Photo Source: Bionic Bong

Guys in skirts …. and I don't mean in a Scottish, 'I've got a hefty beard to back this up' sort of skirt. Oh no, it is really, truly young guys donning flowery skirts. Is this a hint of an upcoming trend that will captivate youth all over the world? Or will it stay localized to Japan?

The movement, if you can call it that, is a group of young boys opting for slightly girly fashion. They are throwing away the comfy pants and surfing shorts and grabbing hold of attire typically reserved for women. Thus, various blogs are pointing out that it is not unusual to find young men wearing soft, flowing floral skirts. Seems like some folks in Japan have already started calling it the skirt tribe.

It's not that unusual to think of such a trend popping up in Japan though. After all, the androgynous look is not frowned upon as much, at least if past trends are anything to go by. And let's not forget, the metrosexual concept has taken hold of folks all over the world so the whole skirt affair is nothing major, at least not on this scale. Furthermore, notice how articles like this point out that guys are wearing it because of comfort as opposed to doing it for the 'weirdness' factor. For those who are wondering, by 'weirdness' factor I meant wanting to qualify as a candidate for the People of Walmart blog. There, the skirt doesn't seem that odd now, does it?

By the way, while we are on the topic, I should point out that Japanese youth have a flair for experimenting with the accepted fashion norms. Let me draw attention to some of the more unusual women's fashion trends. Remember the Ganguro? Where young ladies gave themselves a tanned look, donned platform shoes and then dressed up in mini-skirts? That in itself is not bad but apparently they used white concealer for lipstick ... and that was one of the less bizarre accessorizing options!

[Photo Source: Japan Street Urban Fashion]

Let's not forget the fashion of older men. You might recall the recent innovation where someone somewhere invented a man-bra? The one that men loved and were eager to buy? I am sure I remember one guy praising how silky soft the material felt. I'm not judging their decision to wear a man-bra; I'm just providing more examples of how it is somewhat the norm to push social boundaries and try out new ideas in Japan.

This is beginning to sound like everything unusual comes out of Japan. Nay, in the case of men swapping fashion trends with women, a lot of other countries have been introducing this concept in recent months. Think back to the 'mantyhose' that was featured on BBC. Admittedly, they have tried to make it more macho as opposed to acknowledging that clothes should, in theory, be applicable to both sexes. At least, that is the argument I would have gone for, especially if you were trying to break out of the comfort zone.