Go on, it’s okay to judge…
Nationality? Occupation?
This time I have the answers! Give me your best guess. We’ll see whose best at piecing together this sartorial puzzle.
Show me what you wear, and I’ll tell you who you are
We were all raised by our dear mothers who admonished not to judge a book by its cover and certainly not to assess people by superficial criterion like outward appearance. But the reality is– sorry Mom– we all do it. I don’t place myself in some sartorial ivory tower, nor I do I say that it behooves all of us to jump to capricious closet-based conclusions about a person’s true character. However, I firmly believe that is absolutely permissible to use fashion as a preliminary litmus test to assess people in conjuring up neutral basics like nationality and occupation.
Shanghai is Asia’s melting pot. Surrounded by a smorgasbord of ethnicity from far and wide, I hardly feel like a minority in this city. In Shanghai I am everywhere and nowhere at the same time–which can sometimes feel too fleeting, but I love how this evanescence encourages personal style– anything goes.
Transient, yes. But, are we truly anonymous? Using clothing as clues, I’d like to put the puzzles pieces together in a new segment on SSF:
“Show me what you wear, and I will tell you who you are.”
Go on, tell me. Who are they?
