Variety in Fashion (Gillian)

I cannot honestly say that I am the most fashion-savvy person that I have ever known. Most days I find it nothing short of miraculous if I am able to pull my generic t-shirt and jeans on the right way around before stumbling blindly out the door, already a few minutes late for my lecture. But I do enjoy looking at and thinking about fashion, and I have noticed that Japan has some pretty amazing, exciting, and admittedly sometimes silly fashions out there. In this article I shall endeavour to introduce you to some of the current fashion trends sweeping the nation that those of us in Western countries would probably find bizarre. These fashions are cool, though, so you had better at least respect them.

The first thing to be said about fashion in Japan is that it is astonishingly varied, because there are so many different types of fashion subcultures. You have some fashion subcultures, like gothic and grunge, in western countries, but compared to the variety in Japan what we see in western countries is fairly limited. Japan has additional subcultures, including the schoolgirl subculture (where women look like school girls, obviously), the mori girl look (lots of lacy, billow-y skirts and ruffles), the goth loli look (a combination of the dark gothic look and the Lolita style that is very popular in Harajuku), and the controversial ganguro and yamanba look (tanned skin, bleached hair, lots of heavy make-up and fake facial adhesive jewels). Even men are given more variety in their clothing choices in Japan, which probably explains why Japanese men are considered good dressers. This variety in fashion is fantastic and should be celebrated and applauded, but it has led to a lot of bizarre items of clothing hitting the shelves. There are too many items of this category for me to cover, so I shall just explore a few of my personal favourites.

A girl sporting a mori girl look. ‘Mori’ is Japanese for ‘forest’, so many shots of mori girl fashion are shot with trees and flowers. 

A group of ganguro girls.


Fox Tails

Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure they are not made from real foxes. To be honest, I think that they could not be, because I am pretty sure that there are now more fox tails around Japan than there are actual foxes. Fox tails are clip-on attachments for belts or belt loops, or for bags, that look like bushy tails. They are becoming quite popular, and some fashion magazines are even showing men wearing them. Personally, I think their appeal, if any, comes from people who enjoy the idea of looking like animals. Because, let us be honest, animals are cute.

Several suggestions for how you can wear your fluffy fox tail. 

Bikini Jeans

This fashion would disturb me, but considering how the waistbands of jeans have been heading further and further south for the last decade or so, an item of clothing like this was inevitable. These jeans essentially have cut out specific panels at the top, so it looks as though you are wearing uncovered denim underwear down to the tops of your thighs, then the rest of the jeans look normal. Maybe this is a fashion that is supposed to look sexy and tantalising, but I don’t know. Frankly I think it is leaving too little to the imagination. To be fair, these do exist in western countries too. But they are apparently more popular in Japan.

Bikini jeans. There is a male version as well, but it does not seem to be as popular. I have not seen an actual person wearing bikini jeans yet, but if I ever do, I will remember it.

Curly Hair (and wigs)

When it comes to appearance, there is often an element of people wanting what they do not naturally have. People who are naturally dark-haired often want blonde hair, naturally pale people often wish to be tanned and naturally tanned people often wish to be pale. With Japanese people this is quite interesting, because most Japanese people have fairly similar features, and among those similar features is black, straight hair. And so, curly hair appears to be the fashionable choice for a lot of Japanese people. To achieve this generally unnatural phenomenon Japanese women will either buy curling irons and/or get perms and/or sleep with rollers in their hair, or they will buy a fabulous curl-inclusive wig. As somebody with naturally curly hair this strikes me as quite incredible. But of course, the Japanese fawn all over my pale white skin a lot of the time as well – the same skin that adds dramatically to my unpopularity in the western world. Evidently the grass really is greener on the other side.

A woman with a commonly-seen curly hairstyle. 


Loose Socks

These are very popular with girls who are into the schoolgirl look. Considering the Japanese and their obsession with cuteness (see my article on Cuteness for more details), it is of no surprise that a look that represents women as they were when they were younger and more innocent is considered fashionable. The loose socks are quite an enigma though. These are socks that come far longer than the average sock. When you put them on, you are supposed to scrunch them, creating this loose sock effect. It can be quite cute, but considering how the closest Western equivalent we have to these socks is leg warmers, they probably will not be entering popular Western fashion for some time, if at all.

A photo showing how loose socks are supposed to be worn.

Men in Leggings

I have been talking about women’s fashion only so far, but I felt that this male fashion deserved an honourable mention. Men have started to wear leggings in Japan, mostly under knee-length shorts. This fashion has been around for women for quite a while and is relatively unremarkable. But for men it is a new idea, and something tells me that, since it is a style worn mainly by women, it probably is not going to catch on in many other parts of the world. Although it does seem to be pretty big in Korea.

Some examples of the leggings fashion being worn by men. The bottom picture is actually from a Korean fashion magazine.

Of course, leggings in themselves are an item of clothing that is worn primarily by women, so the idea of men wearing them at all, let alone under shorts, seems strange to a lot of us. But this demonstrates a willingness in Japan to diversify their fashion that is rarely seen in western countries. I think that is the most fantastic thing of all. In Japan you can dress in a relatively low-key, mainstream fashion kind of way, or you can go for the school girl look, or the mori girl look, or the goth loli look, or even the ganguro and yamanba look, and while you might be frowned upon by some of the older, more traditional citizens of Japan (who really cannot talk. Kimono and wooden sandals are very pretty and everything, but I would argue that, considering the clothes worn by most people today, kimono is quite a strange style of dress as well), you will not be considered weird. Or at least, certainly not as weird as you would be considered in other countries. In a country that normally looks so unfavourably towards diversity, having such a diverse sense of fashion is probably one of the most unusual, and certainly one of the coolest, things about Japan.

A few examples of the schoolgirl look being put in action. Notice the abundance of loose socks.

Some girls in goth loli dress.

Thanks to wikipedia.org and funkydoodledonkey.blogspot.com for the insight.