How did Japanese men learn to wear "good" clothes?

We can easily recognize Japanese men on the street. Except for their posesand facial expressions, they always have a Japanese flavor, and usually theirclothes are a little different from those of Chinese men.

It seems more stylish.

Of course, China also has many "fashionistas". However, Japanesemen's fashion seems a bit "sink". Obviously, they are not veryfashionable and well-dressed people.

Therefore, this should not be a matter of personal taste for one or two people. ButJapan's clothing industry has grown to the point where ordinary people caneasily buy fashion. Without the support of cultural soil, the clothingindustry can develop into a towering tree. The fashion culture of Japanesemen's clothing actually originated from the longing for American culture afterWorld War II.

The mainstream style of Japanese casual clothes we see today is often referredto as "Meigaji", which means American casual clothes. May Kajiincludes several styles, all of which echo the American way of life. Forexample, the US military style represented by the MA-1 military jacket, theworker style represented by jeans, and the West Coast surfing style representedby Hawaiian shirts. Among them, the Eastern style was first popular inJapan, and it was also the first to set off a trend of "dressing"among Japanese men.

"American Tradition" is a Japanese coinage, which is the abbreviationof American Tradition, which is "American Traditional Style". Infact, this is not purely American, but a "Japanese-American" style.It was born after the war, when the Japanese imitated American clothing styles.

The typical AMETORA style is still the king of male fashion. Magazine"PEN" On October 15, 2018, "

Metola " Japan is a characteristic of the American style. The mediahall AMETORA, also known as the "Ivy Style", originates from theleisure of mobile students in the East China Sea coast. Installed. It isboth traditional and conservative, full of youth. After this style wasintroduced to Japan, it had an unprecedented impact. After years of upsand downs, it is always full of strong vitality.

The Chinese translation of today's book is called "Harajuku Cowboy",and its original name is "AMETORA". This is an American author'sstudy of the origin and development of Japanese fashion (men's clothing).

In the 1950s, the shadow of Japan's defeat gradually disappeared, and thepeople's economic level improved greatly. Due to the deepening of Americanculture, ordinary Japanese have begun to come into contact with the materialenjoyment of American middle-class life, which is undoubtedly a huge temptationto those who have just become rich. Ladies who love beauty start to wearwestern clothes and learn the most fashionable western clothes. But themenswear market is still silent, because in Japan, the concept of "menshould not dress up" is deeply rooted. Everyone at work must wear asuit, and students can only wear school uniforms. If they don't wear them,they are "immoral" and "rogue".

In 1959, young men and women waited for ballroom dancing on the Tokyo dancefloor. Western-style social entertainment has entered the lives of youngpeople. The young women in the photo are very fashionable, while the menare wearing uniform loose suits. Photo From: Life, Photo John Dominguez

Women's Illustrated is a publisher that specializes in women'smagazines. At this point, the editors thought there should be a magazineexplaining fashion to Japanese men. However, in Japan at the time, only afew people "dressed." Who can take on the responsibility of the"fashion godfather"? The editor can think of Shi Qianjie, anoble son of the clothing industry.

Shi Jinqian was born in a wealthy family and loves to dress up aschildren. Instead of inheriting the family business, he set up his ownclothing company. He used his foreign language and social skills to buyAmerican-made fabrics and accessories, produce high-quality clothing, and sellit to Xinfu. However, Shi Jin wanted to walk a flight of stairs to allowmore "new middle class" to buy his clothes. To this end, thefirst thing to do is to break people's fixed beliefs that "men can onlywear suits, and suits can only be customized and upgraded" so that theycan accept the purchase of ready-made clothes and also tell them to weardifferent clothes on different occasions. .

Shi Qianjie is willing to cooperate with the magazine. For him, themagazine was not only a tool he introduced.

In 1959, Ishizen Street finally had the opportunity to visit PrincetonUniversity and saw historic Gothic campus buildings and swarming collegestudents. They usually wear button-neck shirts and khakis. Thesesimple styles of clothing are usually made from natural materials such ascotton and wool, which makes them durable.

