The Differences between Japanese Styles and American Styles

By Ayaka Yamanaka – Fashion Business Merchandising Student and International Student

I’m an international student from Japan. When I came here, I was sometimes surprised by some styles. People from Japan don’t wear leggings as a pants. When Japanese women go work out, they wear leggings as sportswear. Moreover, when they wear dresses, they wear leggings under the dress because they wouldn’t like to show their skin. Leggings are one of the trends fall/winter 2018-19. So, many women will wear leggings this way.

The second difference is a way of showing less skin. Japanese women lack confidence of their body shape types, and many women diet. Because of this, they would like to hide their body shape. Recently, many women have been wearing wide pants to hide their legs, and if it’s in the summer, they don’t wear cropped tops that show their torso.

Of course, some Japanese women wear skinny jeans. If skinny jeans become a trend, some Japanese women try it, because trends are important to people in Japan. Sometimes, if you walk in Omotesando, where is very popular place to shop in Tokyo, you might see same handbags many times.

Trends are more strictly followed in Japan versus in the United States. In the USA, trends are not as important as in Japan, but Americans dress similarly. In Japan, the trends are more important, and there is more variety in what Japanese people wear. I have enjoyed observing the differences in fashion of the two countries.