Hasta La Gadget!

Suteteko (ステテコ) have apparently been around since before the Meiji period, when Japanese wore them under their kimono or hakama. Now they are back, courtesy of as Corporation’s Steteco.com.

This new range of the traditional garment has been getting a lot of attention for its colorful and modern designs, utilizing old weaving techniques to provide practical clothes for the contemporary salaryman.

A sort of Japanese long john, suteteko double-up as underwear and casual bottoms. You wear them under your office pants, handily absorbing your clothes’ trapped heat (especially in the humid summer). Then when you get home you whip off your pants and simply relax in the suteteko.

They are made from a “crepe cotton” (綿クレープ) which keeps you dry and cool, absorbing heat and letting your clothes breath. UNIQLO have seen mammoth success with their Cool Biz range (plus their winter equivalent, HEAT TECH), but it seems there already was something like this in the Japanese wardrobe!

Previously seen as clothes for older men, suteteko’s popularity among the younger demographic has soared of late, courtesy of steteco.com’s image makeover. In the first four months of this year alone saw the tripling of the brand’s online sales and shipments to select shops and department stores, and now the makers are targeting female consumers too.