I didn't mention this in my Shibuya post, but Karl had been wearing Manpris and I had a discussion with Cidi about them. I said I saw no reason for them and that people should just wear pants or shorts. His thought was that they offered a more formal appearance than short, without being too formal. I told him that while that might be true, it is the easiest way in the US to spot a foreigner. No man in the US wears that particular cut of pants. While there are some that wear shorts/ pants that are a similar length, none are cut quite that way. I said it was fine for women to wear them, but men in the US would not wear them.
I have subsequently seen a lot of Japanese wearing Manpris. I had thought it was a European fashion, but I suppose things like that will catch on in other places.
There is another fashion here that I don't quite follow. Some guys will wear a big leather pouch on their belt. It's sort of like a wallet I guess. It's sort of like a holster, since it hangs from the belt, but its purpose is more like a purse. I'll have to ask Cidi about them some time.
While I'm on this subject, I would also like to say that in my opinion, blond hair is not making any Japanese people look any better. The women I have seen with blond hair can't pull it off and it looks pretty unnatural. I also have seen a bunch of women with the same nose as Gogo from Kill Bill Vol. 1. It's weird, it's sort of too big for their faces (again, in my opinion). I mean, it was one thing for her to have one, but I didn't realize it was a common thing.
I'd also like to add to this ramble that I'm pretty sure if you printed anything, I mean anything at all in English on a shirt, you could sell it here for a profit. I've seen a few shirts that made no sense at all. So if I ever get some extra cash, I'm starting a T-shirt business, maybe I can just go to American companies, buy their misprinted merchandise, bring it to Japan, mark it up and sell it.
3 comments:
sounds like the japanese like fanny packs. i feel like they were hip again over here a few years ago for a second.
also, i agree with your manpri assessment.
Yeah, they're not quite fanny packs. They are really more like pouches with open tops. If I can find a picture I'll post it.
Ahhh, manpris. What a beautiful thing. I too though it was a rather European thing, but it makes sense that it's just "not American."
I agree actually that it is a little more formal. What the Germans kept pointing out is that you can still be extremely athletic while wearing them. I've never had a problem running in my shorts—they're not that baggy, after all—but there were times while playing frisbee when one of the Americans' shorts got in the way of a catch.
About the hair: I found it fascinating that while girls in the U.S. typically dye their hair blonde, girls in Bavaria would always dye it dark brown, because everyone was already blonde. I think the same thing's going on here.
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