Men's street fashion in Tokyo is shifting to right-sized!

fun! fun! fashion!: "Men's street fashion in Tokyo is shifting to right-sized!"

BY REI SHITO CONTRIBUTING WRITER FOR ASAHI.COM

2011/10/07

The keyword for men's street fashion in Tokyo is the "feel for size." The trend is swinging back to the right-sized. (Photo by Rei Shito)More and more boys are particular about size. Could the platform-shoe boom be partly behind this!? (Photo by Rei Shito)Again this year, the standard Trad style neatly focuses on the right-sized. (Photo by Rei Shito)Again this year, the standard Trad style neatly focuses on the right-sized. (Photo by Rei Shito)This is another loose-fitting style from last year. (Photo by Rei Shito)The right-sized look is standard for the "mode" look. (Photo by Rei Shito)The "mode" style is back, as is apparent from this all-black outfit. (Photo by Rei Shito)

Editor's note: This is the eighth in an occasional column "fun! fun! fashion!" by Rei Shito, a Tokyo street fashion photographer. The original column in Japanese can be read at (http://www.asahi.com/fashion/column/fun/).

Shito's bilingual website, "Style from Tokyo," is at (http://stylefromtokyo.blogspot.com).

Hi! This is Rei Shito. Fall has arrived, and the heat is finally letting up. I'm counting down the days to the best season for street snapshots.

Today we focus on men's street fashions in Tokyo. Though new moves in the men's fashion scene are less conspicuous than those in the women's, there are signs of change now.

A keyword is "feel for size"--be they wide and loose, right-sized, or tight and slim. For a couple of seasons, we've seen somewhat loose-fitting styles for men. But this summer, things seemed to be shifting toward right-sized styles.

Compared to photos from last year, there certainly is a slight shift toward "just the right size." Let alone the neat "Trad" style, there is a swing back to this feel for size even in street fashions where loose has prevailed.

Before, T-shirts and pants were oversized to give a loose-fitting, or negatively speaking, dowdy feel. Now, if the T-shirt is baggy, the pants are slim or short. Or the top and bottom could be both the right size to be worn neatly. More people now seem to be focusing on size. I think the platform-shoe boom I mentioned last month is partly responsible for this change.

A close look at the undercurrent of this trend that is motivating people goes like this: (1) Enjoy the long-leg effect created by the platform shoes (Yeah!), then (2) The overall style becomes well-balanced (Wow!). Then people start looking for something that will highlight the nice balance in physique they acquired in (2). And so it's (3) A break with loose style!

Another trend is the "return to mode." Mode style in black from top to toe is slightly increasing from last year. Since the all-black style is the eternal standard in fashion, it exists all through the ages.

But its approval rating goes up and down just like the stock prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. At one point people may feel, "We've seen enough of it. Everybody is wearing it. I'm full!" But at other times they may worry that the style is going extinct, thinking, "We haven't seen the black style lately ..." Black mode is destined to go through this up-and-down cycle.

Now there are signs of a black-mode revival. For some reason, it is on the rise, sitting back and enjoying its expansion. Likened to stock prices, now is the best time to buy; if you are climbing Mt. Fuji you've reached the seventh station. Likened to romance, it's like being in a stage of agony and elation, when the countdown to the declaration of love has begun.

I think this trend has something to do with the shift from loose-fitting to the right-sized. If people's preference is shifting this way, it is only natural for them to focus on the black-mode style, whose specialty is right- or tight-sized.

Be it fashion, feelings or one's environment around this season, to "change" means diving into something you don't know about, accepting something new and at the same time, saying goodbye to the baggage you had been piling up. By doing so, your potential will grow further and further. Enjoy and accept it when your pulse races from anxiety or you are filled with joyful expectations.

September is the season of change. When you shrink a little from change, you may feel differently if you change a fashion item to something new. You might be able to see the changes in a positive light.

Now that's it for today. This was Rei Shito. Ciao!