先取りファッションは忍耐力？！

北風が吹けば体感温度5℃ぐらい？！のとにかく寒い1月中旬。

セール品が片隅に追いやられたショップ店内には早くも春服が並び、明るく爽やかな軽い雰囲気につい吸い込まれそうになる。が…外は真冬。街ゆく人もコートやダウン・ロングブーツで寒さから身を守っていた。そんな中、春をファッションに取り入れる際に考えることといったら…コートのインナーに明るい色のセーターや薄手素材の重ね着など、とにかく温かい工夫をしそうなものだ。

しかし、私が多く目撃した若い女性はちょっと違う。オシャレは足もとから？！。タイツやソックスを履かずに、素足にパンプスのコーディネイト。我慢大会さながらの無理をしているようにしか見えないけど、真冬の素肌はとても新鮮で重い色のコーディネイトを軽く見せる効果がある。

不況が不安をあおる中、ファッションにお金をかけられない若者が春を先取りする発想。それは忍耐力の一言に尽きるかもしれない。

Is being ahead of the fashion curve all about perseverance?

Mid-January in Tokyo is pretty cold. When the northern winds blow, it feels like 5˚C.

In a lot of shops, all the sale-price goods are already being pushed into a corner, and they’re lining up products from the spring collection. It’s easy to get sucked into the new products’ bright and refreshing vibe. But, c’mon, it’s the dead of winter outside. Everyone on the streets is protecting themselves from the cold with down coats and long boots. To use any of these spring items right now means doing it in a warm way, like maybe wearing light fabrics or brightly-colored sweaters under a coat.

This, however, is not the approach I see most young women doing on the street. They say style these days is all about leg-wear, but so many girls now coordinate their pumps with bare feet — no tights, no socks. It looks like they are in some epic struggle to see who can endure the most cold. But actually, the “bare skin in mid-winter” style looks pretty fresh. It lightens up an otherwise heavy-colored winter wardrobe.

As the recession heightens anxieties, I guess this is what the kids came up with as a way to start using spring fashion without spending any money. The whole thing’s come down to endurance.