What is the world coming to.

posted Jan 17, 2012

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This contest is.. odd. I think it's slightly awesome that your legs hold up against 18 year old girls, though, hehe.

posted Jan 17, 2012

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this is so weird

posted Jan 17, 2012

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Idk, but I think this guy might give him a run for his money...

legsoftheyear.com/entries/16/

posted Jan 17, 2012

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I think I want to laugh... but I'm too confused by the purpose of this to actually do so.

posted Jan 17, 2012

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Oh no, it's totally this guy

legsoftheyear.com/entries/124/

posted Jan 17, 2012

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Hi all.

If you all look at my Lookbook.nu outfits, then you'll find that I'm trying to make shorts and hosiery a mainstream style for heterosexual men. I want to make it as masculine as possible.

I understand that it is surprising for many of you, but please do think about the men who have to wear medical compression hosiery for their circulation. Doctors prescribe it, and it's a serious issue. I want them to be able to wear shorts without taking their hosiery off, and without sticking out like a sore thumb.

If you feel that you are open minded enough to support this cause, then please do vote.

I doubt that I will win the contest, even if I were to get the most votes. However, becoming a finalist would make a big difference, and that is something that the community can help me to do. It would also send a message: there are lots of people who support the fashion.

Please vote to speak out for us who wear shorts and hosiery in public.

posted Jan 18, 2012

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Lol. Yeah -- that's me. I put that up there for laughs. I figured that since I already entered it into Lookbook's Halloween contest (lookbook.nu/look/2619103-I-m-your-Fairy-Godfather-Whodoya-want-waxed), I might get a bit more mileage out of it. Hehehe... It IS a bit of an odd contest though.

posted Jan 18, 2012

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I see no problem with it but maybe the title is too weird.

"VOTE FOR MY LEGS!..."

It's kinda odd. But I can totally see your intentions. :)

posted Jan 18, 2012

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Hi Lhizette. Thanks for your support.

What do you recommend for a title?

posted Jan 18, 2012

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Are there a lot of guys in Japan who wear shorts and hosiery?

posted Jan 18, 2012

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Aha that's amazing! You get my vote!

posted Jan 18, 2012

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Do I get a vote, too?

posted Jan 18, 2012

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Yes, but not as you portray it in your looks...

In the past couple years it has become trendy for men to wear cargo shorts with leggings -- but cotton ones that fit rather loosely and don't follow the contours of the legs. It started in Tokyo and the de facto standard was black cotton. But last year the style really took off and now the hot thing is rainbow colored stripes (in a muted earth-tone palette, rather than a bright, LGBT flag palette) and "winter" leggings with snowflake and nordic patterns, like you sometimes see here on LB as well.

This has also expanded into athletic wear. Now it is common to see male athletes wearing running shorts over lycra leggings or tights. One of my students frequently comes to class wearing that... But again, the trend seems to shy away from the leggings being tight. But personally, I just attribute that in part to many men not knowing how to shop for legwear properly. Here's an example from Tokyo of a kind of street-athletic hybrid style that's in right now. tinyurl.com/7hkz7sj

Some Tokyo men have also begun wearing long, ankle-length, heavy black (or dark) skirts as well but that's a limited scene. It's been around for about 5 years maybe? And it doesn't seem to be growing in popularity that much. It might yet. Who knows. When a Japanese lingerie company started making bras for men (no, not "bros" or medical devices for andromastia (or however you call it) but just silky, A-cup, fetishistic bras FOR MEN, it took off so fast that the company couldn't keep up with demand and their ordering website was back-ordered like crazy. Average order fulfillment time was 60 days plus... So you never know what the next, crazy Japanese fad is going to be!

That said, it may be just a matter of time before Tokyoite men start wearing their shorts with "tighter" leggings, or even tights and other hosiery. Who knows? I've incorporated it into some of my looks, but not every day. And I'm not Japanese so whatever I do and however I dress is always going to be seen a little differently (for better or worse).

If you're interested, check out tokyofashion.com/photos/ to get a better idea of what's in. But I would say, that Tokyo is such a diverse city, almost ANYTHING goes. Here's another one showing one kind of skirt-based style (that I mentioned before): japanesestreets.com/photoblog/1641/harajuku-tokyo-warita?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+jstreets+%28JAPANESE+STREETS%29

Sorry for the lengthy reply... But when you put "Japan" and "fashion" in the same sentence, you open up a HUGE can of worms! Lol!

posted Jan 19, 2012

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Thanks! ;-P <3

posted Jan 19, 2012

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Oh yeah.... And please show Eugene some love too! I really didn't want to come here to steal his thread here!

