All About Harajuku

[Yunri-Chan]

I was thinking about doing a harajuku girl for Halloween & was really excited about that idea... until it occurred to me that I don't know much about the style. ><' I've seen photos of the style and looked it up on wikipedia, and yet I still don't understand much about it. Soo... I was wondering what all of you guys know about it, seeing that there isn't a thread about this yet. Definitions, different styles, experiences, post whatever about harajuku here... And I mean anything, I really have no idea what it's about or anything. Hopefully I'll learn more about it from you guys, so yeah. ^^; Thanks!

[EverEvolvingGrl]

hmmm.... Harajuku, my favorite subject. Harajuku is a fashion paradise for people who are fashion-o-philes (like myself). Harajuku as a fashion isn't possible, its a place where the fashionable gather but..... you can dress up like Gwen Stafani's Harajuku Girls.
Lemme send you some links
http://www.japanesestreets.com/
http://www.style-arena.jp/index_e.htm
http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/fashion/japanese_street_fashion.html
Oh! And if you can pick up FRUiTS by Shoichi Aoki. I'm in love with it, and they sell it at most book stores.

[inertia]

I've been living in Tokyo for over 4 years and used to hang out in Harajuku all the time, and I don't really understand what a Harajuku Girl is supposed to be either. I think Gwen Stefani was singing about something she wanted to see, not what was actually there.

Harajuku in the '90s and before was like a festival every weekend. The main streets were closed to traffic and kids would get dressed up in their coolest outfits (in whatever style) to go hang out there. Nearby Yoyogi park permitted small/independent bands to play there on Sundays, and you could go there and check out dozens of bands for free.

Now, the streets are no longer closed to traffic, and the bands have been banished from the park. Harajuku's become an ordinary downtown area with a lot of inexpensive youth-oriented shops, just like any big city has. The only thing remaining from the old days is Jingubashi, a bridge where cosplayers and lolitas hang out, but even that's dying, so that you'd be hard-pressed to find the few cosplayers among the crowds of tourists. Aside from Jingubashi, Harajuku's really not that different from someplace like the Village in NYC.

I don't think there was ever any kind of unified style to Harajuku fashion. There were kids from nearly every youth subculture, except maybe gyaru. Most of the young people there now are dressed in pretty ordinary clothes. Magazines which want to have interesting people for their street snaps keep a database of phone numbers, and call up the most reliably well-dressed people when they're doing a shoot. Without that, the magazines would have difficulty finding anybody to photograph on weekends except tourists, yuppies, and preteens from the suburbs. Recently the yuppies have increased, due to the opening of Omotesando Hills. It's just a shopping mall with the same international stores you can find anywhere, but malls aren't common here and to the Japanese it has an exotic image of international luxury and romance (I'm not kidding), so yuppies have been flocking to the area and it's insanely crowded on weekends.

Sorry for the long and glum post. ^^

[angelic_baby]

i love harajuku

[penny_dreadful]

Should there be an area on this site for Japanese street-fashion enthusiasts? I do think this forum should have an informational sticky up with lolita definitions and should also briefly cover other Japanese street fashions just so people can be aware of what's what. I'm curious, though, to know what people's opinions are on this? Many people insist that lolita is a fashion/lifestyle, not a costume, but more and more people at cons are dressing up in lolita or lolita-inspired outfits. Clearly an interest in Japanese designers and street fashions is growing, but would this forum be widened to reflect that, or would it be matter of gauging interest by seeing how frequently people post on the subject in other forums first?

--Penny

[Yunri-Chan]

Thanks everyone! Everything you guys have posted so far has been useful. ^^; My friend actually owns FRUiTS, and that's what introduced me to harajuku in the first place. :3

penny_dreadful~ Yeah, I was thinking about that too... and wondering why there's a forum for specifically Elegant Gothic Lolita but not lolita or Japanese trends in general or something. But then I assumed that EGL was just really big or something. Iono...

[TagaSeguchi]

I remember when Americas Next Top Model went to Japan and did a "Harajuku" Shoot, Mr. Jay explained it as a street fashion where the girls dress crazy and don't care what people think of them.

I own FRUiTS got it for Christmas last year from my big Brother and it's great! I have taken alot of fashion ques from that. Unfortunatly this summer I was forced to move outa my families home with what I could carry and that wasnt there....

[CherryBomb]

My friends and I dressed like made up Harajuku girls for Gwen's harajuku lover's concert! (see my gallery!) I've been to harajuku (I got my furry legwarmers there), and saw a wide variety of different styles. Some girls wore layers of random brightly colored clothes and kid's style stuff. Some were in the lolita style. My friends and I are not experts, so we just made stuff up! I have noticed the style usually tend to be more modest. Mine showed a bit more chest than the typical lolita style, and the skirts were a bit too short... Yeah, but just be as cute as you can, and just have fun with it! Hope everything comes out great!

