In this Earth Mate Talk, Katherine and Ruriko talk about American fashion.
- Ruriko: Hey Katherine, what's in for fashion these days?
- Katherine: I don't know. It changes so fast, it's hard to keep up.
- R: Katherine, where do you go for shopping?
- K: I like Old Navy. I like to shop online so I don't have to stand in lines. Where do you go?
- R: I go to Anne Taylor Loft. Oh, you know what, Katherine? Why don't we talk about sizes in America?
- K: Clothing sizes? You know what Chieko told me yesterday? She told me, “I'm too fat and I need to lose weight.” My student Rieko told me the same thing.
- R: Oh my gosh! They're so thin. They're like paper-thin. They're they have nothing left to lose. They look about 100 pounds, which is about 45 kg. Next time I see them I'm going to shoot them. Also, I'm going to tell their mothers to feed them more.
- K: Ruriko, calm down! They're your students! Their only in high school. I know you're jealous.
- R: You're right.
- K: It's so common for people to talk about their weight. A lot of people think they need to lose weight, and so do, but, I mean, you have be realistic. I asked Rieko, “When will you know you are the right weight?” How much is enough? 5 kg? 10 kg? I'm afraid it will turn from something healthy to this never-ending dissatisfaction.
- R: What's the name of that disease? It's killed so many girls who wanted to be really thin.
- K: Oh, you mean anorexia. I don't think it's that serious, thankfully, but it does bother me. She tells me she needs to lose weight, but she looks healthy. She's afraid that when she goes back to Japan, people are going to think she's fat.
- R: That must be it. In Japan, everybody wants to be the same. I mean, now that I think of it, if you go shopping in Japan, nothing will fit me because the sizes there start at 7 and goes up to 13 or 15, which is equivalent of American sizes 0 to 6 or 8.
- K: Yikes! That's pretty small, and not everybody is that small in American. American sizes go up to the mid-20s.
- R: That's why I don't like Japan. It's because everything is just so small, from clothes sizes to a coffee at Starbucks. The Japanese Starbucks sizes suck! The American small size is the Japanese medium. One time at Starbucks in Japan, I actually thought they made a mistake on my order. I ordered a medium and they gave me what would be a small in America.
- K: I guess we should go so I can go buy you a coffee. It will be American-size, I promise.
- R: That sounds great!