Sorreeeeeee, Eugene... ;-(

posted Jan 19, 2012

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No worries. I actually wanted others to feel free to request votes. It's just hard to say it, because...well, we're competitors. :^D

posted Jan 19, 2012

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No, no, no. *Thank you* for the long reply. I've actually been wanting this type of information for quite sometime. I've never really known where to look, and my search engine skills are not that great.

I'm probably going to sift through all the photos and links. I'm pretty excited about this.

In Metro Vancouver, the foreigners [i.e. Japanese, Korean, Chinese, etc.] tend to be the fashion leaders. Do they look at white people as fashion leaders?

posted Jan 19, 2012

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No, at least not directly. Japan is a very proud nation. They are proud of their culture, language, heritage, and just their Japaneseness in general...

But there's a trickle-down effect... Japanese youth, also members of the MTV generation, have grown up watching MTV Japan -- which places a large emphasis on J-Pop (and nowadays increasingly, K-Pop). Many of those J-pop stars, and for that matter, J-Reggae, J-Hip-Hop, etc., are all influenced by American artists.

That's why you'll see Japanese flashing gang signs and wearing one pant leg rolled up, but won't have a CLUE why or where it came from, other than that it's cool.

So to answer your question, non-Japanese DO have an influence on Japanese style and fashion, but not directly. If I wear a lampshade on my head in Harajuku, I won't come back next Sunday and find a dozen guys wearing lamp shades on their heads too.

But kilts on the other hand.... Have been seen worn by well-known stars like P Diddy and Snoop Dogg, and are slowly making their way into the mainstream. And people like me who are members of the St. Andrews Society of Tokyo and Yokohama have had enough of a direct influence, to cause others to start wearing it too. Scottish culture has directly rubbed off on many Japanese, and there's even a pipe band that has been around since the 1970s, consisting of at least half local members, with the other half being ex-pats. Each year there are events like a Robert Burns supper, winter ball, Highland games, etc, that are all well-attended -- and in that sense -- yes, we've had a very direct influence on some of the style and fashion.

posted Jan 19, 2012

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Kilts! That's awesome. I think that kilts really need to be in the mainstream. More accurately, *we* need kilts to be in the mainstream, just so that there is variety for different situations. I appreciate reading your news.

I noticed at Vancouver's Celtic Fest, that there were a huge amount of people that were probably foreigners from Asia. I assumed that it was because they just wanted volunteer hours, but maybe they just happen to like the Celtic culture.

At the Highland games, did you get a lot of big Japanese guys heaving over sized "telephone" poles, etc.? I don't mean to sound racist, but it's hard to imagine non-whites competing satisfactorily in those games. On the other hand, when I went to China, I expected to be 1 of the tallest guys on campus, at 5'6", but I was probably 1 of the 10 shortest.

Do you have a blog?

posted Jan 19, 2012

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Why would you want to turn it into something that It's not? Me, personally I love wearing tights, pantyhose, W/E, keeps my junk in place etc etc. But 99% of all men will never understand this, therefore my good brotherman, sir, brobeans, your diabolic plans of introducing man to something that man is not ready for is mad, MAD I TELL YOU! but we all go a little mad sometimes, but I'm sorry, nobody's looking for tights in today's wintry economic climate. But anyhow I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore, heres looking at you kid. Now, bed time, may the force be with you, always.

posted Jan 20, 2012

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If you love wearing it, then help me to reach the people who will love wearing it, but who have not had a chance to learn about shorts and hosiery. Please vote for me.
legsoftheyear.com/entries/123/

I only need 1 more vote to break out of a tie. You could be that person.

posted Jan 20, 2012

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Creds to ya both for repping your set.

posted Jan 20, 2012

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This guy is a HERO and I'll happily vote for you.

It beats these kids ranting on about SWAG and that bollacks and in their words 'fuck da haterz'

posted Jan 20, 2012

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Thanks, Steve. You'll have to install a Facebook app to your Facebook profile in order to vote.

Were you #16?

posted Jan 20, 2012

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Hi Zahraisabelle. Thanks for your support. Would you vote for me?

posted Jan 20, 2012

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Aye I was, I sent the link to a few of my mates to see if they'll vote as well, hopefully you'll smash through into the top ten.

posted Jan 20, 2012

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Thank you, #16. :^D I appreciate the vote and the sending of the link to your mates.

posted Jan 21, 2012

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rachel's got it in the bag, folks
legsoftheyear.com/entries/110/

posted Jan 21, 2012

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What do you think about all of this?

posted Jan 21, 2012

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i think the contest itself is quite silly, but your take on it (trying to make tights and leggings acceptable menswear) is really cool, and i admire you for that.

posted Jan 22, 2012

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I like your attitude. It dawned on me that this is a popularity contest, which isn't too surprising, because it requires votes.

That being said, if you have a Facebook app, then would you vote for me? You'd have to install a Facebook app to your profile, though.

posted Jan 22, 2012

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