Adoption of Western Clothing (洋装化)
The adoption of western clothing refers to when people other than westerners stop wearing indigenous clothing on a day-to-day basis and instead begin wearing Western clothing. Today, except Middle Eastern countries, it would appear that the whole globe realizes adoption of western clothes. Indigenous people living in Amazon tropical rain forest also took that accepting civilization means adopting western clothes.
Adoption of Western Clothes in Japan
Western clothes had already originated from the Meiji period. First, it spread among the upper class under the influence of Europeanization policy. In the Taisho period, salaried worker level was established and at least, men wearing western clothes on a public occasion became commonplace.
However, men in the salaried worker level changed into wafuku (Japanese traditional clothes) when they went home after finishing the work. For women, wafuku was common and wearing western clothes was limited to some women who advocated women's liberation movement under leftist movement. For children, western clothes were limited to only uniforms of private schools, and general children still wore wafuku during this period. In addition, this point was introduced as a premodern aspect in the anti-Japanese movies produced in the United States during World War II.
However, the inconvenience of monpe (women's work pants) was recognized during World War II and there was a mass influx of western clothes as part of American aid when there was a shortage of clothing during the postwar chaos.
Thus, adoption of western clothes for Japanese people advanced. Showa Museum states that the biggest incident in the Showa period was adoption of western clothes for Japanese people.