What is most different from fashionable Japanese youths is that the top collegestudents in the United States often wear their clothes in tatters. This is notshabby, but chic. This low-key and careless feeling is exactly where elitestudents show off their strengths. Shi Qianjie, born in a wealthy family,can feel the magnificence under this simple appearance.

After returning home, Shi Jie directed his clothing brand VAN to startproducing "Ivy" style clothing. The photos of American collegestudents' life he took in Princeton also appeared on the cover of "Men'sClothing", leaving people with "Ivy "A beautiful impression ofstyle.

This is the cover of Men's Club in 1960. The American college students inthe photo were taken by Princeton's Historian. It seems that this kind ofclothing has no sense of fashion, but we can still easily feel the low-keysuperiority emanating from the people in the picture. The picture is fromthe Chinese Internet, the original source is unknown.

Xiang Jie, the son of Qian Jinjie, also joined the editorial board of Men'sClub. Here, Xiang Jie met two colleagues of the same age, hardcore fans ofthe "Ivy League" and sensitive black-bearded ear husband. Haishulater became Japan's top "Ivy League" expert, while Shuiji created an"Ivy League Boy" illustrated image, which was well known to all youngpeople in the 1960s.

This is the 1962 "Ivy League Boys" poster, drawn by Angel WatchingMoon and Mizuho. Notice the third boy on the right in the lastrow. He wrote three Chinese characters on his leg: a short coat, but thephonetic beside it was an English short coat. This is an era of old andnew. Image source: Pinterest

Fan and Men's Club have become a close partnership. On the one hand, Fanneeds to use the influence of "Men's Club" to promote "IvyLeague style". On the other hand, Men's Club also needs VAN toprovide it with the most popular heart content every month. Thisconstraint of interest that delights both parties greatly contributes to theeffectiveness of the work.

Fan soon became a popular brand among the youth at the time. By 1964,young people began to walk the streets wearing a full set of"Ivy". Young people who can't afford VAN clothes just go to thestreet with bags with the VAN brand label. Near Yukio Avenue in Ginza,Tokyo, has become a mecca for this group of fashion lovers. They alsobecame the "Snow Men Tribe." In Japanese, the word"XX" is derogatory, meaning you are not a normal person. In theeyes of adults, this dress is purely "fancy clothes". Theseyoung people are idle and like to dress up, which is completelyhopeless. Fan naturally became the object of public criticism.

In 1964, the "Royal Family" wearing fashionable clothes and carryingVAN paper bags marched on the Royal Boulevard in Ginza. In the lower rightcorner of the picture, a bicycle book and newsstand was photographed andwrapped in hemp rope. As can be seen, this is a heavy cargobike. Chinese people who have experienced the 1980s and 1990s will alsosmile at this old and new photo. Image source: GQ.jp

reproduces the classic scene from 1964 in the Japanese retro movie "Men'sClub". Kikuchi (played by Moriyama Miku) in the movie is a stylish"royal". In the photo above, he is wearing a light-colored plaidsuit and proudly walks along Ginza Street with a VAN paper bag, while thegirlfriend next to him does not understand fashion.

In 2005, Shi Jin died. The white-haired "Yuxing Family" onceagain put on the most popular "Ivy League" and brought Fan's paperbag to Yuxing Avenue to commemorate their "fashiongodfather". Picture from: Edo.net Shi

Jinxiang is very worried that the neat "Ivy League" style will beregarded as a bad subculture because of these events. This is obviouslythe style of elite American college students. So he planned a crazy plan:go to a real Ivy League school and make a movie about those college students.

It was 1965, and Japan was not so developed. This group of people claimsto be the most fashionable fashion practitioners in Japan, but in fact theyhave not traveled to many countries. Their understanding of Americanclothing comes from very limited clues and their own imagination.

They didn't expect to come to Harvard, but all they saw were college studentswearing shorts and flip-flops. In the desperate collapse, they visitedseveral famous universities,

and compared with the clothes of American students, what impressed them mostwas the ancient buildings of American universities. At first I thought theUnited States was a country full of high technology in the future. I did notexpect that Americans would be so awed by ancient traditions, so that theJapanese were very surprised.

