An appropriate neckline?

I was reading a few articles about women's shirts in Japan - about how showing cleavage and decolletage is extremely inappropriate not just in the workplace but in casual life as well.

I just wanted to know what a suitable neckline would be. I have v-neck shirts (nothing that shows much of what I mentioned above) - but I just wanted to make sure.

Most of my necklines are less than 5cm, but I have some around 7cm ...

I just want to know before I start buying more of these shirts before I leave :S

Decolletage is fine, obvious cleavage is unusual here- I couldn't tell you anything about exact neckline measurements of clothes people wear here, but both 5 and 7cm sound fine. Maybe just try to avoid plunging necklines if you are bigger busted, but don't worry too much!

I certainly don't intend this to be inappropriate however..

When I moved to Japan, one of the things I found most noticeable by its absence was the sight of cleavage.

I have to say that it was one of the few things from home that I missed.

I think that it's very much a cultural thing that western women tend to be rather proud of their breasts and are happy to show 'em off a little in that way, whereas Japanese women are much much more shy about such things and would rather keep everything well under wraps, even so far as to use 'Nipless' - stickers that cover the nipples to prevent them having any chance of poking through and causing embarrassment...

However, as I'm not a woman, I may well be making assumptions about all that but what I can say is that I for one feel it's a shame that there's barely a whisper of cleavage in Japan...

in a professional environment i've never seen women showing off cleavage, that is just inviting sekuhara (sexual harassment) problems in an office, sekuhara is serious stuff in japan where a manager calling a younger female coworker by her first name could cause problems..!

but out on the street in a casual context i do see cleavage - but it is usually by women who are trying to be very sexually provocative.

"western women tend to be rather proud of their breasts and are happy to show 'em off a little"
That is a very broad generalization that is not quite true.
Some US women like to flaunt their artificial expensive endowments but many US women, while proud of, and happy with, their natural body, don't feel the need to show of in public.

Western women in Europe, Australia, N.Z etc. don't show off that much in the street either.

Personally I find artificially inflated women ugly.

Hmm, that quote really loses a lot of context when you cut out the "I think" and "However, as I'm not a woman, I may well be making assumptions" parts of the post.

@ monkey see - there's a very big difference between a western woman with fake breasts showing masses of flesh (like that horrible Jordan woman in the UK, or type "cleavage" into google image search), and your average western woman in a dress, low cut t-shirt or singlet. The latter DOES show an amount of cleavage, but it's not trashy in the western world, e.g http://www.evo.com/t-shirts/arbor-pueblo-v-neck-shirt-womens.aspx

Yes.. I totally did NOT mean exposing masses of boobage like some tacky porn star but just a normal amount of cleavage of the type that you'll see every day in the west but much less frequently in Japan.

I meant to imply that western women don't suffer from embarrassment about such things, while it's more hazukashii for your average Japanese lady.

If you got it... Flaunt it... Haters gonna hate.

I am not sure that the average slim Japanese woman could show some cleavage, even if she wanted too, to start with.
Hence the modesty above the waist.

On the other hand everyone has legs and can show them off...if they so wish.

It all depends on many different factors. A japanese woman has to answer to different rules than a caucasian woman. As a friend told me once a gaijin can make mistakes, a japanese person can't.

Then it depends on the surroundings. Is it at work or after? Used to work in an office with this Croatian beauty. In the office she dressed like other OLs, but when we went out for drinks. WOW heads were spinning.

I know, right! When I first found out about "no cleavage" being a rule of etiquette in Japan, I was extremely disappointed. *sigh*

I know that as a foreigner I wouldn't be expected to abide by this rule, but I should (we all should).

If and when I get the chance to travel to Japan, I'll feel personally obligated to fallow the "no cleavage" rule, out of respect for their country. So I won't wear clothing that shows any cleavage.

However, out of respect for my own free spirited personality, I'm still bringing my Barbie-esque style of fashion to Japan. Where I'll be wearing clothes that form around my curves, without exposing skin around any "taboo areas".

This is just my observation from a female viewpoint but in Japan as opposed to the west the chest size is naturally proportionate to the body and not so big. It is rare to find a very large chest but when someone has one they might hide it a little so it is not so noticeable. I have a bigger chest and it is a little embarassing even when covered discreetly. My relatives in the rural areas would often talk about my chest as if it was a public wonder. It was so embarassing and I often wished I was smaller. I am not a big person so it looks not balanced. Maybe in the west, people do not care about the balance and appreciate the big chest.

Balance is a subjective thing, and what someone else considers balanced may be completely different to what you do.

I don't know if it's just me but I find that Japanese girls are more comfortable with showing legs than cleavage.
During summer, I usually wear tanks as it's just too hot and sometimes go bra-less when I am just dropping by the local supermarket to buy some milk or something.
But my neighbor (a very sweet Japanese lady) always wear a cardigan no matter how hot it is if she's wearing anything sleeveless although she's quite comfortable with short skirts...

As a woman, I find myself more far more self conscious showing any hints of cleavage here in Japan than back home, just because you don't see it as often and I don't want to stand out more than I already do. I buy cute lace-top camisoles to wear under some of my v-neck tops, which seems fairly common.

You may be surprised at the shortness of the skirts in comparison, though. When I first came to Japan, I looked at the micro-minis and thought "Young people here dress like trash!" because so few girls back home wear skirts that short. Now I go home, and think nothing of short skirts, but look at the cleavage-baring tops and think "Young people here dress like trash!" It's all relative.

My Japanese girlfriend (who is a flight attendant) when in Japan wears generally conservative clothing with long hem lines and covered decollatage. However when in Australia she wears the opposite! She says she finds it liberating to be able to wear low cut tops with pushup bras, together with miniskirts/minidresses showing off her shapely figure and ample cleavage without being judged as she would in Japan.

There's no way she would EVER consider wearing the same back home though!