Fashion in Japan

Hm...let's go over the list one more time.
Ankle winter boots with a fur trim. Check.
Leopard skin tights. Check.
Corduroy-shorts jumper with another fur trim. Check.
Black puffy blouse with grey sleeves. Check.
50s beehive hairstyle. Check.
As much make-up as humanly possible. Check.

Okay, we're good to go!

What I just described is the typical outfit of a Japanese female college student. Feel free to replace the ankle winter boots with thigh-length black high heeled boots and the tights and jumper with very, very short miniskirts and you're still on the right track. What she is doing, while it being labeled as "fashion," is pretty much wearing everything readily available in her closet. A friend that's been living here for 3 years has come to a more accurate conclusion: they're wearing their "favorite" things all at one time. Like, "Oh..this is my favorite yellow corduroy jumper...I'll wear my favorite maroon tights with it, with my favorite green plaid scarf and favorite red high heeled boots." She would know more than I do, so let's take her word for it.
Just try and imagine the other things as well...




I personally like a lot of Japan's shoes, sneakers and boots. The clothes? Well, I do like their accessories too! The clothes? Umm....well...I guess I like some of it. The way they put their clothes together in an outfit however, is ...eer...interesting. When I see my students, regardless of the time of day, they have their school uniforms on because it's likely that they just came from school. College is the one of the only times in which Japanese people can dress and look however they want to look. It's no surprise, judging by the strict hair and eyebrow check that the high school (and I'm pretty sure middle school) students go through in the beginning of every semester, that once they're given the opportunity to be out of a uniform, they tend to er...go all out.


The men are absolutely no exception to this rule and it's quite to common to catch a male college student with snake skin pointy shoes, tight jeans, snazzy suit top, blond dyed spiked up hair, a lot of make up to give their faces a smooth porcelain look, with a man-bag or murse, and yes, they are quite popular here. I can't really imagine what's in a man-bag, since I've never looked in one, but what they can they possibly need?


Well, in any case, that's part of Japan's fashion in a nutshell, and it makes one wonder exactly why they go all out. There was definitely a decent sized portion of men and women at my college who dressed to the nine's, only to go to math class. Why is it such a big deal here? The answer is simple and a little sad. First off, let me explain a little bit about Japanese colleges. When I was in college in America and I spoke with Japanese people who just came to America to graduate, I was told that in Japan, students must study to get into a good elementary school (?!), then they must study to get into a good middle school, then of course they have to study hard to get into a good high school, and definitely everyone attempts to study hard to get into a good college. What comes after that? I was told that college in Japan is also referred to as the "four year vacation." Granted there are plenty of difficult colleges in Japan to study at, as well as there plenty of stressed out Japanese college students, but it's called a four year vacation for a reason. There are more people that can simply just lay back and enjoy college for what it is because I have heard that once Japanese people get into a good college, they are almost guaranteed a good job because of its reputation (similar to the U.S.). Also, I have been told that the parents pay for their college tuition and anything else they might need, so even if some students get part-time jobs, it's merely just to pay for their fashion preferences. This is one of the first times in a long time for Japanese students to dress however they want, get piercings, color their hair, do whatever they want. It's common knowledge that once college is over, they are back to uniforms and rejoining with the group collective again. There's also the other group who just dress up for picture taking (called Purikura) and so they would dress to the nine's..take pictures, then just hang around and do other fun things.






However, how was I able to accurately describe a good portion of the people's clothing here? It's because most of the clothing stores here sell the same exact things! Go into any Japanese mall and you see cute scarves and boots. Great! Walk down, past five stores, and in 4 of those 5 stores, you'll see more scarves and more boots of nearly identical style and pattern. So......it's like...why the hell are there so many stores if they're selling the same things? I can't answer that. What I DO know is that everyone here is buying the same looking clothes and accessories, and so everyone ends up dressing the same anyway. I think it can even be said that those students are technically still in uniform. I think that's kind of sad, but I think that even if you attempt to dress differently than the next person, the person next to that person will have the nearly the same kind of outfit, or the same kind of accessory. (Well honestly, I shouldn't even say "sad" because that's just my American love of individuality talking and Japan is a completely different culture and society. I will instead say it's "different." So, I apologize for that). I don't think that people here would even WANT to be completely different and unique from everyone else because then there won't be any group for them to belong too. It can be seen all the time; the men with the snazzy tops, dyed blond spikey hair and snake skin pointy shoes all hanging out together. You can also see the 50s hair style, miniskirt, blouse (which might or might not come with a fir trim), and thigh length booted girls all hanging out together. Even with the guys that are into hip-hop culture and the way that they dress. Perhaps in that way, the group collective never really left and just had a casual appearance.


Some people however...are a bit different.