[Yunri-Chan]

I remember when Americas Next Top Model went to Japan and did a "Harajuku" Shoot, Mr. Jay explained it as a street fashion where the girls dress crazy and don't care what people think of them.

That happens to be the one episode of America's Next Top Model that I watched. ^^ *is planning to watch this season*

CherryBomb~ Wow, that's such a cool idea! And it's perfect, being Gwen Stefani's concert and all... *checks gallery*

[Kaoshima]

From what I saw of Harajuku while I was there, (I wasn't there long, only an hour or so) I'd have to agree w/ inertia, I did see the occasional gothic lolita chick, (I even saw one smoking a cigar, it was kinda funny) but it wasn't like there were swarms of them. Most of the people were just dressed normally.

[cutekawaii]

yeah, it's not too special. you'd see more people dressed EGL at a con, honestly.

most of the weird kids hang out in the back allies and stuff, and the main crowd is bargain hunters and tourists.

ive seen some bands around in yoyogi tho, but it was more like "practice" or people just screwing around than actual performances. you can see performances at shinjuku station, but they aren't dressed all crazy or nothin.

[AznGalahad]

I've been living in Tokyo for over 4 years and used to hang out in Harajuku all the time, and I don't really understand what a Harajuku Girl is supposed to be either. I think Gwen Stefani was singing about something she wanted to see, not what was actually there.

Harajuku in the '90s and before was like a festival every weekend. The main streets were closed to traffic and kids would get dressed up in their coolest outfits (in whatever style) to go hang out there. Nearby Yoyogi park permitted small/independent bands to play there on Sundays, and you could go there and check out dozens of bands for free.

Now, the streets are no longer closed to traffic, and the bands have been banished from the park. Harajuku's become an ordinary downtown area with a lot of inexpensive youth-oriented shops, just like any big city has. The only thing remaining from the old days is Jingubashi, a bridge where cosplayers and lolitas hang out, but even that's dying, so that you'd be hard-pressed to find the few cosplayers among the crowds of tourists. Aside from Jingubashi, Harajuku's really not that different from someplace like the Village in NYC.

I don't think there was ever any kind of unified style to Harajuku fashion. There were kids from nearly every youth subculture, except maybe gyaru. Most of the young people there now are dressed in pretty ordinary clothes. Magazines which want to have interesting people for their street snaps keep a database of phone numbers, and call up the most reliably well-dressed people when they're doing a shoot. Without that, the magazines would have difficulty finding anybody to photograph on weekends except tourists, yuppies, and preteens from the suburbs. Recently the yuppies have increased, due to the opening of Omotesando Hills. It's just a shopping mall with the same international stores you can find anywhere, but malls aren't common here and to the Japanese it has an exotic image of international luxury and romance (I'm not kidding), so yuppies have been flocking to the area and it's insanely crowded on weekends.

Sorry for the long and glum post. ^^

QFT. I've been to Harajuku and I think you'd fit in more if you were wearing lots of brand clothing and toting around a louis vuitton purse. I want to see some roppongi hill girls gogo!

[CherryBomb]

I've been to Harajuku and I think you'd fit in more if you were wearing lots of brand clothing and toting around a louis vuitton purse.
Yeah..thats what I saw too, but that's no fun!! I ignored those girls and looked at the weird ones, they're cooler!:toothy:

[Malicious]

its sad that the harajuku fashion is dying T__T i love fruits and lolita. but the fashion stores still exist, don't they? the fashion will eventually pick up again. all fashionstyles are recycled anyways

[Shinobi_Misa]

I love old-skool Harajuku fashion! I think it would be considered most similar to US raver-fashion---only waaaaaaaaay frickin' better. Just think lots of bright colors, flashy jewelry, and anything cutesy and fun!

PS~One of my favorite styles is decora-loli! Talk about super-kawaii! XD

[kuko-chan]

In my opinion, it seems like the Lolita style is far more popular now in North American than in Japan. :P I was on a Japanese commissioner's website that offers customized lolita dresses and they have a google map of where their clients are located; most of the pins were in North America.

I agree that the unqiue styles of Harajuku are dying out and to be honest (this is my opinion, btw) I think Gwen Stefani killed it by singing how cool she thinks it is, but her perspective on it is a rather butchered version of it. When something gets mainstream and mass-produced, it takes the fun out it.

[Shinobi_Misa]

I totally agree with you kuko. Gwen kind of cheapened J-fashion, and now that loli/decora is getting popular with the Hot Topic crowd, it's draining all the fun away. *Hot Topic's poser-loli dresses enrage me >_<*