This is a static copy of In the Rose Garden, which existed as the center of the western Utena fandom for years. Enjoy. :)
Seems we don't have a thread for analyzing the dress styles of the characters. Why are the uniforms so hideously ugly, why do some of them wear non-uniform clothes (e.g. Utena's striped dress in Ep. 33) and, of course, what's the symbolic value of each of them?
I'd like to start out by asking about Saionji's uniform. Or not so much asking about it, as commenting on it. It's hideous. It's a weird turqouise color which totally clashes with his dark green hair. And then there are those yellow...triangles, and the red detailing. My only question is why?
Also:
Anthy's "witch" outfit matches Akio's dress shirt, as Alexa pointed out.
Last edited by minervana (01-06-2010 08:25:41 PM)
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minervana wrote:
I'd like to start out by asking about Saionji's uniform. Or not so much asking about it, as commenting on it. It's hideous. It's a weird turqouise color which totally clashes with his dark green hair. And then there are those yellow...triangles, and the red detailing. My only question is why?
You would, too, if your alternative were wearing the non-Student Council boys' uniform:
It should be noted, of course, that Utena's boys' uniform is manifestly not a boys' uniform, at least not in the sense of actually being worn by boys at Ohtori, in spite of their underwhelming fashion options.
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I think in Saionji's case, its simply a variation of a theme. The other student council guys all have the same. Saionji is just unfortunate enough to have green hair.
Also, I want Utena to weaar PANTS. PANTS GOD DAMN YOU. WHY DOESN'T ANYONE NOTICE SHE DOESN'T WEAR PANTS.
I'm also 99% certain that they were colourblind. And this comes from someone who sees the world in a weird purple over brown tint.
[edit:] Maybe Kanae chose them. Cause god knows, mint and orange juice are a terrible combination, as anyone who's brushed teeth right before breakfast can attest to.
Last edited by allegoriest (01-06-2010 08:50:04 PM)
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The sweater Utena wears for her date with Akio appears to be the same one Anthy made in Cowbell of Happiness, although it looks like the collar is cut off. I guess Utena just has problems with keeping her clothing intact.
It definitely reminds me of Anthy's Rose Bride and Witch dresses. I wonder why Anthy would give Utena something like that.
Funny that Utena would wear something made by Anthy to go out with Akio. By going on that date, she's acting as a Rose Bride by allowing Akio to feminize her and acting as a Witch by her cruelty to Anthy.
Last edited by dundundun (01-06-2010 09:29:29 PM)
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Wow. That's a fantastic eye for detail, dundundun. Dun dun dun! And yes, the reuse of that sweater (with the collar cut off, no less!) definitely speaks to the threatened corruption of Utena's friendship with Anthy. Either that or she thought Akio was a bull.
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minerva: Anthy's "witch" outfit matches Akio's dress shirt, as Alexa pointed out.
I think Akio's dress shirt is made out of the original witch rags/dress.
dundundun: Funny that Utena would wear something made by Anthy to go out with Akio. By going on that date, she's acting as a Rose Bride by allowing Akio to feminize her and acting as a Witch by her cruelty to Anthy.
Awesome catch. And yeah...it's very interesting. I want to use this idea now, it's all filled with yummy meaningfulness.
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Oitl in another thread wrote:
I'm one of the people who think she did this partly by seducing him, and partly through magic. When Dio's comes to see Utena in her coffin, his collar is undone, which is a fashion-statement used by both Akio and Touga later in the series to represent entwined power and sexuality. In the flashback, Dios wear's white and Anthy wears a red dress and gold bracelets. Akio wears a red shirt and gold armbands, and Dio's white hair becomes Akio's light lavender. Symbolic of Anthy's meddling, perhaps? And by present time in the series, Anthy now reaps what she has sown, and sex between the two is a emotionless and twisted act used to fill unsightly desires and exert dominance.
