Early summer fashion report. Gleaned from the streets of Omotesando

• The ethnic look: peasant blouses and long pairie/gypsy skirts. Next year, I expect to see a revival of “bistro print” skirts (the sort with French-looking bottles of wine and luggage labels). Why? Because that’s how it went in the 80s.
• Stripes: clean, crisp cotton (or seersucker), with evenly spaced white and blue stripes made into camp shirts and skirts.
• White lace: white eyelet skirts, white lacy overshirts. It’s everywhere. Bright and fresh now, it will be dingy in a few weeks and sadly bedragled by August.
• Hawaiian shirts: for men only. And maybe only for large and/or middle aged men.
• Uniforms: police, fire, and other non-military workers’ uniforms (minus insignia) imported from the US and elsewhere. I’ve seen them on the racks, but not on people yet.
• Skirts over pants: brightly printed cotton skirts, knee length, with slightly flared cotton trousers underneath. Retailers must love selling twice as many bottoms as tops. Girl-watchers must hate the demise of the very short skirt.
• Accessories: wide, open-weave belts slung low over the hips. I’m not sure how the slim-hipped Japanese women keep them up, but they do look nice skimming over their ultra-flat stomachs. Not a good look on the middle aged woman I saw with hers cinched tightly around her waist.
• Sandals this season are high-heeled & strappy, or flat with one broad strap. Fishnet stockings seem to be falling out of favor.