About 10 years ago I made a humorous pact with a friend that if either of us hit 55 and started wearing leopard-print clothing (along with mini skirts etc) we would be roughly admonished by the other. We're thankfully neither of us near this point yet, but the reason we made the pact is as follows: In the West, for some strange reason (and I suspect heavily rooted in 1960s or 70s fashion) some women of a certain age wear animal-print designs to look sexy. But it in fact the look has been for some decades, anything but sexy, and instead distinctly cheesy!* Animal print clothing might also be accompanied by a lot of make-up, dyed hair, a heavy fake tan, and a lot of gold jewellery. Another aspect that might chaperone this look is the fact that it won't change - it might start at a sexy 55 but continue on well into a lady's senior years. The look was very popular in the 1980s, even among Hollywood types. A major protagonist was (is) UK/US racy fiction writer Jackie Collins (pictured below left).
So I was slightly amused when I was introduced to the concept of the Japanese Osaka obachan (literally 'auntie from Osaka'). Osaka is famous for having an outgoing, humorous, 'louder' population in Japan. And the Osaka obachan is a type: an older woman who might be quite loud and is characterised by a wardrobe of animal-prints, with dyed hair, a lot of make-up and gold jewellery! I have no idea if the Osaka obachan style is derived from the Hollywood celebs of the 70s and 80s, or if she has grown up independently. Are women of a certain age - globally - naturally attracted to animal-print clothing?? A mystery that perhaps could make an entire PhD topic of investigation. Meanwhile, here is a video from Japanese theatrical concept group 'Obachan' with the Obachan Theme!
*Cheesy is non-rude British slang meaning without sophistication, cheap, dated, and perhaps slightly amusing as a result.
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