BONUS NOTE: I mentioned earlier that Akio wearing Anthy's red color and gold bands could be symbolism of her seduction, and also mentioned that he uses sex to both dominate and mock her and remind her of her guilt. Whenever the two are seen pre or post-coitus in the series, it is implied that during the act, Akio remains as clothed as possible, while Anthy is pretty much always nude. This may not just be a way of expressing dominance and control, as nudity can be used to humiliate one and make them appear or feel vulnerable and not in control, but may also be Akio doing it on purpose to nonverbally drive home to Anthy the guilt and shame he wants her to feel for being the one who tainted him, by reminding her of their little roll in the hay back in the shed during every sexual encounter they have.
This is one of the main reasons, or things I interpret to mean, to be more accurate, that it was Anthy who initiated their sexual relationship, because it is Akio's appearance who is altered to resemble Anthy, it is Akio who's image is, shall we say, tainted, not the other way around. I think to an extent, he is aware of this, and the resemblance in clothing is intentional, he wears it to remind Anthy of her transgressions and mock her, to gain back some semblance of control.
Does it represent control? Possibly. Though who holds the power is left ambiguous, who belongs to who, since they are both wearing red and while Akio may have chosen to, the reason he chose to is Anthy. *passive-agressive Anthy glasses flash.*
Also, the color red, as with Akio's car, Anthy's rosebride dress, and Touga's setokai color is used in Utena to represent adulthood defined by sexual maturity and power, as opposed to emotional or intellectual.
And maybe I'll mention that, once again, Anthy was originally the one to wear red.
(Though, it could be a whole 'nother can of beans to say that maybe she only did because she was marked by society as a Witch long before the incident in the shed.
Society: You hang out with the Prince too much. Slut.
Anthy: Orly? Show you slut.
Society & Dios: omg. )
And as for Saionji, I guess he's just unlucky, as with some uniforms (Juri, and Wakaba) the outfit eventually grows on you, but his signature color was green, and instead of choosing a shade that could look nicely on him, they went with the standard Ohtori issue pale green. Really though, I don't think it's that green isn't his color, white isn't. He looks WAY better in darker colors like Royal blue and black. See: His kendo outfit, young Saionji's turtleneck, and Movie!Saionji's uniform.
Whether or not this is intended to be symbolic or just a byproduct of design is up to the viewer, though it may be interesting to note that Utena and Touga look good in either.
Last edited by OnlyInThisLight (01-07-2010 07:49:57 AM)
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dundundun wrote:
The sweater Utena wears for her date with Akio appears to be the same one Anthy made in Cowbell of Happiness, although it looks like the collar is cut off. I guess Utena just has problems with keeping her clothing intact.
Not really. The weater in Cowbell of Happiness is scarlet red, the one for the date is... in French we call it "framboise" (strawberry), it's slightly hinging on pink? That's two colours that actually clash with one another, although they have similar material.
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allegoriest wrote:
Also, I want Utena to weaar PANTS. PANTS GOD DAMN YOU. WHY DOESN'T ANYONE NOTICE SHE DOESN'T WEAR PANTS.
I think this is something that both the characters in the series and sometimes even fans overlook. Everyone says that Utena wears a "boy's uniform," but really... it's not a boy's uniform at all. It's more traditionally "masculine" than the skirted and puff-sleeved girl's uniform at Ohtori, but none of the boys wear it. And it's less traditionally masculine than, say, Juri's (who does wear actual pants).
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satyreyes wrote:
minervana wrote:
I'd like to start out by asking about Saionji's uniform. Or not so much asking about it, as commenting on it. It's hideous. It's a weird turqouise color which totally clashes with his dark green hair. And then there are those yellow...triangles, and the red detailing. My only question is why?
You would, too, if your alternative were wearing the non-Student Council boys' uniform:
I don't think it's so much the design that makes it so terrible, but the color. It's ok on the girl's uniform since there's less of it, but on the boy's uniform... Why would a school choose that color? Ever? It just makes the male half of their students a walking eye sore!
