On the Catwalk Redux

Remember the kids on the playground practicing their modeling moves? We had no idea why the afternoon exercises at school suddenly looked like an “I’m too sexy for my shirt” video? Well, a few days later the mystery was solved – Chen Xing’s dad explained that there was to be a fashion show, and the kids were to wear clothing made of “useless things.” It was an exercise in recycling! (I admit to being geeky enough to be thrilled there was actually an educative motive behind the whole thing!).

So we made Maya an outfit out of plastic bags, dried rose petals from Mimi’s birthday bouquet, paper scraps, the plastic container inside a cracker box (makes a cunning clamshell purse!), an old shoelace, and a cup-a-noodle container as a hat! Maya looked adorable!

And to add to the fun, the fashion show was on the outdoor stage in front of the administration building. I think it was actually sponsored by some company, and it involved not just the kids in Maya’s class, but all the classes of the younger kids and the even younger kids who go to the nursery school on campus (we’re told that the older kids, including Zoe’s class, will be having their fashion show in a few weeks).

Some of the parents really went all-out on the costumes, and some seemed to have very little in the way of recycled products, but all the kids were really cute. Look at the little girl in the middle – her skirt is a KFC chicken container – how clever is that?!

And remember the little girl who practically sprained something with her hip swings? Here she is in full regalia – and the girl next to her reminds me of a 1960s aluminum Christmas tree:

And here’s our pro striking a pose with the James Bond boys! I love the costume of the boy on the right – full gladiator kit out of a gift bag!

And then the cutest model in the show – our own recycling Maya! (Almost all the kids had red dots on their foreheads – a Chinese custom for good fortune.)

And then after taking her turn on the catwalk, finishing off with a curtsey, off Maya goes with hands on what one day may be hips!

There were tons of kids and tons of parents and tons of relatives watching, all of us stewing under full sun with no shade in sight. (I’m not sure whose brilliant idea it was to hold this fashion extravaganza at 4 in the afternoon when temperatures were guaranteed to be in the 90s.) Poor Maya sweltered in her plastic dress like a bagged roast in an oven! Still, she said she had a lot of fun. And just think, we get to do it all over again for Zoe! (any suggestions for a recycled costume would be much appreciated!).