Notes » July 2007

Mainlander or Not?

In Hong Kong, Chinese men from the mainland are easy to spot.

It isn't because of the mainlanders' physical differences, although Northern Chinese stand out from the shorter, fairer-skinned Hong Kongers (mostly Southerners originating from Guangdong) like a cockroach on a wedding cake.

And it isn't because of the different dialects; you don't even need to be within earshot to pick out the mainlander from the crowd. All you need is a keen eye for dress habits.

Here a few observations you can use to help you play the game "is he a mainlander or not?":

• wool or polyester dress pants; many times grey;

• patterned polo or golf shirt; high likelihood it will have a crocodile logo;

• black belt with mobile phone pouch clipped to one side;

• black and pointy (or squared-toed) loafers ... always loafers;

• white socks.

That's not to say Hong Kong men don't dress this way as well (polo shirts are common, for example, but a Hong Konger would probably wear it with jeans and a pair of cross-trainers), but it's the combination of two or more that's the tell-tale sign.

I wouldn't go so far as to call it a dress code, but I've seen enough mainlanders decked out that way to distinguish it as an element of the motherland's fashion consciousness.

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