That tie wasn't complimented in Japan. ── The standard for "looking good" in Milan

It's quite worn out now, but I still wear it occasionally.

When I was a salaryman in Japan, did I ever get complimented on my tie?

Even if I try to remember, I can't recall any. In the first place, in Japanese offices, the correct answer for a tie was "not to be complimented." Navy, burgundy, gray. Small patterns. Don't stand out. Don't look out of place. If you were to wear a flashy color, far from being complimented, you would be gently laughed at with, "What's up with you today?" ——I'm sure many of you are nodding along to this.

One day in Milan, I bought a tie. It was a vivid color and pattern I would never have chosen in Japan. To be honest, right after I bought it, I was a little suspicious. (Did the shopkeeper push an unsold item onto me...?)

The next morning, I nervously put it on and went to work.

"Shin, that cravatta (=tie) is nice!" "That color suits you."

……Huh? Far from being an unsold item, it was highly praised. Something that hadn't happened once in thirty years of living in Japan happened thirty seconds after arriving at work in Milan.

Later, I realized something. They didn't say, "That tie looks expensive," or "That's trendy." What they always said was invariably—"It suits you."

The Japanese standard is, "Does it stand out from the crowd?" The Milanese standard is, "Does it suit that person?" The subject is not the surroundings, but the person themselves.

That must be why the shopkeeper recommended that color. He wasn't pushing an unsold item on me; he looked at the complexion and vibe of a customer from the East and chose it, thinking, "This is for you." I apologize for doubting the discerning eye of a fashion capital.

The one tie that was never complimented in Japan became my signature look in Milan. What decides whether something suits you is not the atmosphere of the surroundings, but yourself in the mirror—. I feel like that tie taught me that every time I wore it.

Tomorrow, I'll talk about an old woman driving a FIAT 500 who just won't let me pass.