Anything goes

Anything goes; something I was recently told on a night out in this wonderfully cosmopolitan and diverse city.  And it’s true: anything really does go here.  Since my arrival I have been surprised by few things, but fashion is something that has fascinated me since I set foot off the plane.

All texture, print, fabric and colour combinations can be found on any one individual at any given time.  Some look, quite frankly, awful; others pull it off in their own unique and quirky way.  A few of these I can accept, but one trend I am struggling to appreciate is the puffer jacket.  Everyone here wears them: everyone.  They are found in all colours, lengths, and patterns on people of all ages.  A couple of my colleagues stumbled upon a shopping mall a couple of weeks ago and decided to explore out of curiosity: window shopping never hurt anyone, after all.  Not one, not two, but three floors of puffer jackets were to be found in one of the city’s most centrally located malls.  Heaven for puffer jacket lovers everywhere: hell for the rest of us!

Granddad style ‘slippers’ are totally acceptable footwear in public places.  Don’t get me wrong, they obviously serve a good purpose during winter months, but they do make the wearers look like invalids who have recently escaped from secure/sheltered accommodation!  Ugg boots are also extremely popular here: during my time in Australia I found it baffling that I could never source a pair of genuine Uggs; only finding the Emu brand on offer.  Here, however, every man and his dog have a pair… Speaking of which; doggy fashion is also quite a big trend here.

Out on the streets I’ve also seen a fair number of people riding scooters.  Nothing compared to the number of scooters on the streets of Vietnam, but still a larger proportion than you would see in the west.  Something they have here that were never required in ‘Nam, however, are moped mittens.  Like giant oven gloves strapped to the handlebars of your scooter, they keep your dainty digits safe and snug during winter journeys.

My current wardrobe has a healthy stock of UK-bought clothes, but I shall be sure to let you know if I purchase any odd outfits during my stay here.

A xx