Many of the biggest female fashion trends in the world span both the East and the West, but there are a few interesting and unique trends in Thailand that, from the Western perspective, are very “Thai.”
Top Five Thai Fashion Trends That You Don’t See in the West
1) Cosmetic contacts:
Years ago it was popular in the West to try out the new fad of colored contacts, but that trend died shortly after it launched as it’s difficult to make the new color look natural. Thai women are still crazy about these eye-enhancers though, which come in all colors from natural brown to royal blue. While it may seem unnecessary for a Thai with brown eyes to wear brown contacts, these contacts do more than just enhance the color; the contacts mimic what the eye does when it’s naturally aroused. Wearing a pair will make pupils seem larger, make the ring around the iris thicker and darker, and widens the eyes. The result is an alert, doe-eyed look that’s borderline cartoonish, but it’s so popular that you can’t go to a market without seeing an entire stand dedicated to the contacts trend.
2) Cartoons and Kiddy Designs:
Speaking of looking cartoonish, Thai teens and young women love the cutesy look. Hello Kitty and Mickey Mouse are still as adored as ever, as are iPhone cases in the shapes of pink teddy bears, sweaters with large crocheted rubber duckies, mini-mouse-esque polka dots, enormous hair bows and more. This is a trend that’s popular with younger girls in Western culture, but seems to become less fashionable once the age of 20 is hit. In Thailand, this trend seems to remain popular for women in up to the age of 30, and even for some of the extra-confident older women. The theory behind this trend is dressing young keeps you looking young.
3) Braces:
Speaking of looking young, what is often a dreaded orthodontic sentence for teenagers in Western culture, braces are actually quite chic in Thailand; so much that there is a black-market for the metallic teeth straighteners. It’s actually possible to get a set of braces for roughly $100 from a street vendor or a salon. There’s no promising that the braces will fix your teeth (or even leave them unchanged) but they will make the wearer appear wealthy, considering the actual cost of braces is quite expensive.
4) Pale Skin:
In the Western world, we all want to look tan, or rather to have that golden glow that makes us appear to have a carefree life filled with outdoor and sunny leisure activities. In Thailand however, and most places in the East, a tan might imply that you’ve been doing laborious activities outdoors, which may signal a tougher kind of life. So for the same reasons tanned skin is popular to Westerners, pale skin is desirable to Thais. Pale skin is so in right now that you can’t find sunscreen without whitening cream, and any convenience store will literally have a full shelf of all different types of skin whitening products, from moisturizer to body wash to deodorant.
5) One Long Fingernail
Usually it’s one pinky nail, but sometimes it’s both that are grown out significantly longer than the rest of the fingers. This trend is not gender or age specific, and it’s a bit of a mystery to foreigners why it’s a thing. Some theories say that the long fingernail, like the pale skin, exhibits a lifestyle which one does not need to do manual labor. Others say that it’s simply popular because it’s useful for opening things or scratching the ear. Whatever the reason it’s not something that’s commonly seen in Western culture.
Sometimes it takes living in a place to notice these subtle trends, which may not be so obvious to an overwhelmed tourist. If you own a house or condo in Bangkok, have you noticed any interesting things about Thai style? Share them here.