Japanese Fashion Dos and Don'ts
 

I'm considering moving to Japan in a hopefully not too distant future.

I would appreciate some information on Japanese fashion hits and misses in different environments/occasions, such as office-wear and what to wear for a night out with friends.

Are there any obvious DOs and DON'Ts that I should know of?

~annelie

That is such an immense question to ask. Different fashion applies to different parts of Japan and so on...

Work related attire is very much like that worn by 'white collar' workers, so suits etc. When out with friends it depends on where you are going, who is going to be there, but of course as it is in Western countries you are not expected to be so formal.

The Japanese people will understand that you are new to their culture and the majority of people are kind enough to realise that as a 'foreigner' you will not know everything. So the best advice I can give you is to ask people, they will appreciate that you respect them enough to ask ^_^

dont wear a fully white suit. white is only properly worn at funerals.

umm otherwise, japans still fairly conservative with eveyday fasion; you need to consider crowded public transport; no nothing too revealing/ low cut etc; juust take a look at what others are wearing and take it from there ;)

good luck and enjoy ;) :ywave:

thx alot, Gwen! thats just what i wanted to know~! :D

See, this is exactly the type of reassurance I need. Thank you! :)

Gwen_Goth's advice about not wearing white suits unless attending a funeral is great too, as I tend to wear white clothes on a regular basis.

Thanks guys!

~annelie

Do - Bathing Ape

Just dress as if you care about how you look. Japan doesn`t have some sort of exotic dress code.

The white suit thing is right, but white *clothes* aren`t that weird. And really, I think anyone wearing a pure white formal *suit* around is going to be stared at just about anywhere in the world they are. I`ve seen people wearing white shorts with white shirts in the summer because it`s cool. Nothing strange about it.

The only thing I would pay attention to would be sleeve length. People usually don`t wear short sleeves before or after certain dates. If you don`t see anyone around wearing short sleeves, they`re probably not in season.

my suggestion.

just be yourself. try not to go with the fashion too much.

whatever you wear, if you want to wear a bucket in your head. fine by me. :D

i find that cool!

If you're talking about dressing appropriately for the weather then I understand what you're saying. What worries me is that there might some holiday or something when Japanese people don't wear certain clothes or outfits, and that I will not be aware of these customs when I arrive in Japan and consequently make a fool of myself.

~annelie

Lol, great idea! I'm gonna try wearing a bucket on my head every time it's raining from now on. Who knows, maybe I'll start a trend...

~annelie