Fashion is all about the look, the feel and the illu~sion. Being Chinese American, one thing that comes across my mind from time to time is ‘Am I dressing too Asian?’🤔 I said Asian instead of Chinese cause overseas yellow folks often get grouped together. Isn’t that rite, my ninjas? 😆

After chatting with my fellow yellows, I compiled a few things that might make us look newly immigrated instead of being trendy, showing cultural appreciation or… just dressed for Wednesday.

Glasses
Glasses are said to make people look smarter or be the perfect disguise if you are Superman. When comes to wearing spectacles, some of us give off the human calculator look. “No Sara, I can't figure out the bill splitting 5 ways in my head.”

Bowl haircut
So named because it looks like someone placed a bowl on the head and trimmed off all the hair at the same length. Something about that haircut just screams IT department technician who codes on the weekend for fun.

Souvenir tees

Example: Sporting the I ‘heart’ NY t-shirt. This one is not yellow specific! When you live somewhere long enough, you earn the rights to bitch about it. So this kind of public display of affection for your city just means you are new cause the resentment hasn’t set in yet.

Flip-flops

I'm talking about the ones you can get from the corner store with the strap cutting between your big toe and the second toe. It's a very common thing to see on the streets of, say like Hong Kong. In the States? It's more limited to the beaches or California.

Counterfeit handbag catalog

If you are showing that around, you can't blame anyone who thinks you are a FOB (fresh of the boat). It's not the fact that you are selling fake bags, it's cause everything is digital now, keep up. 😐

Color yellow

Known as the ‘Yellow’ race, quite a few of us were taught yellow will not be a very flattering color on us. All grown up, you realize, we all have different skin tones and hotdog mustard is not the only shade of yellow.

Traditional attire

Due to the popularity of the game Street Fighter, I was called Chun-Li a lot when I wore my dress with a Mandarin collar.

Let’s get something straight. Qibao (Changshan) or Hangfu is Chinese; Kimono is from Japan and Hanbok is Korean. They are all very different, with countless variations depending on the era. And the rich cultural history behind them is just fascinating!

This is not to culture shame anyone, a lot of us will not be able to tell the difference between them either.😜

*****

Thing is, we all trying to fit in, especially for us second+ generation/in-betweeners. We have to balance our Asian sides and our foreign sides; the struggle is real. No one can tell you what you can and can't embrace or how much is too Asian or not enough. The key is to ignore the negativities and accept or even be able to laugh at our cultural differences. Being confident in our own skin is the best thing to wear while Asian.☺️

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Bunny Yan - Fashion voice with eco twist

Leftsideoffashion.com

Fashion is entertaining, expressive and... totally vain. Let’s take that vanity to another level! Be vain about the positive impact of your wardrobe, about the stories of the maker, about inspiration and motivation behind it all.

Whether it’s a beauty tutorial, DIY fashion, design tips or news, people look to their favorite style or fashion blogger to give them ideas on the look of the day, how to dress and designers’ runway trends. As a fashion marketing expert and influencer, I want to give the audience comedy and fun but weave in eco practices, sustainability efforts minus the guilt trip. Sharing the coolest innovations in upcycling, zero waste living, ethical artisanry and everything circular. An upgraded fashion talk (blog/vlog) that delivers knowledge through humor. A fashionista with eco twist, coming at you daily, weekly and ever so rightly.

Speaker, adviser & disruptive story-teller