紺屋こうやの白袴しろばかま

expression

the shoemaker's children go barefoot; the dyer wears white hakama

Proverbial expression meaning that experts often neglect their own affairs or fail to apply their skills to themselves. Literally, 'the dyer's white hakama' (a dyer would normally wear dark, dyed clothes, but his own formal wear remains undyed).

• 彼かれは有ゆう名めいなシェフなのに、家いえではいつもインスタント食しょく品ひんばかり食たべている。まさに紺屋こうやの白袴しろばかまだ。

  He's a famous chef, but at home he always eats instant food. It's a classic case of the shoemaker's children going barefoot.

• 医い者しゃの不ふ養よう生じょうとはよく言いうが、紺屋こうやの白袴しろばかまも同おなじようなものだ。

  They often say 'doctors don't take care of their own health,' and 'the dyer's white hakama' is much the same.