chinese fashion in time for the olympics

i have had these pics for a while and since the olympics are going on it is the perfect time to talk about chinese fashion.. well vintage chinese opera fashion. i'm not sure if these were everyday clothing from this era. looking at these pictures you realize how much history and detail must have gone into these outfits. being american it makes me feel like my culture is so plain when it comes to fashion. when i go shopping my boyfriend always rags on me for saying "this is plain" to almost everything i look at. the u.s. was founded by puritans with the "less is more" mentality and you can see that reflected in our fashion up till now. it sort of makes me sad that a lot of countries have adopted america's clothing style because they lose so much of their history and culture. i don't want to put down american fashion but i just get frustrated when i go to the mall and i can't find anything i like! i hate clothing with a lack of details! i guess i just have more expensive tastes and need to go on a shopping trip to nyc! you know, its really hard to live here and have the fashion taste i do :(

back to chinese fashion. i would totally wear the 1st outfit minus the headdress (it looks heavy) in public. the headdress is pretty awesome though. i'm going to make another blog soon about how i wish more people wore hats and other head ornaments. i want a hat with a peacock feather myself!