“Japan” has come to mean “weird” for a lot of people, especially when it comes to fashion. It’s true that you’ll see a lot of things there that you’d never see in other places, but it’s not the case that extreme fashions are the norm — in fact, Japan values homogeneity, so standing out in the ways that youth in Tokyo do is even more of a statement there. Still, you can get away with some things that you just couldn’t in, say, New York.
So remember that like any other major metropolis, Tokyo has droves of impeccably-dressed citizens as well as plenty of average joes. That said, here are some of the less conventional styles you might encounter there.
Lolita
Photo by kiyoshi.be
The Lolita clothing trends, inspired by Nabokov’s classic novel, center around ruffled, frilly, Victorian-English-inspired outfits. “Loli” girls are also fond of babydoll curls, tiny top hats, bonnets, parasols, and platform shoes. Classic Lolita is truer to history and more toned down than other versions it spawned; “sweet Lolita” is the girlier incarnation, usually presenting itself in white and pink and innocent, doll-like dresses (see photo). Gothic Lolita is, surprise surprise, the mildly goth version. These are the most common versions, but you could also come across punk, “gore,” sailor, and a whole host of other takes on this style. It’s been around for decades and is still going strong, lately going mainstream enough to appear in department stores — I’ve even noticed it making its way to the States, a trend probably helped by the growing popularity of steampunk and Victoriana.
Lolita is directly related to Japan’s obsession with cuteness, something which is — and probably will be — an entry in and of itself.
Gyaru
Photo by 3chopsticks
Gyaru (“gal”) refers to a wide range of exaggerated girly styles, usually involving a whole lot of fake — hair, nails, contacts, make-up, etc.
Gyaru is often used interchangeably with ganguro, probably the most common subset and one of the more unsettling Japanese fashions. It literally means “black face,” its hallmarks being extremely tanned skin, blond hair, and exaggerated make-up. Ganguro girls also usually go heavy on the bangle bracelets and big earrings. Related styles are yamanba and manba, which both use even darker tans, white eye make-up, and more extreme neon clothing — but subscribers to these trends are adamant about being two separate styles. Although in many cases ganguro is actually emulating black culture, in ways that border or cross the line into racism, it also takes inspiration from the classic “California girl” look. Nowadays, tourists might be forgiven for thinking that some of these girls are just fans of Jersey Shore.
Gyaru and its subcultures hit their peak popularity in the early 2000′s, but you will still see plenty of over-tanned Japanese girls walking around.
Visual Kei
Photo by Lawliet Tsuki
In Japan, glam rock never really died. Visual kei is both a genre of music and a fashion style, with the visual aesthetic falling somewhere between David Bowie and Marilyn Manson. It’s actually been around since the ’80s, so it’s a little newer than glam rock, but that still makes it over two decades old. A few examples of visual kei bands are X Japan (one of the originals), Glay, Dir En Gray, and Malice Mizer. The musical style can range from metal to rock to punk to borderline emo, but the main thing that puts a band in this category is their look.
Bishōnen
This style also hearkens back to glam rock, being that bishōnen — pretty boys — are glamorous, androgynous, and … well, pretty. The concept of bishōnen is a lot older than that, though, and has roots in kabuki and even medieval court culture. Their hair is immaculately coiffed, usually requiring a heavy amount of gel, and is often dyed. They’re not afraid of makeup or tight clothing. Bishōnen technically refers to teenage boys, but since it’s a lot better known than counterpart terms like biseinen (of-age pretty boys), it’s become something of a blanket term.
If you ever see a 20-something guy with bishōnen-style hair but dressed in a suit, there’s a good chance he’s a budding yakuza member. They’re often given the job of standing watch at the entrances of “massage parlors” while their bosses relax inside, so you’ll often see them loitering around Kabukichō in Shinjuku.
Cosplay
Photo by Anna Fischer
Cosplay, for the uninitiated, is a portmanteau of “costume play” and refers to dressing up as an anime, manga, or video game character (or, by some definitions, any character at all). It’s more than a Halloween costume but not usually a daily style — attendees of anime conventions will spend months making elaborate costumes to wear to the events, and many devoted fans create them specifically for dedicated photo shoots. (Spending 30 seconds in the cosplay section on deviantART shows just how many.) You will, however, see cosplayers out and about, more often posing and showing off their outfits than just going about their lives. A surefire place to catch them is on Sundays in Harajuku, at the entrance to Yoyogi Park.
Rockabilly
Photo by Roberto Grassi (via flickr)
In addition to the cosplayers, Yoyogi is also home to a group of guys in leather jackets with greased Elvis hair dancing around to ’50s music. Why? Who knows. But rockabilly has made a comeback in Japan, if only as a fringe fad, and the Yoyogi Rockabilly Club is alive and well.
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