Face Shape and Body Type for Clothing that Suits You

Backstory:

About twice a year, like clockwork, I go through a wardrobe crisis. As someone who grew up in a mild climate, Japan's summers and winters feel extreme. I still haven't been able to figure out how to stay comfortable but seem to be working on it full time once the season is upon us.

It's fall, but a chilly one, plus this winter is forecasted to be cold. Meanwhile I have one winter coat, a down vest, and a very old hoodie. Basic black “baba shirts” I can manage. But finding “outers” that I actually like is hard.

I put my tax yen to work for me by using the library. What clothes am I even supposed to own? What does a woman in her 40s dress like when she's never been able to deal with makeup, heels, or dresses? I never learned about this when I was young because I grew up in the 90s, when wearing clothes that don't fit from the thrift store was considered cool.

So thus, this season's bi-annual wardrobe breakdown is focused on fashion from a Japanese perspective. I need help, and found plenty of books that say things like "the best clothing items that really suit you," but it's still a lot of work.

Personal Color is a theory that was popular in the 80s in America. Via a book called “Color Me Beautiful,” women could identify their “season” and the colors that brighten their faces the most.

I'm familiar with this as I was identified as a “winter” when I was a teenager. (This means I wear a lot of black, mostly because it's easy to find.)

In Japan, this seems to have been tagged onto both face type and body type diagnosis theories for fashion. I like how one book organized the colors into light and dark, warm and cool tones, plus basics.

Bone Structure Diagnosis (kokkaku shindan) is partially similar to the western version of small, normal, and large bones. (I looked that up too and was surprised that as a petite person, I'm big boned, according to some wrist measurement thing I found on the internet.)

This theory was developed by a Japanese woman, Yumiko Futakami, who founded the company ICB. There are a lot of Japanese Youtube videos all about this theory. I first knew about it around ten years ago when I was goofing off in a bookstore. At the time my Japanese reading skills were much weaker and even now, the diagnosis test is not super clear.

Using both the library book I picked up and videos with a clearer explanation, I could learn my type. It was not what I thought, but I was relieved that it wasn't all images of flowy skirts and heels. I think I got really into this for a week or two, made a list of clothing items that should look good on me and what colors to buy them in... but then the trying to shop part. It's overwhelming, time consuming, plus actually finding anything you're looking for is not easy. I have found literally one sweater from that list.

Face Type Diagnosis is another related theory. 

This one is by image consultant Jitsuko Okada. I found out about it in videos first, as a kind of sideline related to the Body Type thing. It's about the style that matches your face shape. Fabrics, designs, use of patterns and colors are involved.

Rather than the western round, heart, square, etc. face types, there are titles like cute, fresh, and cool for the eight types. These are determined by if your face is a child or adult face; then a curving face or angular face. 

I thought there were natural proportions that all faces have, like space between eyes, width of the nose, etc. The diagnosis seems unaware of what I learned in art class.

I am still wondering, are my eyes big, or just big compared with Japanese people? Is my nose "high" or is it just high compared with Japanese people? Sigh.

The first type I thought I was seemed cool, but also not me at all, which made me think maybe I've been dressing wrong all this time. Then looking at the diagnosis 16 question quiz again (like a teenager magazine) I wasn't so sure. Is my nose round or sharp? It's all relative.

Even the western type descriptions of face shape had me confused. Is my face egg shaped or long oval? Is it really that important?

Plus the descriptions have a disclaimer that if your type seems too dressy or too flashy, switch to a similar type. I'll choose the casual childlike one then.

This theory has me ready to give up. About where I leave off with any attempt at clothes shopping. I was into the body type book but am still not sure about face type. I even caught myself analyzing random people without realizing it. 

So in conclusion, Japan has it's own, fairly popular ways of stereotyping people for the sake of fashion. Like fashion anywhere, I still am at a total loss. I think some aspects of these theories have slightly helped and at least I'm using Japanese a lot.