Japanese Women Want “bon-kyu-bon!”
September 26th, 2007
It means “big-small-big” - big top, small waist, big bottom - and all over Japan the change is sweeping the country. The Japanese are getting curves!
The Wall Street Journal claims that stores that used to keep just two or three sizes of clothing on hand are scrambling to stock many larger sizes.
“Today, the average Japanese woman’s hips, at 35 inches, are around an inch wider than those of women a generation older. Women in their 20s wear a bra at least two sizes larger than that of their mothers. Waist size, meanwhile, has gotten slightly smaller, accentuating many young women’s curves. ”
This article also talks with Nami Sakamoto, an advertising-agency employee with a 35-inch bust and 35-inch hips. She claims she had a hard time finding button-down shirts that would close when she was in high school. Sometimes the buttons would burst off of her chest. Now she buys clothes at Western retailers that carry larger sizes.
While probably a gradual change, many marketers say they first started noticing more women with hourglass figures a few years ago. Is the “bon-kyu-bon” change here to stay?
Again this shape change in Japanese girls is partly due to a more westernized diet. Fat = curves!
When I was a kid I thought the reason was that more women are having operations to create bigger breasts. I started growing larger and soon realized how wrong I was. My chest was real, my parents couldn’t even afford breast implants for me even if I wanted them.
But around the world, people are always in a hurry and never spend the time to cook a healthy meal. A high fat diet (not me!) will create nations with bigger (all over) women.
I found some interesting stats:
“Today, the average Japanese woman’s hips, at 35 inches, are around an inch wider than those of women a generation older. Women in their 20s wear a bra at least two sizes larger than that of their mothers. Waist size, meanwhile, has gotten slightly smaller, accentuating many young women’s curves. The average 20-year-old is also nearly three inches taller than she was fifty years ago, according to government statistics, and the average foot has grown by nearly a quarter of an inch.”