Post by Jembru on Mar 12, 2015 18:12:20 GMT
Is there really a definitively 'Japanese' fashion style? Don't trends generally spread globally?
Things have been really heating up in my Japanese-speaking social circle. First we went to a school for Japanese speaking children and networked like crazy, finding a few families living locally. Then we met a student studying Japanese at the university who introduced us to some of the Japanese speakers she knows, both classmates and native speakers. We've started making a regular weekly gathering that isn't reliant on each of us being free that night, to try to keep the momentum going.
One thing that has surprised me though, is that more than once I have been told me dress style is 'Japanese'. While it's just my own creation I always thought of my current style more 'European', in particular, French. I like to wear knitted hats, decorations in my hair, vintage or romantic fabrics, coloured tights, lace, buttons.. pearls.. My British friends and colleagues always compliment me on my unique style, and some have even copied it, which is always a compliment.
Then last night a Japanese guy I had just met likened me to 'harajuku' style. I used to TRY to dress harajuku style maybe 4 or 5 years ago (a sad attempt to impress my love interest of the time). My mum made me skirts and matching accessories out of curtain fabric so I could have weird patterns and colours. My profile picture on my 'meet the staff' page is reminiscent of that time. Some of these I still wear sometimes, but I like to think I'm a lot tamer now. I was going for a more grown up and conservative look that just had my own unique twist.
So I'm now wondering, is there more to 'Harajuku' than the visual kei, lolita and dekora type styles? What I mean is, is it also known for a more sensible fashion side too? Maybe a side known to the Japanese, but masked from foreigners because we can't see passed the kids in Yoyogi park on a Sunday afternoon? Or am I just more outrageous than I thought?
I'm not ashamed of it and won't be changing how I dress. I'm slightly worried that people liken of me to an older, uglier, Venus Angelic, or at least think I'm trying to look like an anime character. This is me though, it's a style I created by myself, for myself and not particularly based on anything.
To be honest, I wonder if there really is a difference in fashion style in Japan compared to the rest of the world. Other than neutral colours and loose tailoring, I don't see anything that is specifically unique to Japanese fashion. That is of course, outside of the more attention grabbing sub-cultures we associate with Harajuku and Shibuya (though I think more about gyaru when I think of Shibuya, that too has some pretty outrageous side branches, so seemed worth mentioning..).
Things have been really heating up in my Japanese-speaking social circle. First we went to a school for Japanese speaking children and networked like crazy, finding a few families living locally. Then we met a student studying Japanese at the university who introduced us to some of the Japanese speakers she knows, both classmates and native speakers. We've started making a regular weekly gathering that isn't reliant on each of us being free that night, to try to keep the momentum going.
One thing that has surprised me though, is that more than once I have been told me dress style is 'Japanese'. While it's just my own creation I always thought of my current style more 'European', in particular, French. I like to wear knitted hats, decorations in my hair, vintage or romantic fabrics, coloured tights, lace, buttons.. pearls.. My British friends and colleagues always compliment me on my unique style, and some have even copied it, which is always a compliment.
Then last night a Japanese guy I had just met likened me to 'harajuku' style. I used to TRY to dress harajuku style maybe 4 or 5 years ago (a sad attempt to impress my love interest of the time). My mum made me skirts and matching accessories out of curtain fabric so I could have weird patterns and colours. My profile picture on my 'meet the staff' page is reminiscent of that time. Some of these I still wear sometimes, but I like to think I'm a lot tamer now. I was going for a more grown up and conservative look that just had my own unique twist.
So I'm now wondering, is there more to 'Harajuku' than the visual kei, lolita and dekora type styles? What I mean is, is it also known for a more sensible fashion side too? Maybe a side known to the Japanese, but masked from foreigners because we can't see passed the kids in Yoyogi park on a Sunday afternoon? Or am I just more outrageous than I thought?
I'm not ashamed of it and won't be changing how I dress. I'm slightly worried that people liken of me to an older, uglier, Venus Angelic, or at least think I'm trying to look like an anime character. This is me though, it's a style I created by myself, for myself and not particularly based on anything.
To be honest, I wonder if there really is a difference in fashion style in Japan compared to the rest of the world. Other than neutral colours and loose tailoring, I don't see anything that is specifically unique to Japanese fashion. That is of course, outside of the more attention grabbing sub-cultures we associate with Harajuku and Shibuya (though I think more about gyaru when I think of Shibuya, that too has some pretty outrageous side branches, so seemed worth mentioning..).