Happy Halloween
This year we had a rag doll and a (yes, even he knows, historically inaccurate) viking.
To assemble these costumes, we had to look no further than one of Changping's own multi-stall shopping markets. Unlike the larger, more famous markets down in Beijing (Silk Market, Pearl Market, Yashow, etc), Changping's markets are truly geared to the local consumers. We don't see as much clothing advertised as "export quality," or counterfeit luxury brands. However, I had a feeling that the local taste would allow us to outfit our kids in the appropriate costumes.
For Myles, we wanted to look for a fake fur vest. We saw a lot of fake fur trim on every garment imaginable, but not a total vest. We ended up finding a reversible brown vest, with faux sheepskin as the liner. It would do as a skin. Looking for some sort of coarse material for a tunic, we found this rough-looking sweater. With His own long johns pants, some plastic weapons, and a horned-helmet, suddenly he looks ready to raid the Orkneys.
For Brigid I actually started with an apron she owns, something that looked a little Raggedy Ann. I thought for sure I would be able to find some patchwork-y dress at the market. I couldn't find a good match for the apron. I did see dozens of dresses in some pretty outrageous color and pattern combinations. In the end, we chose the dress you see here because of the poufy bubble skirt even though it did not match the apron. I scrapped that idea after seeing this dress, though. An apron would have hid much of the skirt and the bow. Brigid saw this dress and immediately thought it was an "Upsy Daisy" dress, so she was sold.
To assemble these costumes, we had to look no further than one of Changping's own multi-stall shopping markets. Unlike the larger, more famous markets down in Beijing (Silk Market, Pearl Market, Yashow, etc), Changping's markets are truly geared to the local consumers. We don't see as much clothing advertised as "export quality," or counterfeit luxury brands. However, I had a feeling that the local taste would allow us to outfit our kids in the appropriate costumes.
For Myles, we wanted to look for a fake fur vest. We saw a lot of fake fur trim on every garment imaginable, but not a total vest. We ended up finding a reversible brown vest, with faux sheepskin as the liner. It would do as a skin. Looking for some sort of coarse material for a tunic, we found this rough-looking sweater. With His own long johns pants, some plastic weapons, and a horned-helmet, suddenly he looks ready to raid the Orkneys.
For Brigid I actually started with an apron she owns, something that looked a little Raggedy Ann. I thought for sure I would be able to find some patchwork-y dress at the market. I couldn't find a good match for the apron. I did see dozens of dresses in some pretty outrageous color and pattern combinations. In the end, we chose the dress you see here because of the poufy bubble skirt even though it did not match the apron. I scrapped that idea after seeing this dress, though. An apron would have hid much of the skirt and the bow. Brigid saw this dress and immediately thought it was an "Upsy Daisy" dress, so she was sold.
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