Japanese fashion

Fashion is really just like beauty...it's in the eye of the beholder. What one person thinks is fashionable and interesting another may find boring or ugly and vice versa. Ever since arriving in Japan I've been observing its people, culture, mannerisms, language, and fashion. Since I live in a small town I haven't seen any fashion forward people yet. The ones that think they're being fashionable, really are just following an old trend which I'd like to call the "skank" trend. It's when the woman wears short shorts or short skirts (and when I say short I mean the fabric stops right at the point where the butt and the thigh meet), has on some type of boots, and has the option to wear colored tights if the mood streaks her. She thinks she looks cute but really she just looks cheap.

I wish many women could understand the difference between sexy and skanky. Examples: Britney Spears - skanky; Charlize Theron - sexy; Paris Hilton - skanky; Halle Berry - sexy; Tila Tequila - skanky; Salma Hayek - sexy. There's nothing more sexy than a woman who isn't afraid of her sexuality and choices outfits that show off just the right amount of skin and hugs her curves in just the right way. The clothes should stir up people's imagination and create a sense of allure. But most importantly the difference between a sexy woman and a skanky woman is a sexy woman wears certain clothes because she finds herself attractive and wants to show herself to the world in the best way possible (self-love) compared to a skanky woman who wear certain clothes because she thinks it's what men find attractive and basically just wants their attention (self-rejection).

I didn't start this post to go off about my issues with skanky dressed women (even though it does relate to fashion) but how I have newfound respect for Japanese fashion. So the last few months I'd been a little worried that the Japanese fashion was mainly based on dressing like a skank. Like I said earlier, there aren't any fashion forward people in my town and when I went to Osaka and Kyoto I didn't really see any fashion forward people either. I mean there were women who were dressed pretty cute but fashion forward is something different. It's taking the old and adding a little twist. Well I finally found the fashion forward people, and it's true that they reside in the Harajuku district.

When I decided to join my friends in Tokyo on our 3 day mini-break from work, I at first didn't know where I wanted to go. Tokyo is so big and you can't possibly see all of it in 1 and a half days. So one night while I'm listening to Gwen Stefani, I thought "why don't we go to Harajuku and see what Stefani's been ravin' about" and it did not disappoint. So many different styles and fashions reside in this one area. I'm not even a shoe person but I could help but LOVE some of their designs and found myself wishing I could find at least ONE pair that came in my size (sadly I didn't). My friend and I found (and even bought some) great accessories from scarfs, necklaces, bracelets, hats, and more. As we walked the streets I found myself overwhelmed by how amazing some of the women looked (yes there were still the skanks but I just ignored them or kept thinking in my head "why?!"). My friend and I even popped into the H&M store and loved how some of the clothes were very much influenced by the 1940s. I soooo wanted to buy a top that my friend said reminded her of the fashion in the movie "Atonement" but even though the store was entitled H&M, it did NOT have H&M prices! I've never been in a more expensive H&M in my LIFE! And I've been to the ones in London, NYC, Dublin, Minneapolis and I think Florence (can't remember for sure) but none of them had prices like these. The top that I wanted cost 6950 yen (that's about $77 USD) and the cheapest items they had in the store were around 2000 yen (and were accessories). So I walked out of H&M empty handed.

Next my friend and I ended up chillin' in a department store for a while. We popped a squat in a random corner, talked, and people watched, This was the moment when I finally realized my appreciation for the Japanese fashion. As we're people watching, I noticed how many women would take on old fashion idea from the 80s (i.e. leg warmers) and add a twist. Instead of wearing the leg warmers the traditional 80s way (no tights, no socks, no heels) they added color tights and heels and they made sure to wear the leg warmers high enough so the color tights can peek out down by the shoes. Fashion like that I like because there are only a limited amount new designs people can come up with, but for a creative people there are endless amounts of ways they can adjust a few things then make it their own. It's great!

Being in Harajuku was wonderful; it gave me some fun new ideas for fashion that I'd like to adapt into my wardrobe. Now if only I can find out where Japan's hiding all the second hand shops I'll be set...