Lost In Translation: 26 English T-Shirts Spotted In China

Having lived in China for quite a while, I’ve seen a lot of unusual things. In fact, many Chinese and foreigners get so used to weird occurrences and weird Chinese fashion that people just generally ignore them.

On my Instagram page, I try to provide cultural context for why things in China happen the way they do, by explaining some of the history, the culture, or the language, and how these things influence behaviors or even a fashion sense.

The page is not all about street fashion though. It's anything that you can ask the question of ‘Why?’ or ‘How did that happen?’ to, with the general classic answer being ‘No why’ #nowhy (Chinese response) OR ‘because China’ #becausechina (foreigner in China response).

The general explanation for some of the fashion trends and choices below is that:

• Any English = educated, different and fashionable. (it could possibly be a famous brand, but if no one’s English is that great… then just by having it… no matter what it is, it’s already good)
• Anything ‘profound’ is considered good. If you as an observer don’t find it profound…that’s your fault. The wearer is making a statement, and that’s what’s important.
• The wearer doesn’t have to understand, because others most likely don’t understand…so who cares. Even vulgar, rude statements can be worn by kids… because no one knows any different.
• If the actual piece of clothing is functional and comfortable, who cares what’s written on it.
• A haircut should set you apart from everyone else. Many people have very similar or standardized hairstyles (Chinese people are aware of that too) If a haircut creates conversation then that’s awesome.

Here are a few examples I've caught in my street photography shots…quite a few of them, actually.

More info: Instagram

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