Dress code

Author: Lin Han
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-04-01
Features: In recent years, China's consumer goods market has continued to show a growth trend, with market operations remaining robust and sales volume increasing steadily. According to reports, clothing accounts for 34% of the total in the three categories of goods—food, clothing, and daily necessities. This means that Chinese people spend one-third of their total expenditures on clothing. A gentleman I know, who graduated from university in 1968 and was assigned to work as a road maintenance worker in Northeast China, would wear a large cotton coat with buttons falling off and a wire tied around his waist during the harsh winter. Now, as a professor, he lectures on stages, meets foreign guests, interviews reporters, attends banquets, and dresses in suits, ties, and leather briefcases, paying attention to his appearance. A trade union for guests held a clothing etiquette class, and the registration was so overwhelming that it was "overcrowded." Surveys of white-collar women in this group show that these ladies spend nearly 70% of their income on clothing and makeup.