The Pretty Side of Ping Pong

Source: People's Daily

She's never broken into the world's top 150 but Japan's Naomi Yotsumoto is still a star on the table tennis world stage.

Wearing knee-length socks, a pleated mini-skirt or a shirt with one bare shoulder during her games, the woman dubbed the "Lady Gaga of pingpong" receives as much attention as the finest players.

"I like table tennis and fashion. I think it's best to look fashionable when playing table tennis," the youthful-looking 31-year-old said at the Volkswagen Cup in Guangzhou.

A second-tier player in Japan, Yotsumoto didn't come to compete at the event, which featured the top players from eight countries, including her compatriot Ai Fukuhara.

Instead, she was invited to participate in an exhibition match in clothes she had designed as well stage a fashion show featuring her stylish sportswear.

"I'm still learning design in Tokyo while playing professional table tennis. I hope more players will wear the sportswear designed by me," she said. "Now, most of the women players are still wearing shorts. I think if they wear more beautiful clothes, the games will be much more interesting."

Seems like a publicity stunt and a sideshow. I'm sure the aforementioned Ai Fukuhara is still the most popular player in Japan since she's in the top 10 in the world and she's cute too. She was Japan's flag-bearer in 2008 Olympic Summer Games.

Here's video of both, you judge for yourself.

These Japanese girls look good enough to eat

Now that the Spelling Bee is over and I've felt smart for the day.
Back to regular blogging :)

Forget about lace and silk. In Japan, the hot materials for lingerie are onions and cabbage leaves.

Uniqlo Combo BraTop Keeps Girls Cool, Gets Guys Hot

Source: Japanorama

Summer means fun in the sun, swimming pools and cooler chests but it's the latter that are all the rage in Japan this year. We're talking busts, not beer - though with millions of braless women expected to hit the street this summer you'll definitely need a few icy cold cans to press against your forehead.

Pay attention now, I said braless but not topless: the BraTop from Uniqlo combines the support of a bra with the convenience of a camisole. Designed especially for Japan's notoriously hot & humid summers, the BraTop features adjustable shoulder straps and molded mesh cups that wick away perspiration.

According to G-cup gravure model Yuri Morishita, keeping a cool chest is vital to her modeling career. Says the busty model in Weekly Playboy magazine, "Well, women's chests perspire a lot and in the steamy summer heat, mine become smaller, to the point that I have to go down one size." I did not know this!

.....more

Ah there's alot you don't know my friend Steve :)

Although when one doesn't have a cup size to begin with, sweating profusely isn't going to make anything smaller!

Suits and Backpacks!

Source: Asiaone

While it is not unheard of for men to carry backpacks well past their student years, this is more acceptable in creative industries where casual attire is the norm.

But not only is it virtually impossible to keep documents neat in a backpack, but it is also very likely that your bosses would not be too impressed if you met a client with contracts in your backpack.

Is it appropriate for a man dressed in a button-down shirt, trousers and leather shoes to carry a backpack to work?

City forbids bright clothes for public servants

Source: Reuters

BEIJING (Reuters) - Public servants in the gritty central Chinese city of Zhengzhou should not sport "unnatural hair styles" or wear clothes that are too colorful, according to new city regulations.

From now on, Zhengzhou city officials should make sure their clothing matches and stay away from bright color schemes, the regulations specify.

Neatness and order are the order of the day.

"Don't just dress any which way," the regulations order.

Zhengzhou, the capital of land-locked Henan province, is better known for its agricultural futures exchange and railway station than for its sense of style.

But no specific breach triggered the latest set of rules, which are "designed to improve the image of our public servants," an official at Zhengzhou's central government office told Reuters on Monday.

Is this like having to wear white at Wimbledon? Is this a class society thing that public servants have wear dark colors and the nobility wear colours? The picture above has some very nice colours in chinese traditional dress?

This would be like people in Pittsburgh only allowed to wear black and gold while people in Washington or New York get to wear colours!