Beauty & Style Travels
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| Traditional Vietnamese dress, body concealing, pattern orientated designs |
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| Newer dress designs, the model is very western influenced, her white skin glowing, the dress has a lower neckline & and avant garde hair style |
Westerners are idolised and white skin is desirable, Women reach out to touch white skin in the narrow market isles. On my recent trip to Vietnam its fair to say I was shocked at the impact the fashion industry has on such places, places where big brands such as Chanel & Gucci exist, yet don't rein, its the image and complexion of the western women, people desire more than the brands. High street shops and chains are non existent. people work from sunrise until sunset to provide meals for their families, day in day out, through trade such as shoe making, painting, food selling, all the things England's markets were before big stores such as Tesco took over.
As we walked down streets and through shops we are rained with complements such as 'you are miss world' 'your family is so beautiful' All because we have white skin and dark hair. Its strange to stand out so much in a place like Vietnam, where everything is different and fascinating, bustling and crammed. The western influence on this country is subtle yet visible.
One item I noticed in almost every shop was 'Skin whitening Lotion' Also sold in other countries such as Thailand. I find it strange that the Vietnamese women like white skin and strange that they'd go to such lengths to have it.
The two above magazine pages show how much our Western fashion industry influences Vietnam, and other Asian countries, the pale skin, flesh on show, low cut tops and models with more western looking features, it isn't impossible to find a conventional looking Vietnamese model, just rarer.
