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The World Beyond Jeans

New Styles in Men's Leg Wear

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Strikingly colorful styles of leg wear are popular. (C) Paper Inc.

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Colorful leggings are a sure way to make a splash. (C) Paper Inc.

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For many years, jeans were far and away the most popular style of casual pants for men. In Japan, however, this long-standing trend has recently started to change, and a wide variety of different styles have become popular, including chinos, cargo pants, shorts, and other innovative new combinations. Men are starting to look beyond denim, sporting things like leggings and long socks, once worn only by women. Popular combinations include leggings worn under shorts. Once autumn arrives, the cooler weather is likely to produce even more variety, giving trendy young Japanese men a wider range of styles to choose from than ever before.

Stepping into a World of VarietyJeans dominated men’s fashion for decades in a variety of colors and styles: straight-legged, faded, black denim, and many more. Recently, though, in Japan jeans have been joined by beige and navy chinos and other cotton pants, as well as trousers with a distinctive shape, such as harem pants and cropped pants. These new trouser fashions have had an effect on upper-body wear too, triggering a shift away from T-shirts, checked tops, and other casual fashions. Although these styles went well with jeans, the popularity of chinos and other somewhat “smarter” pants has seen a surge in sales of polo shirts, button-downs, and other semi-formal tops—some of them with quite original designs, such as draped neck knits.

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Rolled-up hems are the big trend. (C) Paper Inc.

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A colorful new twist on traditional suteteko.

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Leggings for MenThis spring, leggings became popular with Japanese young men for the first time. One popular innovation is for men to wear leggings under shorts. Black, gray, and other basic colors and patterns are common choices, but more distinctive designs are also available, including intricate and colorful geometric, striped, checked, and jacquard patterns. Long T-shirts that come down to the top of the legs are being worn with leggings, suggesting that some men are not immune to the temptation of showing off their legs.

The growing popularity of cropped and rolled-up hems has brought socks into the spotlight, with a growing range of styles available for peacocks looking to strut their stuff. Among the fashions creating a stir at street level are colorful ankle socks, knee-highs, and daring leg warmers; the balance between footwear and the hem of the pants is the key to these stylish new coordinations. 

Luxury Underwear?This revolution in leg wear fashions has led to a rediscovery of suteteko, a calf-length garment worn between underwear and pants. Suteteko came into widespread use during the Meiji era (1868-1912) as an undergarment that could absorb sweat, keep trousers from sticking to the skin, reduce wear and tear on clothes, and protect the wearer against the cold. Long dismissed as a hopelessly unfashionable item worn by old men and the tragically unhip,  suteteko have recently begun to attract the attention of fashionable young Japanese men, thanks to a range of colorful, sleek new designs now available. Suteteko can be worn under a suit at the office and for lounging around in at home. This garment, shaped by the Japanese climate and traditional way of life, is earning a new place in the wardrobes of younger Japanese men. (October 2010)

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