ything really important to society. Fashion designers are rarely concerned with vital things like warmth, comfort and durability. They are only interested in outward appearance and they take advantage of the fact that women will put up with any amount of discomfort, providing they look right. There can hardIy be a man who hasn,t at some time in his life smiled at the sight of a woman shivering in a flimsy dress on a wintry day, or delicately picking her way through deep snow in dainty shoes.

When comparing men and women in the matter of fashion, the conclusions to be drawn are obvious. Do the constantly changing fashions of women's clothes, one wonders, reflect basic qualities of fickleness and instability? Men are too sensible to let themselves be bullied by fashion clesigners. Do their unchanging styles of dress reflect basic qualities of stability and reliability? That is for you to decide.

　

2. For Fashion-mad Youth Money Is No Object

Young women in Beijing are showing a new look in fashions this year. They are wearing elegant long trouser-like skirts and loose pantalets with a connected top, both made of colourful satin, silk and polyester

As a popular saying among young people in the capital nowadays goes - "Fashion for women and labels for men."

Fashion had been lang neglected in Beijing. During the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976), the city was filled with people clad in blue, grey, black and green. Army uniforms were the norm. Green caps, suits and coats were in vogue.

But no longer. The drab look is no more.

Wherever there are shops, there are some that sell the latest fashions in garments a,nd shoes. Street pedlars and private clothing store owners have been trying to collect new designs from all over the country and to put them on display in ihe markets as soon as possible.

Prominent Beijing garment companies such as Blue Sky, Leimeng and Zaocun have been replaced in popularity by Smart Garments Lrd, Wacoal Co. I.td. and De-Carty, all of which are joint ventures. Although their clothes are much more expensive than those in ordinary shops, they are selling very well.

In the bus:tling night market of Xidan, one of the busiest shopping centres in Beijing, a young woman was heard commenting on a dress marked at 319 yuan.

"It would cost three months of my salary, but it's really beautiful," she said. "It's very difficult for people like me who are living on fixed salaries to find som.ething satisfactory. What we like is extremely expensive, and what we can afford we dislike."

A young woman shop assistant said she was attracted to a beautiful skirt one day, but gave up buying it because one of her colleagues had one just like it.

"I want to be different," she said.

Nike, Adidas and other world-famous sportswear and shoes have become fashionable among young men who are eager to be with the incrowd. A pair of shoes can set them back 160 yuan, more than a month's salary.

"Young peop(e nowadays spend money like they had a hole in their pocket," said an elderly shop assistant. "They buy whatever they like regardless of the price.

"I'm not against dressing well, but you have to survive."

On the fourth floor of the Wangfujing Department Store, a young man chose a 398-yuan dress for his girlfriend.

"Since I run a beauty salon, I have no problem affording a coat like this," the man said casually. "Nowadays people like to start new things to distinguish themselves," a sociologist commented. "It is a psychological breakthrough. People try to preserve their own value and their personality."

3. Hong Devoted to Fashion Career

Fashion designer Hong Xia is a woman. with a mission in life:she hopes to turn Guangzhou into a fashion centre rivalling Paris, Milan, Tokyo, New York and Hong Kong.

Hong, now a designer at Guangzhou University, staged a solo fashion show in 1986, held fashion lectures and night-schools and published articles on fashion. She then went on to teach at Guangzhou University in 1988 and is now writing a book describing the Guangzhou fashion world.

Her career in fashion started when she was enrolled in the Central Academy of Arts and Designs in Beijing in 1981. Before that, she had been a mechanical worker for eight years after graduating from middle school in 1973 in Guangzhou.

"Fashion design had just started its rise in popularity at the time I was studying in Beijing," she said. "It was fascinating because it was new."

She was attracted to the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone two years later when she graduated and went to an area where large-scale construction was underway and the pace of everyday life was quickening.

One year later, after gaining experience in all aspects of clothes eduction, she received her first designing assignment: for a batch of summer clothes.

"I don't know how to describe my feelings for my f

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