Recently, Japan's Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and their Princess Aiko went on vacation together. Princess Aiko changed her hairstyle and appeared with her parents in a green floral dress. However, Japanese media and netizens criticized her outfit, believing that she looked old-fashioned and resembled her peers with Empress Masako next to her.
On the second appearance, all three of them wore masks, the Emperor couple changed into a set of clothes, and Princess Aiko still wore that green dress. It is said that the shoes on her feet are even vintage clothes from the 80s of the last century. The Imperial Household Agency doesn't seem to pay much attention to Aiko's appearance.
This is not the case with Aiko alone, but in recent years, the clothing choices of the Japanese imperial family have also become perfunctory. The dresses of the female dependents are almost the same, and the colors are not different.
At formal events, dresses of all ages and even the same color are worn. In casual situations, the private clothes of young princesses also make people feel old, setting off the princesses in their 20s to look old.
Even sets with pink colors add a sense of age due to the outdated style. Some pink sets are not yet suitable for skin tones.
The tailoring of these garments is not fashionable and does not take into account the body line. Recall Aiko's grandmother, Princess Michiko, who is a role model for Asian women and an icon of Asian fashion.
Although Michiko is a commoner princess, she comes from a wealthy family, received a Western-style education from an early age, dresses fashionably, and has a lot of careful thinking about dressing. After dating the emperor, she frequently appeared in the newspapers, and her style of dressing once led the fashion trend. At that time, some people called it "Michiko Whirlwind".
Look at Michiko's old photos, she wears a variety of lace, polka-dot and check underwear, rich in fashion elements. She is also good at using outfits to modify the shortcomings of the figure. Judging from the wedding costume, Michiko's shoulders are relatively slippery, so most of her outfits will divert the eye from the shoulders, and most of them have shoulder pads. To accentuate the line, she also chooses a lace-up suit that outlines the waistline.
Michiko also has many gorgeous or elegant kimono styles. When it comes to color choices, she never sets limits. When she was young, she loved white suits, pink beige coats of her relatives. When she is mature, she prefers the delicate and beautiful goose yellow, as well as the gorgeous gold thread gradient dress, and the temperament gray suit.
In addition, Michiko is a hat lover, and she often wears custom-sized hats. The design of the hat often incorporates some seasonal flowers, which are related to the occasion. For example, the bayberry hat she wore when she visited Kochi Prefecture, because the prefectural flower of Kochi Prefecture is bayberry blossoms. While visiting Toyama Prefecture, she wore a purple lavender hat just in time for the lavender to bloom.
In the generation of Empress Masako, although she is not as delicate as Michiko, she also has her own dignified and gentle style. When she was young, Masako wore many bright clothes in diplomatic occasions, showing a bright and atmospheric style. Her outfit also contains some fashion elements, such as checks and lace suits. Occasionally she tries trendy pants, but due to royal restrictions, her pants are above the knee. She also put some effort into accessories.
Later, however, Masako took a long sick leave and dressed relatively simply when she appeared. She was even able to wear the same dress for up to eight years, a rarity seen in royalty around the world. In 2005, Masako wore a low-key champagne-print long dress with a fan to Princess Kimiya wedding, and a few months later, at the New Year's event, she wore the same outfit, but the accessories changed. In late 2006, the media photographed Masako wearing the same dress to attend the emperor's birthday, only this time with an extra hat. As a result, in 2010, after four years, Masako wore the dress again, but changed the brooch. As of now, the gown was last seen at the succession ceremony of the Dutch king in 2013, but the possibility of a reappearance is not ruled out. Because Masako also has a red dress that is taken out and worn after more than ten years. Masako wore the red dress to Emperor Akihito's 66th birthday in 1999, and two years later at the New Year's event, she wore it with a pearl necklace. Later, in 2015, Masako wore the red dress again to attend Emperor Akihito's birthday party.
Masako has also worn the blue suit three times over the years. Similarly, a white hat was worn from 2001 to 2016. And in the styling of this generation of princesses, the aesthetics of the Imperial Household Agency have been degraded. Outdated royal professional attire looks rigid and old-fashioned. The level of private service has always been controversial. And those princesses who left the royal family, such as Mako, dressed in a significantly younger and lively style. It can be said that the current Imperial Household Agency is really a bit of a lag in terms of aesthetics.