Japanese Street Fashion

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Japanese Street Fashion first started in the middle of the 19th Century after Japan started to portray western fashion in their culture. It was then altered to 'Street Fashion', which is what it is commonly known today in the fashion industry, in the beginning of the 20th Century. There is no indefinite information on who started this up and coming trend or to why it was started.

By collaborating a mix and match of present and traditional clothes, which are usually home-made with material and outside resources, we get the term 'Street Fashion'. Street Fashion is used for the designer and/or wearer of the clothes who customizes the outfits using the requirements of this term.

Currently in Japan, there are many fashion styles made of local and foreign mixtures of clothing. This fashion is the most popular trend in Japan today. Harajuku, Odaiba, Roppongi, Ginza, Shinjuku, and Shibuya are all large fashion districts in Japan that have a huge population of the young Japanese wearing these fashionable statements.^[1]

1 Modern Japanese Fashion
2 References
3 Sources

[edit] Modern Japanese Fashion

[edit] Lolita

Main article: Lolita Fashion

The Lolita street fashion is one of the popular fashions among teenage girls in Japan. As a fashion subculture, Lolita has subcultures, such as: Gothic Lolita, Sweet Lolita, Classic Lolita, etc. They are more commonly known and expressed in Japan as "GothLoli", "SweetLoli", "ClassicLoli". ^[2]

Gothic Lolita is mainly focusing on dark colors, like black and purple, and is usually accented with a white lace. Skirts that are worn are usually worn at knee length with petticoats underneath for volume, blouses or shirts are lace-trimmed or ruffled like the Victorian-style, knee length socks with boots, bonnets, brooches, and an umbrella finish out this style of Lolita.
Sweet Lolita focuses on "childish pastel colored clothes".^[3] It is very much inspired by baby dolls and Hello Kitty is popular among the SweetLolis. Common accessories are bows, lace, stuffed animals, and an apron to give the impression of someone who has been baking.
Classic Lolita is very traditional. It is very mature, and business-like and focuses on light colors, such as, blue, green, and red.

[edit] Ganguro

Main article: Ganguro

The Ganguro street fashion became popular among Japanese girls in the early 2000s. A typical look for a "Ganguro Gal" ^[4] is to wear brightly colored outfits, mini-skirts, and tie-dyed sarongs. The Ganguro style consists of bleached hair, a deep tan, fake eyelashes, black and white eyeliner, bracelets, earrings, rings, necklaces, and platform shoes.

[edit] Kogal

Main article: Kogal

The Kogal subculture is not to be confused with the Ganguro subculture, because they are very similar. Often you would compare the "look" of the Kogal to be that of a "Californian valley-girl". ^[5] This style of street fashion is known for wearing mini-skirts, platform shoes, lots of make-up, artificial suntans, and having lots of designer accessories. The Kogals portray their style through the music they listen to, the fashion they wear, and the activities they take part in their social life.

[edit] Cosplay

Main article: Cosplay

Cosplay is a subculture on dressing up. It simply means to wear a costume. Often, the fashionistas of this street fashion will dress up as characters from manga, anime, tokusatsu, and video games.^[6] Less commonly, they will dress up as characters from live action television shows, fantasy movies, and Japanese pop music bands. ^[7]