Dressing in China

One of the most interesting things about Shanghai has been the weather. It's incredibly hot and humid, but very cloudy all the time and often rains. Consquently, many of the clothes I brought across have proved somewhere between unwieldy (jumpers) and totally unwearable (long jacket).

However, after two weeks here, I'm beginning to work out how to dress her, and present: Jack's Rules to Dressing in China:

1) THE GOLDEN RULE: Always wear a vest or t-shirt under your top layer. Chinese people CANNOT understand this and will tell you that you're wearing too much. They don't seem to appreciate quite how unattractive those sweatty patches make them look. (Daughter tells me baby powder works as a substitute, I haven't got round to experimenting yet)

2) It's incredibly hot here, so shower lots and drink LOTS. However, be aware that after either of these you will sweat lots for about 30 mins, so if possible time showers at least this long before you leave the house, and drink steadily - not in bursts. Also, drink water and not all the sugery 'ice tea' they have here, but buy local water - I accidentally bought an evian the other day, it costs 'usual' Eropean price - about 20* as much as local water!

3) (nice) shorts are acceptable, short sleeve shirts are not! It seems impossible to get long sleeve shirts here (although ironically the first thing I do is roll the sleeves up!), there are so many nice shirts at bargain prices even in the really nice shops, but they're all short sleeves! Such a shame.

4) According to my guide book, the best clothes to buy are the ones that say 'Made in China' on them. No self respecting Chinese would ever buy such an item, so all the fakes say 'Made in Italy' or 'Made in USA' on them, leaving the good quality factory extras in the bargain bin

5) Invest in shoes. (And know wither your European or US size - British sizes mea nothing here!) 'Sneakers' (trainers) are the popular choice for walking around the city in here, don't join the trend! Get some nice shoes or sandals. There are LOTS of choices and some very nice ones at every shop I've been in.

6) Foreigners have it easy. The locals automatically think what you're wear is fashionable - just stear clear of t-shirts and don't be afraid to smarten it up a notch for formalities (suit + tie goes down a treat)

7) Learn how to use washing machines and how to wash clothes by hand before you leave home. Ours has a wash functon, then we rinse by hand, then it spins, then we dry. I and a friend have both lost clothes that were blown of the drying line, so invest in pegs and be careful!

8) Remember the golden rule. Also carry an umbrella and don't trust the weather forcast! (This really goes for everywhere - does weather forcast ever have any point except filling up time on the news and giving us things to talk about?)




Lfe update: Dragonboating yesterday was great fun, my technique is improving and I ache a lot less today than last week. Spent saturday wondering the city centre, love it! Going clubbing with some expats on Wednesday, can't wait. New experiment to start in the lab today, should be fun.