Fashion in Japan

            I here a lot about Fashion in Japan almost everyday. Whether it is from my sister back in the U.S., who thinks Japanese fashion is worth buying into and who tells me to buy here things even though she may be coming to visit me herself. Or whether it is from my friends who, walking to class everyday, comment on the dedication all the girls have here to fashion. Let me tell you, their fashion dedication is impressive, and they sure do pay the high prices for it, but whether the Japanese sense of fashion is 'fashion-forward' or modern, I would disagree with that.

             Tokyo is indeed one of the fashion capitals of the world, but it is also one of the biggest cities in the world, and one of the original biggest cities to emerge in East Asia. My personal belief is that because of the Japanese quick rise in the global economy, that many Asian designers traveled here to make their start. It is not in any sense what I would call everyday Japanese fashion. There are a few exceptions to this though as there are girls and boys who take fashion to the extreme in Japan, and stand out, like lolita dresses or harajuku girls who wear outrageous colors.  I am here not to talk to you today about those fashion statements that can be found in the extreme, but am here to talk about the fashion I see most girls living in Osaka wear on a daily basis. To me it can be described as a very colonial, modern fashion.

          It seems to me that young, college girl fashion is very girly, yet very conservative at the same time. Most clothes seem to be in the blacks, beige, brown, and dark blue range of colors. Very rarely will you see a girl walking around in bright colors that really stand out. Starting down at the bottom, most of the shoes I see young women wearing are a pair of brown high heels. They are never anything too fancy, and like I said earlier, they look almost colonial. You will rarely see a Japanese girl NOT wearing high heels, especially if they are a shorter girl. As for the older generation of women, I often see black rocking shoes. You know the ones that have a curved bottom so that you can rock back and forth on them. They are supposedly good for exercise.
            Moving up the body, most women wear skirts and shorts with either panty-hoes on underneath or really high socks. You hardly ever see a lot of leg on a woman, as the Japanese are very conservative. Just like you will never see cleavage either. If you are a foreigner in Japan, you should be aware of this conservatism and try to cover up your body more; no spaghetti straps, or low cut shirts please. For the shorts girls wear, some are jeans and others plain colors, but another popular kind is a very girly, loose fitting short, that has a wavy-heart design cut into the bottom. As for the skirts they are usually very flowery with lace or some sort of knitting on them. Once again, very girly and completely not my style.
           Shirts are very hard to explain as there are many kind, but Japanese tend to layer a lot so there will often be a long sleeve shirt underneath a baggy, girly and almost poncho like, plain shirt. Even in the summer, you can find girls wearing these types of clothes because they are very cautious about protecting their skin from the sun. Many times, when it is sunny, you will see every woman, young or old, caring an umbrella over their head to protect them from the sun. As for hairstyles, women mostly keep their hair down or tied back with a feminine scrunchy. A good website I found to show you the image of what daily Japanese fashion looks like is www.fashioninjapan.com Check it out sometime and see if I am right.

            My last comment about Japanese fashion is that it is very French influenced. Believe it or not, french culture is the culture that I see the most of in Japan, besides of course Japanese. They love french culture here and are inspired by it. That is why I feel as if their fashion, is a very colonial, french fashion. It doesn't stand out at all in the crowd, but when examining it further, you can see the detail and hard work girls take in putting together their outfit. And let me tell you, they are trained to match clothes very young, as most of the mothers and older women, are just as fashion forward as their children. I personally believe that these older woman should tone it down a little, but fashion is very important here in Japan. Almost an obsession, and you will find aspects of it everywhere you go. Warning to the wise though! Clothing and Accessories in Japan are VERY Expensive. If you are coming from the U.S., don't be surprised to find some $50 shirts in even the cheapest stores! My advice, don't buy into the fashion in Japan much and save your money for better things!