The Uniforms of Nihombashi Mitsukoshi - Part 2 - Post Kimono

Our last look at the history of Nihombashi Mitsukoshi's uniforms left us in the midst of the Taisho-era at the beginning of the 20th Century. By this point it was not only our male staff who had begun to adopt Western style uniforms, they were very much in vogue in the city beyond, not least in the rapidly developing banking district centered on the Bank of Japan a stone's throw from the store where the urbane gent was increasingly keen to opt for a sharp tailored suit, perhaps from our in-house tailors. However, women were still much more likely to be found in traditional kimono of their own choice both sartorially and in store, and later with a standardized outer coat layer being the main staff signifier.

Still, as we near the end of Taisho and begin Showa period in 1927 we start to see a shift in the times with Nihombashi Mitsukoshi's own female staff taking a very public lead in not only wearing Western style fashion, but more importantly Western style uniforms in the workplace. From our teams of telephone operators behind the scenes to the faces at the front of house the specially designed uniforms were an aspirational symbol for the new wave of women entering the workforce with the image of the sharply dressed poised women greeting and guiding customers at the store a figure romanticized and respected in equal measure by visitors to the store and career women alike.

Even so, this was not a change that took place overnight, but rather a gradual shift that allowed Mitsukoshi to create uniforms fused with Japanese sensibilities rather than adopting a pre-established uniform verbatim. Beyond the hybrid of cultures in the garments themselves, this was an era defined by negotiating modernity, of bringing in Western style uniforms where they may be practical, such as in the introduction of female escalator attendants in 1928, but also ensuring that there was also a place for the kimono, whether worn by visitors to the store or by staff.

Accordingly a trip to Nihombashi Mitsukoshi in the present day will doubtlessly include a number of staff in kimono, not least over the New Year when many of the staff opt to keep in touch with tradition in the day to day. At the same time the aspirational and elegant Western style uniforms of Nihombashi Mitsukoshi are still an important part of the picture, and as we shall see in the next part of this series, from the 1950s onwards became closely tied to the fashions and tastes of the time that take us right through to the present day.