Gaps

I mentioned earlier that in some cases, we can afford to prefer the American versions of some types of clothes.  Myles' long underwear was one example I gave.  That is because American long underwear tends to be thinner than those usually worn by Chinese kids.  I completely trust that duofold or waffle knits are sufficient to keep him as warm as what is available in China.  It also is thin enough that he doesn't need to wear larger pants than normal. It is possible these types are available in China, but I have not seen any in the usual places I shop.

Another type of clothing I mentioned that we prefer the US offerings was blue jeans.  For me, that would have to do with size, but for the kids it has more to do with fit.  We've found that most pants made for kids for the Chinese market have a very different fit than those made for the US market.  When Myles was still modeling in Shenzhen, occasionally one of the clothing company employees would ask to see Myles' clothes.  On the mud-slide location shoot two young women with the clothing company really gave his (yes, Chinese-made) Old Navy Jeans a thorough examination.  Studying the seams and rivets, one sighed to the other, "Foreigners' clothes are always so nice."

Right before we left to come home for a few weeks, I had to buy Myles a new pair of shorts that I hoped would last him until we got to the US and could buy something better, and I couldn't get somewhere to buy a good Chinese brand (like Annil) or a foreign brand (like HM).  I was stuck shopping in Changping at a multi-stall market that sells everything from jewelry to clothes to plumbing supplies. I need to note that in many parts of Beijing (as well as every other large city in China), there are markets which sell decent knock-offs of foreign-brands, or at least advertise their wares as "export quality."  Most of the Changping merchants don't even bother to try to convince anyone what they are selling is export quality.  What I did buy, fake GAP shorts, for which I paid about $7, were a far cry from the real thing. These are domestic quality, through and through.  Since we've been home, we've also purchased real GAP shorts.  Can you pick out which one is which?

Not only is there a huge difference in style, there's a huge difference in comfort and fit for Myles.  Oddly enough, the bagginess of the Chinese shorts is really uncomfortable to Myles, particularly the poorly made pockets and the gathers in the back.  Believe it or not, but within those gathers in the back the letters G-A-P are embroidered in the denim.  Fortunately when we came to the US we could buy him the American Gap shorts.  No weird waistband to pant transition either.  The construction is so different. The waistbands say it all.  Both accomplish the task of allowing a growing child to grow, but the real GAP pant does not require an excess of fabric to be gathered at the waist.  And of course, the US GAP has three ranges (slim, regular, and husky) so that also helps with the fit and comfort as well.

No wonder Myles actually begs to go to a Gap every time we are home.