The advice I was given about attire in the workplace was spot on. And from what I’ve been told, our office is more casual than others. The offices are WARM and the air conditioning is not on full blast in an effort to conserve energy.

Men wear dark colored suits to work every day with white shirts. No tie necessary and the suit jacket gets removed once they are in the office.

Women wear conservative dresses or skirts every day, with nylons, and short heels. Most women come to work with a suit jacket as well, but it is often removed to reveal a long sleeved blouse. The amount of times I’ve seen a woman in pants in the office can be counted on one hand. The women do not wear any color in their wardrobe. It’s all black, navy blue, grey, white and various shades of tan/khaki/cream. Even on the weekend in the harajuku neighborhood, or going out Saturday night, it is rare to see color. I saw a woman on the street with a red handbag and it really stood out to me. One of the women I was with on Saturday night had a print dress, but it was creme colored with navy blue flowers. The young adults walking around the city on Sunday were all in skirts, heels with ankle socks or knee-high socks or tights or leggings, and a light colored shirt. The only bright colors I’ve seen are from the harajuku girls, or older women attending a fancy affair, and their dresses resembled a 1970s prom.

There are a lot of school aged children in uniforms. I don’t know if that’s the case for all schools or not. Navy blue shirts, navy blue knee-high socks and a white shirt. Kids go to school 6 days a week here, so in Kyoto we saw a lot of school aged children in that uniform, and saw it again in Tokyo on the weekdays as well.

The women in the office do not accessorize. No large or chunky jewelry. Simple wedding bands on the married women and occasionally you meet a woman with sparkles in her nailpolish. The big accessories here are handbags. Even hair is pulled back with a plain barrette or hair elastic.

Bottom line: the drab wardrobe I brought with me has been perfect!