H&M meets the Miao


Mercifully, I am not the oldest in the room. The huge sandstone cheminée in my French farmhouse is more than hundred years old. May be, my heavy silver necklace is as old. At least, the shop in Shanghai’s French Concession I got it from assured me it was an old Miao piece from the South China mountains. (See my post of February 11 for the gorgeous Miao girl decked out in silver.) Their silver jewellery was a wedding gift and a sort of insurance for the bride.


These massive pieces are not easy to wear in our urban contexts. Not only are they quite heavy, they are also most ornamental and difficult to combine with the casual clothing which is the order of the day. You just have to break the mould.

So, here the Miao heirloom comes with an animal print dress and a bomber jacket with lots of fake leather and a zip from  H & M. I purchased these items in Trondheim on a trip to see my partner’s school time pals in Norway. I firmly believe that all the great chains like H & M and Zara vary their offer to a certain extent according to the country their stores are in.




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