Maid outfits are extremely popular in Japan and are frequently worn in anime and manga. The most common style of Japanese maid outfit consists of a traditional French maid costume with an apron. Generally, Japanese maid costumes are usually one-piece above the knee and black/navy blue colored. Typically they include a short apron with frill and the skirt area of the dress is usually pleated. If knickers or petticoats are worn with it, they are usually ruffled (and the dress is sometimes short enough to display them)
