Interest

Cold Snap in Japan Prompts Debate Over Proper Schoolgirl Fashion

While America's east coast struggled through a historic blizzard last weekend, East Asia faced a similar problem: a record-breaking cold snap which brought sleet to subtropical Okinawa, hypothermia to Taiwan, and snow in Vietnam. Mainland Japan also witnessed bitter cold, with temperatures dropping to -9° C (15° F) in Kansai and snow 50 cm (19.5'') deep in Kanto, sending the country scurrying under their kotatsu.

On Twitter, artist Niichi (@niichi021) stirred up a debate with this picture of two schoolgirls with radically different approaches to fashion in these frigid temperatures.

The girl on the left "does her best not to lower her standards even when it's cold." The one on the right "lowers all her standards and emphasizes snugness." The girl on the left wears her favorite loafers and rolls up her skirt at the waistband three times despite the cold. She regrets not even wearing a scarf. Her only concessions to the climate are a heat pad (not visible) on her back and hand cream to ward off frostbite. The girl on the right brings earmuffs, a long scarf, the warmest coat her school provides, layered shirts underneath that, gloves, an unrolled skirt, thick tights (210 denier), and boots. She regrets nothing.

Niichi amended the initial tweet with another one asking whether tucking hair into a scarf is cute.

The picture struck a chord and garnered 39,255 retweets in four days. Niichi decided to make a poll to see which girl Twitter users preferred. The poll received 57,775 votes, 70% of whom favored the girl on the right. Apparently dealing with a freezing-cold weekend makes standard cute schoolgirl uniform fashion seem less realistic.

[Via Kai-You and The Japan Times]