Do you remember making daisy chains and wearing them on your head? Remember how that transitioned into adult life with flower crowns? Well now China are going that little bit further with bean sprout hair clips. Actually, it started with bean sprout hair clips, adorable little clips that made you look a bit like a Teletubby but are cute nonetheless, and as many trends do, its escalated to the point people are wearing plastic vegetables on their head. Yes you did read that right, mushrooms, chilies, cherries are just some of the foods seen atop people’s heads in China.
Is it a small, subtle protest at the hustle and bustle of the grey and polluted city, where flowers are unable to thrive in such an environment? Or is it a quirky new fad that looks great in Instagram because of the ample emojis you can put in the caption? No one knows. No one knows where the head wear revolution started but people have their theories. Some think it dates back from an ancient Chinese tradition about being at one with nature, and this is the modern day equivalent. Which could make sense, similar to the reason why we have mediation apps on our phones. People have drawn on the Teletubby similarity, and some think that the trend is extremely similar to the Japanese-style emojis you find on Chinese websites. Others suspect it started in Chengdu, a city in Southwest China known for its laid-back attitude, possibly the Shoreditch of China? There have also been reports that it stemmed from a character in a popular Chinese cartoon, Pleasant Goat and the Big Big Wolf. The wearers are mainly teenagers and young adults, highlighting the power the internet has on fashion trends, and maybe it won’t be long before we see them over here?
Regardless of where they stemmed from, what they mean, or how it spread to become a mainland phenomenon, wearing little flowers and mushrooms on your head is a really cute way of accessorising your hair. I hope it catches on, I think I’d suit two little mushrooms on my head.
