One thing is clear - the Chinese love bling. Any kind of bling. Gold, gilt, rhinestones, crystals, sparkles, satin. And they like bling on everything - clothes, furniture, wallpaper, nails, shoes...
It is really quite remarkable. And I can't stop staring at it. I am slowly being initiated into all things bling courtesy of my team - they are all women and mostly young. And each of them displays a love of all things shiny that I am coming to understand is the Chinese aesthetic. Here are some glimpses of the bling I have encountered:
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| This is the cell phone cover from one of the girls on my team. It is relatively mild as far as these things go. I am planning a separate blog on cell phone covers in China. |
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| We like to call this style of decor Chinese Baroque - it is an homage to the ornate, gilded decor of another era - and prevalent in so many Chinese homes I have seen. Many of the apartment choices we see have an over abundance of this style. We have taken to asking to only see apartments in Ikea Style. |
Two areas where I see the most "bling" are in shoes (particularly sandals) and nails. The sandals range from the simple flip flop with rhinestones/ crystals on them to elaborately beaded designs. Here are a selection from my team (with one observed at the nail salon). These shoes are part of every day wear and do not seem to come out only on dress-up occasions. In fact, the girls on my team keep these sandals under their desk to wear when their "office shoes" hurt their feet.
Absolutely the best place to observe the bling is in the nail art that so many Chinese women wear. I understand this is a trend that spans the globe but I do think that the Chinese do this best. You can have glitter and diamonds and bows stuck on your nails - in any colour imaginable. In fact, I am becoming a little bit local - the red nails below (with the gold sparkles below) are my "Happy National Day" nails since they rock the colours of the Chinese flag.
I will admit that my team has been pushing me towards these and even now I feel very uncomfortable with them - they are way more bling that is really me. They seem to be wearing me down though and the next time you see me I may be sporting some diamonds and bows.
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| Some of the choices in the nail salon. |
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| My current bling |
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| The lovely Sophia rocking some bows on her fingers, including a bow on that finger! |
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| A bit hard to see but she has a row of crystals along her cuticle. |
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| Adding on some bows - notice the pinky is all glitter too |
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| And some on the toes! |
It is really remarkable what they can put glitter on. And I afraid I am starting to like it.
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