But I don’t mean the kind of beautiful bikinis you might imagine women wearing at the beach. Instead, picture a typical Chinese man in his 30s or 40s who might be a bit too warm on a hot, humid day. He likely was doing some form of manual labor, likely for work, and is in search of some heat relief.
Now imagine that man is wearing a dirty wifebeater with the bottom of it pulled up to his chest, exposing his midsection. And yes, you guessed it: the midsection is sporting more than a few extra pounds, or should I saw kilos?
This phenomenon is colloquially known as the Beijing Bikini and doing an internet search for it will produce not only many images (click here for several examples) but also some insightful reasoning as to it’s origins.
With temperatures this week reaching the mid- and upper-30s (think 95F-100F), more and more of this fashion statement can be seen in and around Suzhou and other places within the country. It surely puts one into a mood while commuting to the office!
Personally I’m quite happy for this fashion phenomenon. And why might that be? Well it’s better than the alternative of the gentlemen going full-on shirtless…or worse! (Naked people in San Francisco’s Castro District comes to mind…)
very interesting whose knows I might experience this is person next year!
Can’t wait for the next post