Speaking of my peers, the middle-class 30 - 60 year olds, there seem to be three main warm-weather looks with one additional bizarre but not uncommon habit. By far the most common style is a synthetic blouse, usually in a print, over a dark pair of pants. Jeans are uncommon except for college students. Women never seem to tuck in blouses into pants. When it gets a bit chillier, you add a vest--possibly handknit--to this ensemble. When it gets significantly colder, we all put on layers of cotton long underwear and sweaters.

The second look, hyperprofessional, also features synthetics. Right now, bright teal and shades of orange seem to be the top women's fashion colors, although black is also quite popular. Matching jacket and skirt, or sometimes pants, seem more prevalent than coordinated (or just plan mismatched) pieces. Once the weather got colder, the length of many skirts plummeted. Maxi-skirts are still in fashion in China. I suspect this is because they conceal long underwear. At least that's what I wear under my recently acquired ankle-length jumper.

To our surprise, some women who are clearly respectable matrons (the wife of the owner of the Internet Cafe, for instance) dress in what we would consider a whorish manner: miniskirts so short they barely cover one's butt, skin-tight slinky tops, filmy see-though blouses (admittedly worn with bras so solid they may as well be made of spun steel), etc. It also seems acceptable to wear what we would consider a cocktail dress (a v-necked white satin number comes to mind) while engaging in everyday activities such as bicycling or shopping for vegetables. The other foreigners are always comparing notes on when and where they spotted prostitutes, but honestly, with so many women wearing slut fashion, I can't even begin to guess who is a pro and who just has bad taste.

Not as common as these other styles, but prevalent enough that we see some everyday, is pajamas worn as regular clothing. (This is even more common in Vietnam.) I am not talking about outfits that are sort of like pajamas. These ARE pajamas! John has observed that underwear is worn underneath. Interestingly, in colder weather, a bathrobe is not considered appropriate outerwear. Instead, one wears woolen clothing *under* the pajamas!

But getting back to warm weather--since I only brought four short-sleeved tops with me, during our second or third week here I decided it was time to expand my wardrobe if only to keep us from having to do laundry so often (I promise you details sometime of THAT process). I know Filene's Basement must have alerted the three women's clothing shops in Bailongsi to my arrival, because when I finally ventured in, they were *very* excited. I explained in Chinese (using the correct measure word for upper body clothing, tongxuemen) that I was looking for a shirt like the one I was wearing, that I didn't like writing on shirts, nor did I want a picture on my shirt. "Mei you" (don't have) although that didn't stop them from showing me every women's shirt they did have. When I did find a suitable shirt downtown (100% cotton in a nice color no less) it cost less than $2! Really nice clothing, such as the silk & cotton sweater I bought, is only a little less expensive than a good Filene's Basement discovery, but eminently affordable.

Many of you will remember that John pointed out I was bringing more shoes to China than he even owned. And it's a good thing I did, although all this red clay dust is hell on nubuck. Shoes do not generally resemble American styles and I will refrain from further evaluation here.

Now let's talk about hair. Since Kunming is kind of a Chinese backwater, and Bailongsi is Kunming's backwater, we see many fewer bad perms than in Beijing, Shanghai, or Hong Kong. Long hair on middle-aged women is much more common than in the U.S. Even in our village, you can buy an incredible variety of hair doodads such as barrettes, scrunchies, banana clips. etc. Bobby pins only come in black. Young and middle aged women alike sometimes lighten or streak their hair to a dark red. We are surprised at how very, very few people have grey hair. We see hair dye sold; maybe we just can't recognize its use.

Sunglasses are extremely rare. I could count on one hand the number I've seen worn by Chinese women here (once the rainy season ended, most days are sunny and really, really bright). However, using a regular umbrella as a sun parasol is very common, and many women wear straw sunhats. I was nagged so often about wearing a sunhat that I finally relented and bought one. If you are wondering how they manage to bicycle while wearing that kind of hat, I can tell you that we often see hats fly off heads along the bike lane. Bicycle helmets do not exist, but motorcycle helmets do. They are about as sturdy as the toy helmets children use when pretending they are construction workers.

Now let me mention of my all-time favorite Chinese clothing: rain ponchos for bicyclists. Don't think about American rain ponchos; these are designed *well*. The hood fits snugly enough to truly keep out rain and make you look like a dork. The front is much longer than the back, long enough to completely cover your hands, handlebars, and even the basket in front of your bike. (Motorcycle ponchos have a clear vinyl section so the headlight can shine through, and two openings for the handlebar mirrors to protrude from the poncho.) The back of the poncho amply covers your butt, but the sides are shorter so nothing interferes with pedaling. The whole thing is better fitted than American ponchos--no excess folds. They cost about $4, which is not dirt cheap here, but they are essential because bicycling has to take place in all weather. Bright primary colors are most common and I am truly now Little Red Riding Hood, but John opted for tasteful navy blue.

At the risk of offending our Chinese readers, I must confess that my opinion of Chinese fashion on previous visits, and during our first month here, was that it is utterly appalling. But during our second month, I began to think that some of the outfits I saw were kind of attractive. I started to think that having a little embroidered panda on the bottom of my new shirt wasn't THAT dorky. I bought a pair of apple-printed pajamas that manage to feature a teddy bear applique, a embroidered message containing both English and Chinese nonsensical words, *and* ruffled pockets. Women's sleepwear here is all so goofy-looking that I suspect it is part of a larger plan to reduce the birthrate, but nonetheless, I bought into it! Interestingly, it is John who eyes my prospective purchases and says, "You would never wear this in Cambridge. I don't know what has come over you!"

Girlfriends, I'm counting on you to screen my wardrobe when I return!