colors, muted film, and a soundtrack that is ethereal and calming, with a script that is sometimes funny, sometimes inspirational, and often thought provoking. New Balance in China puts more effort into their advertising campaigns more than anything else.

When I give into a commercial of New Balance, I'm not giving into pretty shoes, I'm giving into this lifestyle, this image, and this feeling. 

I'm a sucker for fashion and comfort, and a sneaker that is able to be pretty and that lets me power through the day is a win win in my book.

My favorite shoe is definitely the 996 for girls which has a variety of colors, prints and designs. It's a thinner shoe compared to the 574 (the most common style number). The 574 has probably the most variety, with new designs every season. It also has the most shoe sizes so many couples opt to match with the 574. I've also been liking the 1300jp, the newer 580, 999 (the lavender ones look sweet), and 1400.

If you want to learn more about the different style numbers of New Balance shoes, check this out: A Quick Guide to New Balance mathematics.

These are my own pair of New Balance:

They're a little beat up, but I still love them.

♚ Yushi