What to wear at work
I’ve had to buy myself a new wardrobe before my trip to Japan. I’ll be working at an eikaiwa where the dress code is meant to be highly professional. This will also be my first job where I’ll be wearing business dress on a daily basis. So, three hundred dollars later, I have a cheap but adequate wardrobe. But I had to research it first because a few rules apply. Most gaijin travelling to work in Japan may also have to consider buying a new wardrobe too, so they can impress their Japanese bosses and collegues.
Firstly: conservative is the rule of thumb. Women should not wear excessive jewellery, and in fact no jewellery is preffered. If you feel the need to bling though, it shouldn’t be more than a simple silver or pearl necklace and a simple ring. Nail polish is a no-no. Outrageous hair even more so. For preference, it should be tied back and never dyed to unnatural colours. No perfume either! Oh and try to keep it lean when it comes to make up. I’m sure that a ganguro would wear enough for the both of you anyway.
Overall it is best for a woman not to look too feminine in a business environment. Which seems odd, as a suit jacket with matching skirt is the preferred outfit over suit jacket with matching trousers. Don’t look too much like a woman, but also remember your place, it seems. The shirt you wear with your suit should have a high collar and be cream or white. Pinstripes or a blouse with conservative patterns are also accepted. No high heel or strappy shoes and plain pantyhose only.
Men can dress much the same way as they would in the West. Suit jacket, trousers and tie. Don’t wear shorts. No outrageous hair or jewellery (except a wedding ring) or visible tattoos.
Finally, DO NOT WEAR BLACK. This was a problem in my wardrobe since anything I owned that was vaguely office-like was black. But in Japan this is associated with funerals and death. Men should wear dark colours in a business environment but never black. Women can wear grey, navy, green, dark purple or brown, but again, no black.
Sources:
How to Bow
JobERA.com
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March 27th, 2006 at 3:49 am
Thanks for the useful information. I’m about to move to Japan and will be teaching in an eikaiwa, most likely, and I was looking for some information about the dress code. I’m curious whether or not neat goatees are acceptable, though.
March 27th, 2006 at 11:54 am
I should update this a bit. It was written before I left for Japan and now I can write from experience. Most of the rules are the same. The eikaiwa are a bit more flexible but will have problems with excessive jewellery, make-up or colours. It IS ok to wear black though, just not a black tie – it’s associated with funerals.
Goatees should be ok, so long as they’re kept neatly trimmed. I know many goatee wearers hree.
September 11th, 2006 at 3:56 am
I don’t understand… then how come fashion magazines like CanCam advocate for OL-looks with nice jewellery, neat makeup and nail polish that can’t be worn at work?
Is the Office-Lady look actually for shopping only?
September 11th, 2006 at 4:27 pm
Good question.
After having been in Japan for a while, I can tell you that the rules above are on the strict side. The Japanese staff at my work often wear black (although men should never wear black ties – that’s for funerals). They wear basic makeup too. But they aren’t permitted to dye their hair (other offices could be more relaxed about that) and have very little jewellery.
Best to start out being very conservative until you get the hang of the office culture.
April 24th, 2007 at 6:04 am
The Japanese culture is EXTREMELY conservative. It is always best to err on the side of caution if you are unsure about something. As a basic, these general guidelines should help to prevent you from making a mistake and causing yourself embarrassment and others offense.
1) Avoid wearing the colour black. This is the colour of death and funerals in Japan. You can always wear dark colours like grey and navy, but don’t wear black. In the West black is considered chic and elegant, in Japan black is considered depressing and morose.
2) Dress in a very conservative manner, wearing skirts that are too short, showing off too much cleavage, wearing bright and flashy colours, dressing in a particularly glamorous or provocative way will annoy and offend your colleagues. You will give a very bad impression of yourself and your boss will assume that you do not have appropriate respect for your workplace and employer, people will think you are unprofessional at best, at worst they will think you are trashy and common and very unladylike.
3) Please do not wear much jewellery in Japan. The best advice is not to wear any, save perhaps for a wedding ring. Japanese women are very modest in behaviour and appearance, modesty is a highly-prized virtue in Japan. If you wear too much jewellery you will be thought of as vulgar and attention seeking. Japanese women think that too much jewellery looks gaudy and horrible. A good idea is simply to wear a pair of plain stud-type earrings and a wedding ring if you are married.
Much else will be seen as needless decoration and vanity and contradict the Japanese ideal of MODESTY. Remember that jewellery is not an essential item and it is not the end of the world if you cannot wear it. Nobody needs to wear lots of rings, bracelets, necklaces and earrings. Your face and personality should do the talking NOT your accessories.
