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Fallen Angel readers are asking what it’s really like to go to a host club, so in addition to my usual daily Japan blurbs, I’m writing a series of blog posts on the Top Ten Host Club Questions. Today’s is:
Why do hosts dress like that?
Hosts aim to deliver the Japanese version of a customer’s secret fantasy, and if yours is to be swept away by a handsome prince or Wild One on his motorcycle, all you have to do is step into any host club to make your dreams come true. Although there are specialized clubs for cosplayers who like anime characters, vampires or gothic aristocrats, at the moment, most hosts dress either in “Prince” (ooji-sama) or “Bad Boy” (yanqi) style.
Ooji-sama hosts take their cue from visual kei musicians. “Beautiful” rather than “handsome” might be the word that springs to mind to describe them. They often strikes Westerners as androgynous, their faces as smooth as a woman’s, hair extravagantly bleached and arranged. Prince-style hosts favor sparkly accessories – silver, never gold – and tend to dress in suits made of “luxe” shiny fabric. The current rage is for the jackets to look a size too small, and to wear some sort of “alternative” tie as an accessory. Fake fur mufflers, silk scarves, cravats and other non-standard neckties are common.
Yanqis, on the other hand, tend toward black leather vests with silver studs and spikes, v-neck t-shirts featuring edgy sayings mixed with (go figure) “Catholic” images, boots, piercings and even tattoos.
Both wear their hair long, extravagantly waxed, teased, sprayed into a perfection rivaled only by the most devoted Texas debutante.
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This ad for a group of clubs with the same owner shows the wide range of hair colors and styles. Prince-style host hair tends to be lighter and longer; Bad Boy hair is often shorter and dark. All hosts come in to work early so the hair and makeup artist has time to wax, tease, style and spray their hair into perfect shape for the evening ahead. Their combos of industrial-hold hair products ensure that they look as good at midnight as they did when the club opened. Photo: ad from Men’s Spider magazine
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Whether you’re a Prince or a Bad Boy, you can’t afford to have a bad hair day or a pizza face attack. Like being a model or actor, it’s a matter of professional necessity to look as ideal as possible. Hosts often use makeup, glue their eyelids to make their eyes look bigger, and wear colored circle contacts for dramatic effect. Photo: Men’s Spider magazine
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Typical Prince shoes on the left, Bad Boy boots on the right. The reason they’re so long and pointy is that Japanese feet tend to be short and wide, but it’s believed that long and narrow is more attractive. In Japanese shoe stores, it’s the biggest size that’s always put out on display, not the smallest!Photos: Rakuten website page for Love Hunter shoes
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Princes always dress in suits; Bad Boys dress more casually, often in black shirts, or white v-neck t-shirts under black vests. Photos: Men’s Spider magazine
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Prince on the left, Bad Boy on the right. Prince designs often feature crowns, stars and “nice” crosses, while Bad Boys prefer skulls, swords, demons and crucifixes. All prefer silver to gold. Photo on right: Men’s Spider magazine
Tomorrow’s question: A Day In The Life: What’s it like to be a host?
More from the TOP TEN QUESTIONS ABOUT HOST CLUBS series:
Why do women go to host clubs?
What kind of women go to host clubs?
What’s it like to visit a host club?
How expensive is it to go to a host club?
What is a host club “champagne call”?
Can foreigners get into a host club?
How can I go to a host club?
How do I find a good host club?
A Day In The Life: What’s it like to be a host?
Top photos courtesy of Men’s Knuckle and Men’s Spider magazines.
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix.
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