If you need business attire in Japan, Yofuku no Aoyama is pretty much always a safe choice. They may not have the trendiest fashions from brand-name designers, but they can set you up with outfits appropriately dressy for a day in the office or a meeting with clients, and at affordable prices too.
For example, here’s one of their new button-up shirts. Nothing flashy or overly fancy, but a respectable, understated summer business look.
Looking at the design, one might get the impression that the person wearing it is a little on the stocky side. However, the puffiness of the shirt isn’t a result of overindulgence in food. It’s actually because this isn’t just a dress shirt — it’s also a wearable cooling system, and its fans are engaged.
Look closely, and there’s actually a fan positioned inside the shirt, near the small of the back. There are two fans, one on each side, and when switched on they provide blasts of cool air, directed inwards to cool down the wearer and help them deal with the summer heat.
Air-conditioned garments like this have become more popular in Japan in recent years, but mainly as an extension of equipment for workers in fields such as construction, garbage disposal, and event crowd control. As such, they’ve usually looked like blue-collar uniform vests or jackets, more “gear” than “apparel.” But with summers in Japan getting hotter and hotter, more and more people have been showing an interest in cooled garments, and Yofuku no Aoyama has responded with its new shirts, developed in partnership with fan-equipped fashion maker FZN to create an option for business settings.
Though the fan is noticeable from behind, the designers have done a pretty impressive job concealing it from other angles.
Yofuku no Aoyama says extensive efforts were made to keep the system’s weight down to keep the shirt comfortable to wear, with the two fans weighing 95 grams (3.4 ounces) each and the rechargeable battery pack 165 grams.
The company doesn’t make any mention of how loud the fans are, which would suggest that they’re not necessarily whisper-quiet. However, the point of the Kucho Wear Short-sleeved Shirt (as the item is called) isn’t necessarily to run it during meetings with colleagues or clients, as those conversations will be taking place inside air-conditioned conference rooms. Instead, the appeal of an air-conditioned dress shirt is that you can run the fans while you’re running around the city, heading from one meeting to another while being exposed to the elements, and won’t need to change into more formal clothing once you arrive at your destination.
The “entry complete set,” which includes the shirt (available in blue or gray and sizes medium, large, or extra-large) plus the fans, battery pack, and charging cable, is priced at 17,490 yen (US$107) and is on sale now at Yofuku no Aoyama stores and through the company’s online shop.
