I had a Visa run over to Fukuoka, Japan about five months ago and whilst there I picked up this really cool khaki-green lightweight jacket, perfect for crisp autumn/spring weather. I’m not much of a clothes shopper and when I do shop I often impulse buy as many things as I need within 10 minutes so I don’t have to shop again for another six months. (I’m the same when it comes to groceries though I usually can only wait two and a half weeks before I get sick of rice and green tea for each meal).
But, this method of shopping, surprise, surprise, has its downsides. As you are about to find out …
One of the things I like about Korea is that the fashion is so androgynous, so metrosexual, so, dare I say, gay, that a man can wear anything and I mean anything under the sun and not be subject to sideways glances, snide remarks and/or open hostility from insecure, young, heterosexual males. Sydney, Australia – the city I come from, may be the San Francisco of the South. But, like all of Australia, is still a very homophobic place. So much so that if you don’t strut like you’ve got a football down your pants, grip your handshakes like your wrestling a croc or wear clothes that are so bad that there’s no way you care how you look – you’re likely to be condescendingly called ‘metrosexual’, called a poof, or outright called a fag. I’m not homosexual, have no problems with homosexuality and would be open about it if I were homosexual. But, I’m not and find it difficult when people label me something I’m not as has been known to happen from time to time due to my sometimes ‘snappy’ fashion sense.
South Korean male fashion - Proof that South Korea's smoke should the Norks ever invade
I like Korea as no matter how ‘metrosexual’ I may dress, I’ll never have my sexuality questioned. For this is the land of the pink sweater, the man bag, the skin tight jeans, and the pastel coloured everything – this is Korea.
I’ve embraced this dress culture of metrosexualism to such a degree that I often have to make the conscious thought when returning home, that men DO NOT wear these kind of clothes back home. It’s got to such a degree, that I can no longer honestly tell what is men’s clothing and what is women’s clothing. Maybe this is the greatest sign yet that I’d be better off back home in ‘Redneck Wonderland‘.
Case in point, my Japanese khaki lightweight jacket.
I bought this really cool jacket whilst impulse buying in Japan. It looks cool, don’t ya think. But, can you see any problems from the front side?
If you look close enough, you may have to click to enlarge, you’ll notice that the buttons are on the right-hand side, not the left-hand side as they should be for men’s jackets.
Now, let’s take a look at the back … (don’t laugh)
So, there you have it. I’ve been walking around for the last five months, granted the last three and a half have been too hot to wear it, with an obviously female jacket. Wore it several times I have. And, proud of it, too. I thought it was so cool, so funky, so Japanese, so metrosexual, so …. female.
If this somehow aids in damping my humiliation, I’ll admit I did have my queries, especially about the back. I asked a mate a couple of months ago. He just laughed and said not to wear it back home!
Unfortunately, it took me until today until I finally realised it was not a man’s jacket. The location of the buttons proved once and for all, I had bought and proudly worn a women’s jacket.
Though, it could be worse. I could this guy.
Edit: Whoops, I’m a dumbarse. Having just written this post I went to the jacket in question, double-checked and indeed the buttons are actually on the right-hand side as they should be for men’s jackets (and shirts, coats, etc.). So, this post isn’t correct, it actually is (a very metrosexual) men’s jacket. Though, I’ll leave this post as is, as I think it’s funny and just highlights what a dumbarse I can be at times!
Posted by elcanguro76 
