I Spy With My Little Eye: Japan's Fashion Contradictions

Observations of an unfashionable mustache in a land where the modern and the traditional commingle, where simplicity and outrageousness walk side by side.

Conformity

I don't think I had seen any Japanese wearing sunglasses during my trip. Yeah, I went during autumn, but, hey, there are sunny days in autumn, too! The Japanese don't seem bothered by the sun's dazzling light. Is it because they are in the Land of the Rising Sun? I asked my Japanese friend if he wears sunglasses. He doesn't. Why? Because everyone else doesn't. If he wears one, he thinks he'd stick out like a sore thumb. My friend conforms to blend in.

While waiting for the train, while walking in the streets, I'd see double. Or triple. I'd see two or three (or more) friends, usually young ladies, wearing the exact same outfit or the same outfit but in different colors. We call it "twinning." The Japanese call it "Osoroi Code" (osoroi means "matching"). These young ones conform to stand out.


Modesty

For Japanese women, showing décolletage, even in a casual setting, is deemed inappropriate. But that doesn't mean women in Japan walk around all covered up. Because, strangely, short short skirts are not frowned upon. So ladies, when in Japan, remember: low necklines, not okay; high hemlines, a-okay. Go figure!