Blast from the Past: Playful Kiss

I was rewatching a bit of Playful Kiss, partly to review Hyun-Joong’s acting, and was reminded of how enchanting the first episode was.

The BFFs and their weird little phrases…the school that feels like an actual school, just a particularly clean and nicely landscaped one…the uniforms…

If you’ve ever picked one of the many manga featuring an elite school, or a school with some form of elite class, you’ll probably see some wish-fulfillment uniforms. Not even joking, that’s really one of the criteria Japanese girls thought about in choosing a high school…and I kind of understand now.

The Japanese middle school I attend for some time had very mundane, but at least not ugly, uniforms. Navy blazer with no sartorial embellishment, red clip-on ties, a houdstooth check skirt with a pattern so small it had no personality.

If you haven’t worn such a set of clothing for months on end, can you understand how beautiful these ones are?

Cute little cap sleeves, piping on the sleeves to contrast, a tailored vest, and the cutest elements of the sailor skirt, without being too flat.

Ribbon ties for the girls, btw, are definitely one of the cuteness factor Pros.

‘course, this won’t keep anyone from trashing them to look a little more independent…

…how hilarious is it that the placement chart is *everywhere* at this school? It’s so true-to-life. It is VERY hilarious.

Asian schooling, FTW!