What Would Willow Wear: Gingerbread

Okay so according to my site stats the post I wrote about Willow Rosenberg fashion is pretty much the most popular thing that has ever come out of my hands that isn't cat treats in front of a mostly cat-based audience. The more "vintage" Buffy the Vampire Slayer becomes the more amazing these outfits get and my burning wish to do more Willow fashion recaps is starting to overpower my fear of being seen creating content for the sake of producing clickbait, so since the world is ending (again??) I am just going to do whatever the hell I want and that is posting pics of Willow Rosenberg's outfits with commentary entirely out of chronological order.

What else am I going to do, actual work? Get out of here.

Okay so the episode I will be covering today is one of my all-time favs: Gingerbread. Buffy and Willow are suspected of murdering a bunch of creepy German children as part of some sort of occult ritual and almost end up getting burned at the stake. Does extreme heat hinder their fashion sense at all? Like hell it does.

We start out with Willow (who has recently reconciled with Oz after making the worst mistake a girl could possibly make, which is making out with Xander) at the lunch table discussing birthday things and wearing another top tier stripes-across-the-sleeves 90s jumper. I may be detecting a hint of mohair here but it might also just be VHS resolution fuzz.

Ever wondered what "Being smug over having absent parents" looks like? This is it.

I am the best at shopping. The best of all time.

Today’s find: Catholic style bracelet...

THE CAT EDITION. Isn't it just the best thing you have ever seen?? I should start a web series. “Skeletor goes shopping for accessories.” 

"Try not to kill people"

As with most people of a certain age, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was (IS!) a huge deal to me on so many levels, and after discovering this awesome Tumblr called Buffy Outfits I suddenly remembered how much style inspiration my teenage self got from this amazing series. It should come as no surprise that the character I wanted to dress like the most was Willow Rosenberg.
Since I no longer live in the late 90s and now have the magical ability to screencap (oh god remember VHS? remember it? I still have all my favourite episodes on video tape. Thank you BBC.) I can think of no better use of my time than writing a post dedicated my most coveted Willow ensembles.

Let's start with my absolute favourite:

You wish you looked this good after waking up next to a dead body

Oji -ji -ji -ji baby baby baby

I've been getting a lot of hits from people looking for information about Oji Garu/Ojikawa lately.

There doesn't seem to be a whole lot out there on the internet, which is weird since I definitely keep seeing Oji girls pop up in Japanese fashion mags and granddad style staples always seem to go down great with the fashion crowd. I would have expected it to become quite big online and maybe even trickle down to the UK, but alas, it's still very much a niche thing. I guess the elderly are an underrepresented target group even on the internet. Poor things! Maybe in a year or so? I hope they can wait that long.

So yeah, I guess it's up to me to uncle it up and keep you updated on what to wear if you want to be a real old man girl. Trust me, I'd know. I've been playing chess in the park and adjusting the thermostat since I was eight years old.

So sit back, put on your favourite oldies radio station and enjoy my guide to Oji Garu: Part 2!

PS's perfect rendition of a well dressed uncle - suteki na ojisan

It's like Japan can read my mind

I was just going through this month's Japanese fashion magazines and stumbled upon this:

Grab your varifocals, peeps!

My limited Japanese tells me this style is "Oji Garu". Points of fashion: wing tips, satchels, rolled up trousers, braces. ...for those of you that aren't down on your knees yelling "There is a God! And he's a fashion editor!" at the top of your lungs yet : this means "old man girl". As in a fashion style for girls that like to dress like old men.

In case you missed my borderline creepy serenade to a granddad style pea coat, this couldn't be more up my alley if it had cats printed all over it. 

This is the first time I've seen this (at least with an actual style subculture name) so I don't know if this is going to be a lasting trend thing, but it got quite a few pages dedicated to it and I'm sure the sheer power of wishing can make it so.

I am sacrificing young children as we speak. Make it so, Japan! Oh Japan. How do you always manage to market to my weird, incredibly tiny, specific demographic? Maybe now I can finally start my very own club where I can read books, suck on Werther's originals, listen to Gershwin, braid hair and complain about my joints with other, like minded ladies. Old men gals forever!

More examples of "Oji Girl"

Oxford shoes, look of disdain (most likely caused by Kids These Days)

Slacks and fuzzy breton stripe shirts

Now if you'll excuse me I have some magazines I need to rub my tears of joy all over.

Salvation is here. And it's shaped like cardigans, bow ties and woolly up-to-the-neck socks.