4) Avoid wearing too much make-up. You may see Japanese geishas walking the streets, this does not mean that wearing lots of cosmetics is acceptable in this culture. Wearing too much make-up is considered rude and slutty, applying make-up in public places is considered particularly offensive to others and you will be reprimanded by passers-by or passengers on buses and trains, or people in restaurants. A very light dusting of face powder, a dash of mascara, a slick of a muted shade of lipstick (nothing too bright, glittery or glossy)and the merest touch of blush will be enough. Any more and your boss will ask you to amend your appearance, your female colleagues will be critical of you and look down on you for showing disrespect for Japanese culture and values.
Remember, modesty is the watchword with any aspect of your personal appearance in Japan.
5) Please, PLEASE, never wear ANY perfume or cologne or aftershave in Japan. Do not even wear a little or just a subtle fragrance. The absolute rule is-wear no fragrance at all. In Japan people dislike the wearing of perfume and they consider it to be literally “bodily pollution”. The merest hint of perfume or cologne on your skin will attract unfavourable comment from colleagues, men, passengers on buses/trains, people in restaurants. Do not wear it. The Japanese like the idea of neutrality in fragrance, their concept of smelling nice is smelling clean yet odourless. If you can imagine the way that your skin smells after washing with a gentle, unscented soap you are on the right lines. This is the Japanese concept of purity-clean yet odourless at all times. On no occasion in Japan is wearing perfumes considered romantic or appropriate. Abstain completely. Have a shower in the mornings, wash with a gentle and mildly scented soap or shower gel, use a mildly scented or perhaps unscented deodorant very sparingly and only where needed (underarm area), no perfume or cologne at all. Men, don’t wear aftershave or eau de toilette.
Remember that smelling ‘neutral’ or being scentless is a matter of politeness in Japan. Do not come into work unwashed, smelling of body odour or without brushing your teeth. You must be clean yet scentless. Smelling of alcohol is also a taboo.
I hope this info helps anyone. Bye.
April 28th, 2007 at 4:19 am
Personally, I like the Japanese abstension from perfume and cologne. I don’t know what it’s like in America or Canada, but over here in Britain women often wear perfumes in the office. I’m not bothered by a woman wearing a well-chosen and unobtrusive scent. Unfortunately, some women can overdo it and put far too much on, this can give people headaches and make them feel ill.
Certain scents are more subtle than others as well, a particularly heady or oriental scent may bother others if overused. Even the merest spritz of a certain perfume may irritate others, people vary in their sensitivity to fragrances. I sometimes wonder why they label these strong, exotic scents as “oriental”, from what I have observed from oriental cultures the Japanese and Chinese tend not to wear any scent at all. In these cultures it is seen as impolite to invade the personal space of others by wearing a perfume or cologne. This is because in the Western world people have a strong notion of individuality and personal preference, in the East people have a more communal way of living and respect for others is impressed heavily upon the population as a result.
The Japanese, in fact, usually have little or no sweat glands under their arms unlike Europeans. This means the Japanese often have little or no body odour at all. Which explains their preference for scenting rooms with incense sticks rather than the European practice of scenting the skin with perfumes and aftershaves-the idea of which is abhorrent to a lot of Japanese.
In fact, the Japanese have the most ambiguous relationship with scents in the entire world. It would be extremely unusual for a Japanese woman to wear a perfume on her skin. Even if she was attending some special or romantic occasion, she would be clean and well-groomed but without the slightest whiff of perfume around her.
Compare this with a French woman, who would most likely waft Chanel 5 or Shalimar around her wherever she happened to be and however boring her day. A lot of people admire the elegance and sophistication of French women, their soignee, natural style. But the modesty and dignity of a Japanese woman would also impress Westerners very highly. The grace and class with which they conduct their lives, their manners and quietness, their demure and serene countenances.
Their understated presence. Not the brash, noisy presence of a Westerner-sometimes unfortunately preceded by a dense and choking cloud of Calvin Klein. The soft, fresh scent of almost nothing on a skin. Far more attractive to most men than anything expensive bought in a shop which hurts the nose as much as the purse.
July 22nd, 2007 at 1:06 am
This thread has been so helpful and insightful for me. I’ll be working for a highly professional company soon and I have been worrying about the appropriate office attire. I didn’t know about the Japanese’s view of the black tie, jewelry and perfume. Thank you so much for sharing such insights here. I’m just concerned about wearing skirt though. I’m quite ashamed of the shape of my legs and I hope I would be able to hide them beneath tasteful women’s trousers as unveiling my flawed limbs in a skirt may prove distracting than not, as I’ve sadly known from past experience. Would wearing ladies pants with matching coat everyday be acceptable, do you think?
May 15th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
So do Japanese people just NEVER wear perfume? Or do they break out on the weekends when they’re not in the office? How’s the sales of perfumes in the market?
May 10th, 2009 at 10:49 am
I second that question. Do Japanese people just never wear perfume during weekends/ holidays? I wonder why they advertise so many then…