cheongsams

so i briefly mentioned having a third dress - this would be the dress i would wear to a chinese banquet that will function as the rehearsal dinner, in lieu of the jeans or modest skirts i normally wear on such 12 course occasions. and i'm sad to admit that my cute retro twiggy dresses just won't do for this. but that's okay, because who knew there were so many more options than just the typical snap-diagonally-together-below-the-shoulder number featuring an inverted peter pan neckline. look! there are even mod options!



i realize the traditional color is red, but i honestly didn't know there were so many styles! via chinabridal.com

i was having an msn conversation with my MOH as we absently sifted through good orient website:

MOH: they sell wedding gowns!!!
me: i noticed the wedding gowns but steered away
MOH: HELLO knockoffs
me: yeah. especially since the models are white women
MOH: but for the price?
me: haha. it's just like my ebay post
MOH: haha

me: why are ALL wedding dresses poofy and tube top?
WHY?
MOH: a world of women who believe looking like your hiding the groom under your skirt is a attractive
?

MOH: i love how they found all the slutty wedding dress shots

MOH: you notice the name on the dress - pocahontas
who names these things?
I want to wear a dress that is named after a underage bride whose people were taken over by the white man...

so it looks like good orient also carries western wedding wear, and when it doesn't look like it's a five season old ad from a famous designer that i can't quite put my finger on....

....it ends up looking like some random caucasian person they pulled off the street to model their dresses. don't think it doesn't happen! i went to high school with a guy that ended up having some whirlwind acting career in japan because he was simply a white boy in an asian city.


wow i adore this color combination! via fall in cola at flickr


i managed to find a similar dress at goodorient.com. my workmate mentioned that she rented her chinese dress for her wedding, and i was flabberghasted to find out that the $50-100 dresses that are so commonplace in vancouver's chinatown are apparently nowhere to be found in Seattle, or at least at that price. i remember there being very striking dresses at these shops - one had a large peacock motif on a gloriously rich turquoise fabric, others had large dragons. i did a quick google search to find chinese dresses with these large animal images on them but came up with nothing. perhaps this flickr image gives you a vague idea of what i'm talking about, but the dresses i'm thinking of are less "busy" and their motif is more stunning.

so i think i'll have to go on a fun shopping trip in chinatown next time i'm in vancouver. i'll be sure to take lots of photos if i can ;)