Dances with SeptWolves

Free association time! I'll prompt you with a word or phrase, then you say the first thing that pops into your head. For example, if your cue were "salt," you might respond "pepper," or possibly "sodium chloride" if you're taking high school chemistry. If you are of below-average intelligence, you might have thought "salty," but that's okay. I'm a professional SAT tutor, and I can help if your response was anything close to that last example. Ready? Here we go!
___________________________
Salt (this one should be really easy...)

Mom

Black

Eat

Brother

Wolves

Money

Banana

Men's clothing [End of test.]
___________________________
Just for comparative purposes, here is a list of my responses:

Mom→Dad
Black→White
Eat→Drink
Brother→Sister
Wolves→Howling
Money→Job
Banana→Monkey
Men's clothing→yay!

Now, for "Wolves" did anyone say "men's clothing"? And for "Men's clothing," did anyone respond with "wolves"? No? I didn't think so. Apparently in China, the two are strongly correlated—inextricably bound, one is almost tempted to surmise—as illustrated by the fact that there no fewer than three men's clothiers here with "wolves" in the name of the chain: "Dancing with Wolves," "SeptWolves," and "D. Wolves". Don't believe me? Here's my irrefutable photographic evidence:

Above: One of the 'Dancing with Wolves' stores in Guiyang.

Above: The "SEPTWOLVES" in this small town.

Above: The "D. Wolves" here.

I noticed this phenomenon a couple of weeks ago, and to date I have a few explanations. 1) In China, wolves are associated with both masculinity (because they are feral, hunt their own food, and aren't afraid to attack prey larger than themselves) and fashion (because they can be seen sporting those great, sleek coats yearround ). 2) The "Dancing with Wolves" chain emerged first, with a possible infringement on the copyrights of the 1990 Kevin Costner film of a strikingly similar name. Then, as so often happens here in China, other, even less creative, merchants decided to make a copy of a copy, with the results being "D. Wolves" and "SeptWolves." 3) It's some sort of conspiracy intended to brainwash Chinese consumers into associating wild dogs with great fashion. 4) There is no reason: it's all just some coincidence.

I am pretty partial to theory (2), because I think it's the funniest, but also because it's corroborated by the facts (i.e. the total disregard for intellectual property and copy rights among the Chinese, and their penchant for making copies of copies).

Any other suggestions to account for this phenomenon? Leave suggestions as comments to this post.

At right: While obtaining my evidence for this entry, which is part of my broader movement toward investigative journalism, the manager of the local SeptWolves came out to ask me to stop taking pictures of his store. Afraid I'm going to steal the fashion designs for my own company, "OctoWolves"? Please. Let's be honest. First, it's not like the clothing at SeptWolves is either cutting edge or even original (compare with the window dressings in the other pictures). Second, if you're a brandname thief-of-a-thief, you have no business stopping other people from stealing from you. It's just your bad karma coming back around to get you. And like a wolf on the prowl, that karma is going to catch you.