Clothing do’s and dont’s

I wasn't sure if this was the right section to include this in, but here I go~!

I'm a female sophomore, highschool, US student who plans on participating in a study abroad program next year around August! (It'll last for a semester - 6 months).

Is there any clothing I absolutely shouldn't wear?

For religious reasons and personal preference I'm already somewhat conservative with my clothing.

• I don't wear shorts unless I'm in the privacy of my own room.

• I don't wear overly tight clothing. The most you'll see me wearing is skinny jeans, but even then I don't feel comfortable wearing them unless y top is slightly above the knee or at the knee, etc. (Of course, no see-through)

• No cleavage.

• Sleeves – The sleeves have to reach at least elbow length.

If I haven't pretty much got it all ready is there anything else I need to be conscious of?

Thank you so much :)

S Natsumi,

Japan isn't some strict religious country, so you can basically wear whatever you feel comfortable in. As mentioned in other threads, Japanese women tend not to expose cleavage, basically because few have any, but the tendency of many Japanese woman over the age of 20 to wear longer sleeves and generally cover up is due more to wanting (sensibly) to protect themselves from UV rather than any particular inhibitions or customs against exposing flesh.

you will probably stand out in summer months for being the most over dressed among all of your friends, especially regarding sleeve length and the lack of shorts

if you're in high school and coming to tokyo there's also a strong chance that you'll be pressured to roll up your skirt outside of class or else face a bit of ridicule from your peers. be careful about being too strict with your dress code at the expense of alienating yourself from friends, people here aren't going to care much about your religion, it has almost no weight in japan.

You can wear whatever you want in here. If you wanna wear sleeves in the months of summer, you are absolutely free to do so. Nobody would tell you what you can and can't wear.

Having said that, the girls over here tend to dress very much alike so as the other poster has mentioned, you may stand out in the crowd depending on seasons and what everybody else wears. Ultimately, you should be fine because you can always play the foreigner card. The people normally don't judge you in the same way as they do to their own people.

August will be very, very hot so make sure you don't overheat, and take some clothes suitable for hot weather. Loose, light-weight clothing: skirts, dresses, blouse.