Tokyo Street Style [harajuku]

credits to : style-arena.jp

HARAJUKU.
-Genesis of the Takenokozoku and Gothic Lolitas. Harajuku, the birthplace of the cutting edge of Japanese fashion.

1week/01/2009

2week/01/2009












3week/01/2009

Wa-Mixture (Mixes taste of Japan)

Color of Fashion Items

It was a long time ago when Japanese people considered the kimono as casual daily wear. Today, people dressed in kimonos attract attention wherever they go and are often asked to pose for photographs taken by foreign tourists. In other words, the kimono could be thought of as a type of cosplay. However, authentic kimonos are expensive and not many can afford to enjoy the luxury. Yet, all Japanese people seem to hold an admiring place in their hearts for the vivid colors, intricate patterns and textures of kimonos.

While designer’s and character brands flourished in the 1980’s, the fashion industry attempted to integrate the kimono and other traditional Japanese designs into clothes and accessories. However, the price, again, was a problem and the idea unfortunately failed.

In spite of this, a new brand, Takuya Angel, which created new fashion styles with used kimonos, appeared in the mid 90’s. Since then, Takuya Angel continued to excel by focusing on developing its original products and coming up with a plan to make use of traditional pattern used in Kyoto while changing material to reduce cost. Thus, Takuya Angel was able to successfully establish an innovative fashion style, which was a fusion of traditional Japanese patterns and recent fads such as cosplay, gothic, Lolita and cyber. In fact, the Takuya Angel shop in Harajuku is now visited by people from all over the world.

As the popularity of Takuya Angel has grown, new fashion categories “wa- goth” and “wa-lolita” have arisen. Qutie Frash is one of the most famous brands offering gothic and lolita styles with wa- patterns. Yet more and more shops are starting to make yukata (summer kimono) available at their shops.

This coverage staff : Director "HINE", Photographer"AYA", Assistant "Foomin, Pye", Special Thnks to ViVi


credits to: Style-arena.jp

HOW TO DRESS HARAJUKU STYLE.

HOW TO DRESS HARAJUKU STYLE.

1. Mix and match different fashions.
What is now known as Harajuku style started as teen in the district began to integrate traditional Japanese attire, especially kimonos and geta sandals, into their dress. Before, they wore primarily clothes that were influenced by the West, but by mixing the traditional with the modern, they created a new style. Other examples of mixing and matching including the punk look with the schoolgirl uniform or a goth look with designer clothes. In Harajuku, mixing different styles and mismatching colors and patterns is encouraged--you can do anything you want, as long as your outfit is a thoughtful expression of your individuality.


2.Become familiar with variations of style in the Harajuku district.
It's impossible to pinpoint one "Harajuku style." Many styles have originated or developed on the streets of Harajuku, and many Harajuku girls (and boys) integrate one or more of these somewhat more defined styles into their outfits.

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  Gothic Lolita involves wearing gothic, feminine and elegant clothes, to the extent that you look like a living Victorian doll.

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  Japanese punks, inspired by the punk movement that began in London in the 70s, magnify rebelliousness with over-the-top clothes, accessories, makeup, and piercings.

Cosplay entails dressing up like your favorite cartoon/anime or computer game character

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  Decora style favors bright colors, flamboyance and accessories from head to toe. You decorate yourself with plastic toys and jewelry and it's not uncommon to have so many that you can hear them click together when the person moves.

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  Kawaii (literally translating from Japanese to "cute") places an emphasis on childlike playfulness--anime characters, ruffles, pastel colors, toys, and so on.

Wamono refers to mixing traditional Japanese attire with Western fashion.

3.Dress in layers.
One of the hallmarks of Harajuku is layering. Sweaters, vests or jackets over blouses over t-shirts,dresses worn with leggings, and so on. Layering clothes (or giving the appearance of layering by wearing ruffled dresses, for example) allows you to mix and match a wider variety of different styles, and adds more dimension to your outfit.

4.Customize your clothes.
Secondhand clothing and do-it-yourself styles are popular ingredients in a Harajuku outfit. Like that flowered skirt. but think it would look cuter with a riboon pinned on it or with a more uneven, angular hemline? Get out the scissor and glue and make your store-bought clothes uniquely yours. Or, go even further andmake your own skirt. Cutting the fabric to create bold angles and lines can make even a plain black dress appear remarkable and fun.

5.Accessorize.
Add any wild accessories you have, such as belts,earrings, hair clips,jewelry and handbags. Remember, accessories can be colorful and loud, and they don't have to match your clothes. Speaking of loud, in decora, a particular Harajuku style, accessories embellish an outfit from head to toe, and objects such as bells are sometimes used to add an aural dimension to the wardrobe.

6.Go wild with your hair and makeup.
The Harajuku style doesn't have to stop with your clothes. Pigtails and other "cute" hairstyles are particularly popular, as is dying your hair. Creative, even theatrical makeup can be a fun addition.