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Once of my close friends went to a fancy private school, and their colour was juuuuuust about Ohtori Green.
Dunno if that's what colour their uniforms were, but I pray it wasn't.
I don't think you can really count them off on a colour shade really. I mean, her hair is a different colour in like... every single shot ever. They're so very inconsistent.
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For the heck of it, Saionji's uniform with a darker green.
I think it looks a bit better, but still, it's not the green that disagrees with him, it's the yellow, red and white. Plus whomever chose the shade of green for the highlights in his hair for this shot needs to be brick'd.
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Aya wrote:
I don't think it's so much the design that makes it so terrible, but the color. It's ok on the girl's uniform since there's less of it, but on the boy's uniform... Why would a school choose that color? Ever? It just makes the male half of their students a walking eye sore!
I think clearly it's so that the girls will not vent their sexual frustration on the boys, leaving more for Akio.
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Sometimes I have to wondor if Miki's uniform jacket is secretly corsetted... His waist is very tiny. For a boy.
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satyreyes wrote:
Aya wrote:
I don't think it's so much the design that makes it so terrible, but the color. It's ok on the girl's uniform since there's less of it, but on the boy's uniform... Why would a school choose that color? Ever? It just makes the male half of their students a walking eye sore!
I think clearly it's so that the girls will not vent their sexual frustration on the boys, leaving more for Akio.
A red shirt and Purple tie? Akio isn't doing much better on the fashion front. lol
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Akio is just aware that even the weirdest colors go together in anime.
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Ooo, I see now. Akio is just an anime visionary!
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Aya wrote:
A red shirt and Purple tie? Akio isn't doing much better on the fashion front. lol
I've seen it. On a flamingly gay dude in New York City.
I've also done it. If you ask me, the sin isn't the purple and red. It's the blue lining on the shirt. DUDE WHY?
BTW MIND BLOWN on the sweater. Why did I never notice that? Brutal.
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The blue lining is to make him look more Brokeback, methinks.
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Giovanna wrote:
Aya wrote:
A red shirt and Purple tie? Akio isn't doing much better on the fashion front. lol
I've seen it. On a flamingly gay dude in New York City.
I've also done it. If you ask me, the sin isn't the purple and red. It's the blue lining on the shirt. DUDE WHY?
BTW MIND BLOWN on the sweater. Why did I never notice that? Brutal.
Because the sweater is RED when Nanami is charging as a bull, and it's more of a magenta when she wears it later. I'm not convinced it's the same one.
Last edited by Ashnod (01-08-2010 12:05:51 AM)
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I agree with Ashnod, I don't think it is. The necklines are WAY too off (at least four inches)... the second one doesn't even cover the tops of Utena's shoulders.
Though you could argue that the animators fudged up, I guess.
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The neckline bit was somewhat explained by the 'it looks like she chopped the neck off the red sweater' line someone said. Also, color differences, haven't any of you colored your whites on accident in the washer, or washed all the color out of jeans or something? Maybe Anthy didn't use a colorsafe wool. *shrugs*
I agree it's probably not the same sweater, but it does have an interesting similarity.
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Wool is washed normally much less then other fabrics. Sometimes I think you have to dry clean them IIRC. Color change seems less likely.
Man does this thread reminds me of Peach Girl and the fact that the artist basically drew every fashion known to humans in the manga.
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I'm no good with analysis, but I did once redraw what I thought some character's costumes would look better in attempted fashion like sketches, which I'll post when I get my scanner back. But I've always thought their fashion was a...catastrophe.
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BlackRoseVixen wrote:
http://www.ohtori.nu/galerie/d/5844-1/S … 14_055.jpg
Sometimes I have to wondor if Miki's uniform jacket is secretly corsetted... His waist is very tiny. For a boy.
Miki's what, 14? It's not surprising he's so skinny. What's surprising is his shoulders are so much broader than his hips.
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