Fashion: SUKAJAN Attitude

Source: "The Source" (an "Okinawa Marine" insert)
Story by Carrie Carmichael
Photos by Mike Daley

When it comes to sukajan — those silky, ostentatiously embroidered baseball-style jackets, famously known as the souvenir of a Far East tour — people either love them, or hate them. Fans revere them as unique (and sometimes awesomely cheesy) examples of Japanese craftsmanship and Western style; foes simply consider them too tacky for words. Whatever your sentiments, you can’t deny that it takes attitude to wear one.

Also known as “Yokosuka Jackets," sukajan were first popularized during the post-World War II era by military members stationed at that mainland base. (The term sukajan is a contraction of “-suka,” from “Yokosuka,” and “jan," meaning jacket.) In later years, the jackets were adopted by yankees of a different nature: gangs of flashy high school drop-outs, who trolled the streets of Tokyo on motorbikes. Like James Dean’s beat-up leather jacket, sukajan were the ultimate tough-guy accessory.

Over time, however, the bad boy image associated with sukajan dissipated, and lately versions have been popping up for everyone (or everything): children, pets, even cell phones. Girls’ pink and white Disney sukajan are available at San-A; pet versions — sporting Far East Tour motifs or Japanese pro baseball logos — have been spotted at OPF (Okinawa Pet Food) and Pet Club Ocean. Ralph Lauren even featured a ridiculously bright blue, red, and yellow silk satin sukajan in his 2008 Resort Wear collection. But if you don’t want to look like a poseur, take advantage of your location and get the real deal at any local embroidery shop.