Women in Japan look very different compared to a decade ago.

It can be hard to keep up with what’s in style in the fashion world, especially in Japan where trends are constantly evolving at a rapid pace. Japanese Twitter user and artist Satoimoya (@petit_flare) has been keeping an eye on what’s cool, though, and now she’s showing us how much today’s fashion has changed from ten years ago with an illustration that’s gone viral online.

The side-by-side sketch of two women reveals that fashion right now is centred around low contrast and low colour saturation, which Satoimoya dubs “Hikizan Fashion” (“Minus Fashion“). Ten years ago, trends were totally the opposite, with a focus on high contrast and high levels of saturated colour, which Satoimoya describes as “Tashizan Fashion” (“Plus Fashion“).

▼ Things certainly were a lot brighter a decade ago, judging by Satoimoya’s girl of 2010 on the right.

From head to toe, the 2010 fashionista displays:

  • A flat straw hat
  • Full bangs (which grew from the sharp, clean-cut style required in high school)
  • Loose, curly hair
  • Uniformly light-coloured hair
  • Pierced earrings, without question
  • Décolletage must be shown
  • Denim shirt and a small floral print one-piece dress (shirt tied at the front)
  • Scrunchie on the wrist
  • A thick belt to highlight the waist
  • A basket bag
  • A mini skirt with two to three layers of frills
  • Gladiator sandals that go up to the ankles

Taking a closer look at Satoimoya’s girl of 2020, we see the following observations from head to toe:

  • A cap
  • “See-through” bangs
  • Casual hairstyle
  • Non-pierced earrings are fine
  • Only one section of the hair is lightened (“inner colour” etc)
  • Clothes with dropped shoulders that close up the neck
  • Waist pouch worn at the front
  • Generally long-length styles
  • Similar colours are coordinated together
  • Underneath the long one-piece dress is an additional long skirt
  • Black sports sandals

Since Satoimoya posted the insightful artwork online, it’s earned 125,000 likes and 31,000 retweets.

People were quick to gush over fashions past and present, with many praising the artist for being so spot on with the observations. Some even shared photos of themselves ten years ago dressed like the woman of 2010 while others commented on how girly the style of a decade ago looked compared to the more neutral tones favoured by the women of today.

It’s not just women’s fashion that’s ever-changing in Japan but schoolgirl fashion too. That’s actually another topic of interest for Satoimoya, who documented the uniforms of students in Aichi Prefecture and illustrated the differences between Japanese schoolgirls in 2007 and 2017.

Who knows what the people of Japan be wearing ten years from now? Whatever it is, Satoimoya will be sure to sketch it out for us.

Source, images: Twitter/@petit_flare
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