The Japanese are very fashion conscious. Clothes make the man or woman. You are what you look like. And the key to success is hard work and looking the part. So, get with the program.
The Japanese women are very snappy dressers, but they tend to mix and match their clothes, creating their own rather eclectic ensembles that make them each unique. The only other place else that I’ve seen rivaling Tokyo when it comes to cool, sharply-dressed women is Barcelona.
And a Japanese lady in a kimono is a thing or rare beauty indeed.
During the work week, the men tend to wear the standard dark suit with slender tie and black shoes. It’s like the voluntary work uniform. And on weekends, they wear slacks, a shirt with open collar, and a nylon jacket.
The businesswomen wear a conservative black dress suit with the hem ALWAYS well below the knee.
We rarely saw any disheveled people. To walk the streets, looking like a slob, reflects poorly on you and your family. So, everybody is squared away in the clothes department.
And unless you are recreating, like jogging, most folks don’t wear shorts. Showing skin is not real popular in Japan, primarily because they tend to avoid the harmful rays of the sun.
The genuinely poor wear a sort of pauper’s uniform consisting of coveralls or service wear that are usually pretty clean. This is not a government mandate or anything like that. It’s just cheap and utilitarian dress adopted by those who can’t afford to buy nice clothes.
The one thing I found amusing about the Japanese dress code were the man purses. Many men carry them and they are often made of fine Italian leather. And this trend is definitely a younger man’s thing. I rarely saw an older man carrying one, but the thirty-somethings are definitely trying to make a fashion statement in a country where the men do not generally try and stand out.
Most people in Japan carry or wear some sort of bag to hold their stuff — briefcases, backpacks, big plastic bags. The Japanese work day is long and when they leave the house they are often toting a lot of gear. Keep in mind that Japan gave birth to the “capsule hotel”, small sleeping tubes that can be booked at an hourly rate for those who want a cheap place to stay, or for businessmen and women who can’t take the time to go home because they need to get back to work and want to take a short nap.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNhBiw9pgUo
So, the Japanese are essentially bag people. And man purses have added a new dimension to the dress mix that’s encouraging because it shows that the younger Japanese men are willing to stand out in a crowd. Of course, if everybody does it, I suppose it will just become another type of uniform. But in the meantime, investing in Japanese man purse companies is probably a wise investment.