7.Wear whatever looks good to you.
It's been said that the Harajuku style is not really a protest against mainstream fashion and commercialism (as punk was), but rather a way of dressing in whatever looks good to you. If you think mismatched rainbow and polka-dot leggings look good with a plaid dress, go for it!

8.Smile and say chiizu!
If you dress Harajuku style outside of Harajuku, you'll likely draw attention from people unfamiliar with your international fashion sense. If the attention isn't positive, just smile graciously and keep going about your business. But if people ask questions or want to take pictures, strike a pose! The people in Harajuku are proud of their style, so you should be, too.

Tips!

• Many people mistakenly think that dressing Harajuku style is about just "throwing things together." While the assembly of different styles and patterns might seem haphazard, it's important to put a lot of thought into your style. If you study how people dress in the Harajuku shopping district, you'll see that the intricate outfits are carefully chosen to convey a certain image that a random and thoughtless combination never could.

• Harajuku style changes very quickly. Keep up with the evolution of the style by reading publications like FRUiTS and Style-Arena.jp (see Sources and Citations below). These publications and others like them offer a wealth of pictures of Harajuku outfits and are updated weekly or monthly. If you want to dress in Harajuku style, looking at pictures is a good way to get inspired.

• "Harajuku style" is also known as "FRUiTS fashion" to those who follow the magazine, but neither of these terms are commonly used by the Japanese who epitomize style when describing themselves.

• Contrary to popular belief, Harajuku style is not just for the girls. While some variations of the style lend themselves more to females than to males (e.g. Gothic Lolita), many of the hallmarks of the style are gender-neutral. After all, it's about dressing in what looks good to you--why should girls have all the fun?

Warnings..

• Don't get carried away with brand loyalty. While it's OK to favor certain designer labels (especially since brand loyalty is big in Japan), Harajuku is about creating your own look, so if you appear just like the mannequins in the mall or the pictures in the catalog, you may be stylish, but you're not unique. Don't be afraid to mix that Calvin Klein dress with a used, torn and tattered pair of jeans and some combat boots.

• Also, In many places Harujuku style is very uncommon, you can't just dress the part, you have to be the part. When walking down the street people will look at you. Hold your head high, be proud of what you are wearing or else you look like a poser.

latest tokyo street style

latest tokyo street style. [ photo taken on december2008]

more photos coming soon...





credits to style-arena.jp

goth-loli, goth/punk [ japanese gothic fashion style ]

Color of Fashion Items

Concerning "Gothic/Lolita"

Gothic/Lolita is a Japanese unique fashion and commonly known as Goth-Loli.It is a fusion style between Gothic and Lolita.

Gothic fashion style had been created by Punk bands’ people in London in 80’s, and Lolita fashion style had high popularity among girls in 90's. This fashion style has spread gradually as a subculture among young people, who prefer the visual music bands or animations.
This fashion style is expanding more and more, and nowadays it is no longer just sub-culture, because of an increase of shops containing this type of clothes and the boom of rock music.Now, "Laforet Harajuku" or "Marui 01ONE" have speciality shops of Goth-Loli

fairy-kei [ pop and lovely world fashion ]

Color of Fashion Items



Memo : Fairy-kei (Pop & Lovery) Fashion
The feature of fairy fashion style is light, soft, pop and cute. It has a distinctive color use. There are lots of combinations of the pastel colors, or pink and red, pink and white and pink and black. So, a pink variation is considerably abundant.
Fairy style is being supported by an adult woman who prefers lovely items or who wore clothes of the layer fashion in the past. The pioneer of fairy style is fashion producer Sebastian Masudea who opened the fairy cloth shop “6% DOKI DOKI” in 1996, and also he has been doing performances or activities of PR in regards to this style.　

He had created this kind of fashion style from his original idea, which was unique and creative. He is coordinating everything by himself from the make up of shop clerks to exterior and interior according to his themes, which are “sensational and lovely”, “not only cute but also happy” and “feeling of unreality”.

Meanwhile, a secondhand shop “Spank”, which had been opened at Kouenji in 2004 by Mr. Tavuchi, has good items according to a theme of ”pop disco in 80’s”, which are from United states.

There are original items such as small articles or T-shirts. Those could produce in total to “Spank girl”.The feature of this shop is amusement like music in addition to cuteness.

hime-kei, hime casual [ princess fashion style ]

Color of Fashion Items

GOLD

Memo : Hime-kei, Hime Casual (Princess Style, Casual Princess Fashion)

“Princess Style” was taken up in media three or four years ago, but this fashion style was not realistic enough at that time. So the word of “Princess Style” had a meaning of cute or sweet for girls.

Each brand of Princess Style was not limited to Princess Style; they handle various items besides cute clothes and small articles.