Categories
Anime, Manga, Etc cosplay

Only In Japan…For Now At Least

With little more than a week before Halloween, it’s crunch time for my costume making. So I haven’t kept up with my email and didn’t catch this little gem until this morning. This is from the New York Times, Fearing Crime, The Japanese Wear The Hiding Place. Before I read it, I thought that with such an odd title it must be about hidden pockets in clothing or something like that. But it turns out that a literal reading is exactly the correct interpretation. This reminds me of an early Naruto episode in which Konahamaru hides himself by holding up a cloth painted like the fence he was standing in front of! Never thought anyone would try something like this for real! ^_^

Deftly, Ms. Tsukioka, a 29-year-old experimental fashion designer, lifted a flap on her skirt to reveal a large sheet of cloth printed in bright red with a soft drink logo partly visible. By holding the sheet open and stepping to the side of the road, she showed how a woman walking alone could elude pursuers — by disguising herself as a vending machine.

The wearer hides behind the sheet, printed with an actual-size photo of a vending machine.

And it gets better…

Take the “manhole bag,” a purse that can hide valuables by unfolding to look like a sewer cover. Lay it on the street with your wallet inside, and unwitting thieves are supposed to walk right by. There is also a line of knife-proof high school uniforms made with the same material as Kevlar, and a book with tips on how to dress even the nerdiest children like “pseudohoodlums” to fend off schoolyard bullies.

I get the feeling that I’ll be seeing that vending machine idea at some future anime convention. I’ve seen people dressed as Pocky and Sushi, so why not a vending machine?