What Not to Wear

I was told that the Japanese are a shy people. I'm curious about that because in some ways they didn't seem shy at all, particulary in their dress. For the business day, it was pretty much black and white or at least other dark colors like navy blue or gray, but outside of the workplace they are very creative in the way they dress and it expresses some boldness I think. I was talking to my son, Luke, while we were there about this. I told him that I wondered how long it actually took them to put their outfits together everyday. It was like artwork, and some may have trying to design a masterpiece. Now, I know that most of you guys don't call your clothes "outfits", but from what I saw in Japan, I'm not sure you could describe them any other way. They were very creative. Occasionally, I would actually see someone dressed in an attire that we might call a Halloween costume. It was everyday garb for them.

I also noticed that a lot of the young men had a very feminine look to them. Sometimes when you saw a couple you had to look close to see if it indeed was a couple or just two girlfriends linked arm in arm. Their clothes were fine for them, their choice really, but I couldn't help but giggle when I begin to picture some of my guy friends here dressed like the young Japanese men.

And still a touch of tradition........