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From Magic City Morning Star R.P. BenDedek R.P. BenDedek (pseudonym) writes for Magic City Morning Star News and is the author of 'The King's Calendar:The Secret of Qumran' at http://www.kingscalendar.com. From Brisbane Queensland (Australia), he is a Conversational English Teacher currently teaching in China (Hubei Radio and TV University Wuhan) as well as a student of the Chinese Language at Wuhan university. I've just read "Dressing For ... Success?" , by Doug Wrenn, and loved it. It reminded me of so many things, which, as an old man, I can appreciate. I suspect that Mr. Wrenn's target audience probably wouldn't understand what the fuss is about. Dress, as Mr. Wrenn put it, does communicate a message. I remember working in the 'Watchhouse' (the temporary holding place before criminals go to court), and one night I came down stairs and saw a handsome man in a beautiful suit, standing beside a lovely lady all beautifully attired, and both were standing beside a 'scruff'. It wasn't hard to tell who the prisoner was. Actually, the scruff turned out to be a police officer and the lady was the prisoner. If you have ever travelled in China, you will know it is a dirty place. You can't lean against anything, or sit on anything or stand on anything without getting dirty. So I always find it strange that the first thing people do when they notice you, is look at your shoes. 'You should clean your shoes!' they tell me. 'It is important to have clean shoes!' I really don't know why. The other day, my friend and I were going downtown to buy some things I needed for my computer. I really didn't want to wear a full shirt, and so over my black trousers, I put a white sleeveless shirt. "Is this OK to wear?" I asked. "Maybe people will think you are crazy!" he replied. So I put on a proper shirt. While we were out, I saw one guy in beautiful shiny black shoes, freshly pressed black trousers and a black tank top. I asked my friend. 'What do you think of this guy?' 'What do you mean?' he asked. 'Well, do you think he looks nice?' 'Yes!' he said, 'he is very handsome!" "And yet you said I could not go out dressed like him! People would think I am crazy!" "Yes" he said; "but that man is young and sexy. You are old and fat! Of course people will think you are crazy!" Message understood! Now about those people that Mr Wrenn calls 'Goofy!'. I once boarded a train back home, and sat is a section where two seats face each other. Shortly a young man sat opposite me. He had earings and studs in his nose, as well as chains running everywhere across his jacket. His trousers were made of red 'Scottish tartan' and were obviously very new. It was also obvious that he had taken a great deal of time to cut them in many places, attaching both sides of the cut with large safety pins. The impression was that it was all 'done by hand'. I figured that he had done all the work himself. As our journey progressed, I spent time 'eyeing him off'. I took note of the work, the colours, the chains, the pins, the studs, and of course his multi coloured 'mohawk' hair cut. I figure, that if you go out in public like this, that you want the attention. This young man however, seemed to become more and more uncomfortable, the longer I spent looking him over. Finally he jumped up and moved seats. Go figure! Many of the 'goofy styles' that can be seen in the west are making their appearances here in Wuhan, China. Generally speaking, I would have to say that on the boys (no matter what they wear) that it looks OK, but as I have written on another occasion, on the girls, it is a different matter altogether. When they 'doll' themselves up, they tend to look like prostitutes, and when they do that 'goofy' thing, they just look slovenly. As for the 'slobs' who eat in restaurants etc, I remember when Conrad's Casino opened in Brisbane, that even if your 'levis' were diamond studded, you would not be allowed in at all. Last time I was there, ... well, let's just say I felt overdressed. But of course, dress sense is a 'cultural thing'. Here in China, it's nothing to see people walking around the department stores at night, in their pajamas. LITERALLY! It's definitely a social equaliser! What else it may communicate, I leave for you to decide! R.P.Bendedek Email: rpbendedek@hotmail.com Note: Because of the recent Server change, some links may not work. This file was amended September 2007.
"The King's Calendar" is a chronological study of the historical books of the Bible (Kings and Chronicles), Josephus, Seder Olam Rabbah, and the (Essene) Damascus Document of The Dead Sea Scrolls. © Copyright 2002-2007 by Magic City Morning Star |
