Do you dress fashionable when you travel

Discussion in 'Chinese Chat' started by smallrinilady, Aug 16, 2007.

  1. smallrinilady

    smallrinilady Well-Known Member

    If you go to Tawain, China, or HK for a visit
    do you make sure that you dress accordingly? And if so what does that mean?






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    I'm about the make a trip to HK with my friend. I'm an CBC and she's a HK born and raised

    she was over at my place to discuss our trip and for her to borrow some bags and luggage.
    but she kept telling how all these things i was going to bring or use screamed "TOURIST" or "SEE LAI"

    the thing is she normally doesn't care about any of this stuff (while in the USA), but she is too worried about being judged by her old friends and just the people on the street

    for me, becuase I'm not HK born, i CAN be a tourist. just a little annoyed at her trying to 'fix me' and trying to save me from 'embarrassment'. I am fine being oblivious to this stuff.
     
  2. The_Jelly

    The_Jelly NSFW? :P

    In my experiences, trying to look more local or dressing more accordingly just makes you look more like a tourist. I've borrowed my cousin's clothes in HK, I still stand out. I'm also fine about being oblivious to that kinda stuff.
     
  3. dim8sum

    dim8sum ♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪....

    avoid dressing like a tourist cause you will get ripped off... you might get a more authentic experience if people believe your born there

    but then again if you wana play tourist then you should
     
  4. ribsandbbqbeef

    ribsandbbqbeef Well-Known Member

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    I bring at lease one set of nice clothes (button down collared shirt, slacks, tie, and blazer), and the rest are comfortable clothes which may or may not reflect the local culture. If I have something that is very Hong Kongish, I might bring that too.

    My philosophy is that you're on vacation, so you should feel relaxed and comfortable. Wear what you feel good in. If you are a trendy person and only feel good about yourself when you dress up, then by all means do it. If you are like me and prefer jeans, shorts, Tshirts, then do that.

    the nice clothese are in case I go to any up scale establishments so that I don't look out of place.

    Don't worry about looking like a local; even if you look like them, when you go shopping and open your mouth, they will already know you are not from around.
     
  5. nyckeion

    nyckeion ....Boo....

    bleh i dont care i still wear baggy jeans and a t shirt when i go back to hk eveyroen has their own style of clothing ieven in hk i seen ppl wear big shirts and pants its quite diverse there too
     
  6. smallrinilady

    smallrinilady Well-Known Member

    My friend was asking me for a bag to use, one with long straps so she can hang it across her body.
    Well most of my bags/purses have short straps for one shoulder
    so i had a limited of choices for her

    she kept complaining cause the bags i had with long straps either made her look like a tourist or a "see lai"
    she's like dont you have anything smaller?
    and i'm thinking, if i have something smaller, than i would look like a "ah pao" in the US, and that is where i live

    would i rather, all year round look like a old person in US where I live, or for one week of the year look like an old person in HK a place in which i do not live
     
  7. dim8sum

    dim8sum ♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪....

    could always just buy new stuff just for holiday :p
     
  8. EvilAznBoi

    EvilAznBoi Member

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    i agree
    when i go back to FJ i dont even care
    i still wanna wear like a black person and shiz like that
    its just how i am...
    i dont need to prove it to the >.< "inhabitants of China"
     
  9. ProjectD

    ProjectD VIP yay :]

    well i try dressing as fashionable as possible wherever i go, cause i really care about my appearance xD
     
  10. colormyworld

    colormyworld Member

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    i try to look as normal as possible... but because of that i stand out lol b/c my type of normal is probably diff from everyone else
     
  11. PhY pHy

    PhY pHy Well-Known Member

    ^^^that is not posible...i went..and people look...doesnt matter if ur
    pretty or not...they like to look...espeacailly in the *day teet*
    its kinda bad for me cuz i can speak and read chiense so people
    will kinda be like CBC? really? cant tell...
     
  12. lxr

    lxr Active Member

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    When i go to china, i just dress like how i usually do...
    i don't really care how people see me.
    coz you could also be seen as unique :) XD
     
  13. smallrinilady

    smallrinilady Well-Known Member

    really? that is impressive
    i'm CBC
    and as a kid people were amazed at how good my chinese was
    but after i moved to the states for many years to a little town with no chinese people

    my chinese grammer and vocab was still the same
    but i grew an accent
    ~grumble grumble~
     
  14. chi_man

    chi_man Well-Known Member

    I just dress like normally as in dailylife life when Im on vacation.
     
  15. chinesedude421

    chinesedude421 Well-Known Member

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    lol, i try to make myself as fob as possible, but that never seems to work. i dont really dress that fashionable, cuz i bring old clothes to vacation where i can throw them away and buy new clothes in its place to bring back. =D
     
  16. rsx

    rsx Well-Known Member

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    Haha, that just probably means that she sees you as a "SEE LAI" all along but did not criticize you about it. If she's complaining about your bags, why not tell her to just go to some department store and pick one up herself?

    Heck, I would dress however I want and don't give a shat how others view me in THEIR country. The last thing I wanna do is dress like a FOB (or Hong Konger I guess). Wouldn't you find it awkward if every FOB came to America dressing like Americans? And come on.. I can only assume that you'd feel uncomfortable suddenly dressing up as a native Hong Konger, JUST TO FIT IN. You just wouldn't feel right... I know I wouldn't.
    Everyone has their own sense of style, if you believe that you look good in your own style, stick with it. Don't try to blend in because you've been told so.

    Shiet, insult her back when your trip is over and having to return to America. Be like "you're going to look like a see lai in America if you dress like that.. I'd suggest wearing something more American" just to make her feel bad.

    P.S. Btw, you a html programmer or something? <hr /> horizontal lines don't work in normal forums posts.
     
  17. rsx

    rsx Well-Known Member

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    If you're saying this as a native born American or Canadian (or anything besides native Chinese), then I give you my sympathies.
     
  18. THF20

    THF20 is a Chinese

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    Thats actually quite true... I have to agree... lol -cool
     
  19. smallrinilady

    smallrinilady Well-Known Member

    lol that's a good suggetion
    and yes i am a bit of a programmer, thanks for the tip
     
  20. brybie

    brybie Well-Known Member

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    haha always dress presentable at hte least.. you never know when you'll meet your soulmate =O .. the girl of my dreams could be sitting next to me on the airplane =/

    there should be nothing to be embarrassed about even if you do look like tourist.. because vice versa.. they'll look weird too if they went somewhere wearing their local fashion..