Watching girls on the street, I noticed true commitment to particular looks.  Their styles ran the gamut from the uber girly doll look to new punk toJapanese traditional kimono, but each girl seemed to undertake membership in this style group rigorously and absolutely.  One thing that seemed generally true across the swath was an interest in surface embellishment and ornamentation.  This is quite different from American preferences for casual, sleek, simple style (think Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, Donna Karan).

Lingerie, in particular, tended toward soft hues like peach, pink and lavender, and flirted with dimensionality.  Whereas Americans prize the perfect smooth fitting bra, Japanese women like to make a lot of their bras and panties–at least as far as volume.  Padding and other bust-enhancing constructions create the foundational volume, and then there are ruffles, charms and frills for extra femininity and loft.

(Read the rest of the article on The Lingerie Addict)