As a symbol of the new era, developers are keen to build modern buildingswithout the concept of preserving culture. The most heartbreaking eventwas the dismantling of the old Imperial Hotel in the 1960s instead of the 1960sand the construction of a new reinforced concrete building in Tokyo in1968. This old museum was designed by American architectWright. Wright was later named the "Greatest American Architect"by the American Architectural Society, and has a high status in the history ofworld architecture. Wright's best work in Japan, the Old Empire Hotel, iseasily overthrown by the spirited Japanese. This is an expensive tuitionpaid by Japan during its rapid development.

The original appearance of the Tokyo Imperial Hotel. These photos shouldhave been taken from 1930 to 1940. Image from: flwright.org

This group of Japan's most fashionable young people has noticed the gap betweentheir own country and the truly developed ones. Obviously, this gap doesnot only exist in material wealth. However, just as the Book of Songs,Chihiro often educates young people, the true charm of the "Ivy"style they seek is not only fashion, but also respect for tradition at theforefront of fashion.

After returning to Japan, the team cut the collected information into a shortfilm called "Men's Club", and edited the photos into an album of thesame name, which was published by the publisher "ALWAYS Sanchome Sunset64". Of course, Take Ivy also launched a special series searching for"Ivy League".

1965 "Ivy League" special issue of Men's Club. Photo source:Interview with VICE Shi Jinxiang, as shown below

, the first edition of "Men's Club" published in 1965, "AmericanCollege Life and Lifestyle" Image source: Amazon.com "Men'sClub" album itself is not selling well, but anyone who has seen the photosinside can see the charm of "Ivy" style: neat and decent, free andcasual, full of youthfulness, definitely a good set Student costume. Thishas become an excellent tool for Fan propaganda. Japanese society'simpression of Fan improved rapidly. At the end of that year, VAN saleswere unprecedented.

As the saying goes, fashion fluctuates like a tide. In 1978, the verypopular player VAN also faced the fate of bankruptcy. However, fashionenthusiasts will remember that Professor Fan has their original taste, which isthe teacher of all Japanese fashion.

At present, the founders of Japan's major fashion factories BEAMS, SHIPS, andUNITED ARROWS all have Fan's ancestry, even Uniqlo. The "small countytown enterprise" run by Liu's father, Yamaguchi Prefecture, is Fan's localagent.

The most incredible thing is that in 2008, Americans started chasing their losttraditional clothing culture-and wearing too long t-shirts, eventually foundthat suits were more attractive. At this time, the Japanese-made"Take Ivy" album entered the vision of American fashionpeople. The clothing for college students in the 1960s is now gone. Theonly reference is Take Ivy. Americans find that Japanese "Metso"American clothing has surpassed the United States in many ways. Today'sHarvard students need to learn the style of the "Ivy League" until"Take Ivy" if they want to dress more attractively. "TakeIvy" Japanese copy, HEARST Fujingaho, published in 2011. There is alsoan English version, published by the Book of Power.

Today, Take Ivy is not only a stylish street photo, but also a capsule of timeof that era. It records not only the good old days of the United States,but also the landmarks of Japanese fashion history.

Fashion magazine Take Ivy launched "Bring Ivy 2016" in February 2016to commemorate this groundbreaking history.

This year marks the 65th anniversary of Take Ivy. They made a specialAmerican, and returned to the United States to find the origin of contemporaryJapanese fashion. Take Ivy, released in November 2019, showcases NewYork's street scene. A Japanese model wears a classic "Ivy"style-gold button navy casual wear.

Shi Xiangjie, the son of "Stone" and former editor of"POPEYE", was interviewed and told the history that everyone isfamiliar with.

Shi Jinxiang was interviewed in a green house. The fashionable youth ofthat era was already a white-haired old man. Photo credit: November 2019"Men's Club" issue

Today, Japan is already one of the most dressable countries in theworld. Do Japanese colleagues enjoying fashion today think of those whoare ignorant to explore?

What these young people did was considered "immoral" and"immoral" by mainstream society at the time. However, they areunwilling to be constrained by stale dogma and long for a better and freerlife. As a result, they worked tirelessly to get closer to the ideal worldin their hearts and eventually created their own culture.