Fee fai 'faux' fum...

Here are current trends that I see in Samara. Some people can of course pull of these styles very well, while others...don't. Unfortunately, these photos are pulled from the web because it's less offensive that way.

1. Indian/Middle Eastern-inspired pants

This is a unisex piece that you can see both men and women wear. At first, I thought that they were ridiculous until I tried on these silly pants. They are as convenient and airy as skirts but still has the privacy of pants.

Actually, anything resembling South Asian or Middle Eastern (in some cases, they aren't distinct, like "Asian") patterns are pretty trendy, too.

2. The Man Purse- I thought it was sweet to see men carrying their ladies' purses, but it was something else when I realized that men also carry their own bags. For the most part, there's nothing feminine about it and it seems to be purely for convenience. Even the burliest of burliest 'gopniks' (to be explained in a future post) can be seen wearing a man purse. These man purses vary in sizes and can be anything between a large messenger bag to a fanny pack (yes) to a camera case-sized bag.

3. Dyed hair- Hair dying is an international trend, but the trend I witness is slightly different than in the US and closer to the one I saw while in South America. Colors are a bit more...pronounced. Black is blacker than night, red is like the red in a rainbow, blonde is beyond-bleached platinum, and gray tends to end up like lavender (seriously).

4. Straight, dense bangs (or 'fringe' if you've chosen to learn British English)- Trends usually become trends because they are stylish and cute. Then a few too many people follow the trend and it loses its charm. Most common here is blacker than black hair with a very, very dense and straight bang. It's cute in a helmet way.

5. Ankle sandals- I tend to agree with footwear that you can run in 'just incase.' So do many women in Russia. Of course, these sandals come in various heel lengths from paper-thin flat to skyscraper high.

It's so hard to keep up with US trends while I'm abroad and I have no idea what to listen to or what to watch. A few months away does that to you, I guess. The good news is that I'm coming home in one and a half weeks. The bad news is that the blog posts will soon end. Look out, America, mama's coming home!!!!