Fashion critic cries if the hot pants don't fit, don't wear 'em!

[Anchorman]

Summer in Japan this year has seen hot pants become, well �c hot. Women all over the country are squeezing into skimpy little cut-offs, raising temperatures even higher than the sweltering sun has done, but their frisky fashions have also made some steaming mad, according to Sunday Mainichi (9/2).

Finicky fashion critic Hiromi Ichida is furious with the latest trend.

"There are loads of gals wearing hot pants nowadays, not just teens, but even women into their 30s. Right across the board, these women in hot pants have horrible manners and totally lack class," the 75-year-old known for her picky attitude tells Sunday Mainichi. "They'll squat down on the ground without worrying about whether they're flashing off the cheeks of their bottoms, or their underpants. They're all pigeon-toed because of the 10-centimeter high heels they wear. They throw their cigarette butts wherever they like, dye their hair and get their nails done in such a way it almost turns them into violent weapons. Whenever I see them, I think they're as dopey as they look."

Ichida says Japanese aren't suited for skimpy hot pants.

"If Japanese women were built like their Western counterparts, it wouldn't be so bad, but hot pants just don't suit Japanese," she says. "It's the same as ultra-mini skirts. They were first brought here from Europe and Japanese adopted the fashion, but it's not so easy to adopt body shapes. I really want the women decked out in revealing clothes to take an objective look at their bodies. It's going to take another three or four generations before Japanese have similar proportions to Westerners. It's still premature for Japanese to go around talking about beautiful legs," Ichida tells Sunday Mainichi. "I can understand if the women were wearing hot pants over a swimsuit when they went to the beach, or something. In fact, in those cases, they're quite cute. But these girls are wearing the short shorts everywhere. And I can't stand it!"

Ichida says scantily clad women are too concerned about sex.

"There are three reasons for trying to be fashionable: For yourself; for members of the same sex; and, for members of the opposite sex. When hot pants were fashionable in the '70s, women wore them because they were liberating. Now, women wear hot pants only because they've got their eyes on men. It's the same reason why buxom girls wear clothes that emphasize their busts. They just want to impress guys," Ichida tells Sunday Mainichi. "Japan has always had an aesthetic culture of 'swathing.' The body was always swathed in clothes, so the merest glimpse of what was underneath the layer of garments was incredibly erotic, and the slightest fold in a hem that showed off a quick view of an ankle was a real turn-on. That's why the kimono is an indispensable part of my wardrobe." (By Ryann Connell)