Tee Time

My deepest apologies for not posting anything last week.  Between our first anniversary, my husband being moved to a new department at work, and various Children’s Day celebrations and activities that most definitely lasted more than a single day, I had no time or energy to write anything.  Also, thank you for not heckling and giving me a hard time about it.

Summer is here, and in full swing already (it’s been about 35 degrees Celsius pretty consistently for the last couple of weeks) and you know what that means?

Well, other than the fact that I now eat at least two bars of ice cream per day and that the first thing I do upon arriving home is head to the shower to wash my feet, that is.

It means that a whole new crop of T-shirts have arrived in the shops!!  And there is almost nothing I enjoy more than checking out what new atrocities to fashion and the English language are available this season.

I do have one observation to make, and it’s a scary one.  In previous years, the shirts were funny because of the grammar mistakes or Chinglish sayings (the weird language you get when you translate directly from Chinese).  This year, however, I don’t know whether to celebrate or cringe because overall, fashion seems to have moved beyond Chinglish and into proper English grammar – just really weird and sometimes inappropriate sayings.

Whether it’s one of my students’ mothers wearing a shirt emblazoned with “Fiddle Faddle” or “Cream of Meat”, or a student themselves sporting “Raw Working Class Hero” or “Think Less Stupid More” (which, by the way, is going to be my new motto in life, and the unofficial theme of this blog), or one of my Chinese coworkers wearing his “Ho Time” tee, I’m entertained everyday with my T-shirt spotting hobby.

“Tales from Hebei: Think Less Stupid More” – do you like it?

And because I don’t want you to feel left out because you can’t walk around the city with me, I snapped some photos to prove these shirts exist (honestly, would you believe me if I didn’t have photographic evidence?!).

One more scary fact:  All of these pictures were taken in shops in a single shopping center in one single day.

These are very popular – I’ve seen them in various colours both in stores and on women. Note the lip print near the neckline.

The mustache trend has reached China, and your favourite Sesame Street characters are in on it. Most of them seem pretty happy, but Big Bird looks thoroughly stoned.

The “choice of sensible women” is to wish they were beneath a mustache?

Maybe not such great advice in a country where mistresses are common…

“I Can Curl Anything!” – a great gift for the curling fan or hair stylist in your life.

Uh…ok…

“Superlative Conspiracy” – I’m willing to bet that no local in this city knows what either of these English words mean.

Don’t we all feel this way sometimes?

I’ll admit – this one, I don’t fully understand. But it sounds like it might be icky.

There are days when I could use a shirt like this…if only people understood it here.

This one-eyed cowboy hot dog is “Here to Party!”

It’s right – in China, nobody says this, since Facebook is blocked.

I found him…dude!

Last, but not least… (pardon the language!)

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