FOR THE FASHION GIRLIES: INSPO FROM THAILAND, VIETNAM & JAPAN
This post is for the fashion girlies. Without question one of the most fun parts of the Radical Sabbatical ™ has been observing fashion trends across countries and continents.
This post is dedicated to what inspired me in Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan. ENJOY!
INSPIRATIONS:
I am inspired by how creative people are in pairing seemingly unrelated items together and the way in which people work in unique, small details for an overall WOW factor that you feel like you can’t copy. This was evident in all three countries, but the creativity of pairing items together was especially evident in Tokyo, specifically in the Shimokitazawa neighborhood!
Shit is so cute, with an undeniable flair for drama. Nail art is 3D, cell phone cases have charms, socks have frills, crocs are literal crocodile heads, and headphones have bedazzled ears on them. Literally everywhere we went I was like “fucking cuteeeeeeeee….OMG, that is so fuckingggggg cute. HOW DID THEY KNOW TO MAKE THAT SO CUUUUUTTTTTE.” I found this to be true in all three countries but ESPECIALLY in Bangkok.
You have never felt as insignificant as you have standing next to a career woman on her way to work in Saigon. If you’ve been to Miami, you might have an inkling of the feeling but talk about being brought to your knees. Like “OKAY perfectly shaped, perfectly coiffed bob. Do you get a trim every week because there is not a single hair out of order, and how does it track your jaw line so perfectly?! I see those understated but still breathtakingly chic cat eye sunglasses, might I ask where you got them?! Not a neck scarf that is somehow both setting off and bringing together the whole outfit?! How and I mean this non rhetorically, HOW did you pick that out and make it work so well?!” And then obviously, the pièce de résistance, a sleek shopping bag, from some en vouge shop to signal that you are indeed a high class fashionista. The women exuded elegance. The best I can explain it is the way they wore their clothes and the way their clothes swished as they commuted was ELEGANT. No detail left unattended.
And then last, but absolutely not least, a key takeaway, key inspiration, key life change is no outdoor shoes inside. The absolute savagery of wearing outdoor shoes inside when you could simply take them off and put on a clean slipper. My Caucasian ass will never go back.
OBSERVATIONS:
When compared with the US, women's makeup is much more natural looking.
3D finger nail art ruled, as did toenail nail art (not 3D but designs).
Slacks (as opposed to jeans) rule. There are way more people (men and women) wearing slacks as their everyday pant. I’m not sure why this is in Thailand and Vietnam (other than the fact that it’s blistering hot and humid and what is more repressive than jeans in the heat?!), but we did a fashion tour in Japan and it was explained to us that work attire in Japan is business formal, not business casual, and that the first rule in many employee handbooks is “no jeans” which probably has an impact as the streets are dominated by salary men in full suits.
Closed toed shoes do not rule and there are tons of people in open toed shoes, even in the capital cities! NOTE that this was only true in Vietnam & Thailand. When we got to Japan we hardly saw ANYBODY in open-toed shoes.
I didn’t keep as good notes on the men’s fashion but what I did notice is the men were noticeably fresh. Like freshly barbered, shoes aren’t scuffed, fingernails are clean, put together and intentional.
Comparatively, very few beards and everybody has a clean ass fade. Q got 4 haircuts when we were in T/V/J and nobody did him dirty. Popular amongst the youth (lol) was the wolf cut, a la Jungkook’s most recent.
The dominant street style was oversized clothes that are yet somehow still impeccably fitted?!?! Or a very casual oversized shirt, paired with well tailored, cuffed slacks. When I said above that people work in unique, little details and are really creative in how items are paired together, it applied to men and women, but I was more impressed with the men’s creativity. Looked amazing, 10/10.
Accessories! There are so many men with handbags and it looks so good, so sharp, so posh, so dominant. Almost everybody wore a watch, and again, always with a single sleek shopping bag as a nod to your status. May we pray Q was as inspired as I was because Lamborghini mercy…
ANECDOTES:
One size fits all in South East & East Asia means if you’re even an inch larger than me, the size will not fit you.
As I mentioned above we did a fashion tour in Tokyo, and one thing we learned is there are several different styles of Harajuku but the dominant categories are kawaii (cute), goth, and Victorian. Goth had a major resurgence recently due to the influence of Wednesday Adams. Fingers crossed kawaii has a similar resurgence with the Barbie premier upon us….
As a girl who loves a market, Thailand and Vietnam did NOT disappoint. I was in literal hog heaven. Here’s what I noticed on the brand and knock off fronts. ALSO, if you’re interested in learning about knock offs, might I recommend this podcast (thanks to my husband, Teencie, for turning me on Articles of Interest).
Below are the brands I hadn’t seen dominate the knockoff scene before but are totally dominating in Thailand/Vietnam:
The North Face
Patagonia
Fjällräven
Croc
Classics in the knockoff scene that still dominate:
Gucci
LV
Prada
YSL
Dior
Chanel
And then brands I noticed dominating on the streets and thus, also in the markets.
Streetwear: Champion and FILA are ruling, with a lot of Adidas and Nike as well.
Designers: LV absolutely first and foremost, followed by Celine, Prada and Chanel in that order. Celine is much more popular than in the US.
Other: I had never seen the brand Kappa before but it was noticeable across the three countries. Same with a brand called Gentle Woman, their bags were EVERYWHERE. They’re a Bangkok based brand. And finally, Starbucks is wildly popular and it’s common to see people carrying Starbucks to go bags and also literal merch.
CAPITALISM: specific things I want to integrate into my wardrobe
Christian Dior Book Tote: Perhaps the most common item in the markets was this bag. There was not a single store selling purses that was not selling this bag. It (!) is (!) everywhere (!). Oddly, I didn’t see too many people carrying them around, but it DOMINATED the markets.
Crocodile Slides: We saw people wearing these crocodile slides EVERYWHERE in Thailand. There were crocodiles but also people wearing different variations with all types of animals, but the crocodiles were the most popular. We saw fewer people WEARING them outside of Thailand, but they still dominated the markets. Every store selling shoes had them. We love a slide, we love a dramatic flair, they are SO cute, and I can’t wait to get them in PINK as my inside slipper.
Platform crocs like THIS and THIS absolutely dominated the footwear scene in Thailand and Vietnam, obviously full of charms. A platform croc. Can you even stand it?! I for one cannot. It’s only a matter of months until I am in sport more with these babies, DECKED out in charms, tearing through the streets of Park Hill. BYE!
The Prada Monolith Platform Sandal was another interpretation of the platform croc. This specific shoe, and then knockoffs of the same style are popular, paired with a frill sock if you can stand it.
Nobody and I mean NOBODY wears a neck scarf like a Vietjet Air flight attendant crew but it will be ME trying by absolute darndest. All across Thailand/Vietnam/Japan the women were wearing neck scarves looking posher than a Spice Girl, more elegant than Coco Chanel herself.
For both and women, parachute pants are absolutely the hottest thing going right now. All different styles, materials and colors. I LOVE them and I do have a pair on their way home (thanks, Anna!) to pair with my high heel crocs?! IDK, it might be too much too soon.
Overall, 10/10. The only inspiration I have to reenter the workforce is to make money so I can start to integrate these inspirations into my life.
ALL MY LOVE!
