outwardly

Berserk

Recently I got into this new shounen style manga called, Berserk. Quite similar to Claymore in that it takes place during the Medieval period time (not necessarily Earth), in a magical period where human and monsters coexist. These monsters are known as Apostles who gave their soul and most precious thing(s) in their life to the “Gods Hands”, whom in turn gives them extreme powers. Our “hero” in the manga is, Gats, whom happens to be a sacrifice that managed to live and main objective is the kill all these monsters and the avenge the death of his comrades through the sacrifices they endured from Griffith.

The manga is extremely dark with a lot of graphical gore, so not for the fainted heart. This is a very long manga that began in 1988 and is still going, however, it comes out about once every 3 months so its relatively long waiting period.

I find it incredibly daunting and depression to shop for men’s clothing in North America because a lot of the clothings here are ill fitting and non stylish. The clothing here in North America are all generic and I don’t get any sense of much creativity or individuality in the style.

North Americans prefer to look alike from each other and not to be away from the norm. Maybe its because if a man were to dress differently or out of the norms in this society, he will be look upon and even judge by others around him, so to “fit in” he tries not to stray too far from the standards. Which all leads to a very boring and uninspiring ensemble. For instance, for a man to be carrying a purse or even wearing a fur coat (not that I endorse the wearing of fur) is unthinkable, he would immediately receive strange looks from those around him. Like for instance, I was on a bus yesterday morning and this gentleman came up wearing this fur coat from top to bottom. I notice he got a lot of stares from people around him, I notice this because as they were staring at him, I was actually staring at them to see how many would look at him. For a man to have a fur coat or carry a purse in Asia or Europe is relatively normal. In fact in Asian fashion, there are many men that carries purse for men.

Although, you might be able to go to some boutique or specialty stores that do carry styles from Europe or Asia that are much more edgy and stylish. I think in general all the major shopping stores carry the same generic brands and styles. To me, fashion is not just only something use to keep us warm or hide our nakedness, but should be something that expresses our personality, individuality and is an extension to our bodies. Because of this they should fit properly and should contain different styles that help the wearer to express himself.

The clothing in Asia are a better cut much more stylish (most coming out of Japan, Korea and Taiwan). Granted, there are some styles that may seem too much and too exaggerated, but thats great, because people are given that opportunity to be as creative as he wants to be. I have a list of some websites dedicated to fashion in Asia before to explore.

http://www.fashioninjapan.com

http://seoulawesome.wordpress.com/2010/11/11/korean-fashion-inspiration-for-men/

http://bntnews.hankyung.com/ (Korean site)

http://www.musinsa.com/ (Korean site)

http://www.syoff.com/ (Korean site)

http://www.freshnessmag.com/

http://www.japanesestreets.com/category/guys/

So the next time your on a bus and you seen a man wearing something that might not fit the norms of what he should be wearing in society. Instead of looking at him strangely or judging him, maybe you should get inspired by him and his style. It might not be your taste or style, but you can appreciate his self expression.