Harajuku Fashion

The streets around Harajuku station in shibuya, Japan, are the birthplace of the craze now known simply as Harajuku. Harajuku is an area that has a history in the arts, with a once thriving band scene, and wild street performers. The band scene has since disappeared but it is still a mecca for artists and people simply wanting to express themselves.

Harajuku fashion – What is it?

Like all street cultures, Harajuku is hard to define as simply one thing. It is a mixture of cultures and sub cultures. The Harajuku stylem actually began by mixing the clothes of different cultures together in a way that had not been previously done. For instance mixing traditional kimonos and geta sandals with tight pants and outlandish accessories. As time has gone on and the Harajuku style has progressed, several definable subcultures of Harajuku fashion have emerged. Some of these are wamono, gothic lolita, sweet lolita, decora, cosplay, and kawai. The punk culture of London also makes a appearance in Harajuku with a Japanese twist. It is known simply as Japanese punk. Lets look at some of these subcultures in detail.

Harajuku fashion – Wamono

Wamono is the style that really kicked off the whole Harajuku scene. It involves mixing traditional Japanese clothing with western fashion in ways that are unconventional and to many Japanese a little bit irreverent. 

While is was probably the first form of what is now known as Harajuku, it is no longer the most popular for of this vibrant street fashion.

Harajuku fashion – Gothic Lolita

Gothic lolita is linked with the Victorian era and exponents of Gothic Lolita or loli-goth as it is sometimes referred, try to imitate the very feminine and doll like appearance of that time. Unlike classic lolita that tries to look childlike, Gothic Lolita is more aimed at the feminine Victorian look with an obvious Gothic twist. It is mainly the domain of young women in Japan, and some cross dressers, but western males are also slowly adopting the style.

Harajuku Fashion – Sweet Lolita

sweet Lolita, sometimes just called Lolita, is more influenced by the late Baroque era than the Victorian Era that is imitated in Gothic Lolita. Sweet Lolita is also much more concerned with a very childlike appearance and sometimes even focuses on such characters as Goldilocks or little red riding hood. Sweet lolita, as a subculture of Harajuku, uses light pastels and pinks with lots of ribbons and frills.

Harajuku Fashion – Decora

Decora is a Japanese word shortened from the English word decoration. And decoration is essentially what decora is all about – wearing ass many accessories as possible, in a fashionable way. Some people call this fashion “fruits” due to a Japanese magazine by that name that covers trends in Decora. Decora is one of the most flamboyant and colorful of the Harajuku subcultures and you can often dear someone wearing Decora long before you see them, due to the clanging of all their bracelets and other accessories.

Harajuku Fashion – Cosplay

cosplay is a combination of the words costume and play. it refers to dressing up as characters from film, computer games or comics. In the west, cosplay usually only refers to dressing up as anime characters, but in Japan it encompasses dressing up as just about any character that takes your fancy.

Harajuku Fashion – Kawai

Kawaii is translated directly to the English word cute. as a subculture of Harajuku, kawaii is focussed on all things cute. Kawaii often crosses the boudaries of several harajuku fashions such as sweet lolita and cosplay, but is always focussed on the fun, cute and often cuddly themes within these other subcultures. Often a person dressed in Kawaii will look like they are wearing clothes meant for young children.

Harajuku Fashion – Where to Buy

If you are in Japan, then the obvious place to go is to Harajuku. however, the style is becoming more and more popular outside of Japan, especially with people like Gwen Stefani adopting some of the styles and producing a perfume called Harajuku Lovers. If you are interested in buying harajuku fashion, the best place to look is on the web. Try Asia Jam or Harajukucool. They have a wide variety of styles and ship just about anywhere is the world.