New Trends + On the Hunt

Observation and speculation! This is my run-down of the summer gal trends.

Early Summer:

• Light blue denim -This is super popular for early summer. I am in love with a jacket from DraSTic (AULA AILA). I was happy to see it featured in the 2009 May ViVi denim section (page 89).


• Bright pink pumps - everywhere. Last year, it was the two-color heels, with one color on top and a contrasting one on the heel and bottom of the shoe. This summer it's just pink, pink, pink.


• Colorful basketball shoes - these are an around-the-world hit item right now. You can find them anywhere and everywhere. Not my style, though.


• Printed bikini-style swimsuits - any print is okay, as long as it's printed and colorful! Bandinis, skirt bottoms and one-pieces are all but forgotten about.


• Strappy sandals - sandals that wrap around the ankle are back and thicker than ever - thick heels, thick straps, thick everything. These look great with loose shorts or boyfriend pants.


• Bold, large flower prints - this is hands-down a must-have item for this summer. My top pick is a strapless dress from Rose Bud with Warhol-style roses from the waist-down.

Late Summer:

• Front zippers - shirts, dresses, anything that zips down the front. I think these will get more and more popular as the summer goes on.


• Nude color palettes - beige, white, peach, tan, etc. The bold color trend will have a rest for awhile in late summer.


• Big-button rain coats - bright colored vinyl with big buttons for the start of the rainy season.


• Off-the-shoulder shirts - we're already starting to see these a lot in stores, but I don't think they will peak until late summer.


• Denim cowgirl - I think around late summer, the denim trend will turn into a typical summer cowgirl fad.

I'm open to refute on these. As stated above, some of it is speculation.

Anyways, I have been on the hunt for my own pieces. The other day I picked up a new layered tank top and some Govil cuffs from SLY. To go with it, I got some shocking pink heels from Esperanza. I went through a million pink heels. There were some really cute ones at R&E, but alas, they were extremely uncomfortable. At Esperanza, a pair of light pink pumps with a crystal-looking semi-wedge (it's hard to describe, I have to sneak a picture or something to really explain them, but they are definitely unique) caught my eye, but due to comfort issues, they lost to a pair of hot pink patent pumps with black stripes around the stilettos. I'm really happy with that purchase. I looooove shoes.

Pictures of the shoes and cuffs will arrive soon. In the meantime, here are the pictures of the shirt (no, this is not me, my body looks MUCH better in this shirt than this model's does):






They also had it in purple, which totally looks better in this picture, but I picked the white because in person, the purple wasn't as bright as this, and I love to have at least one fancy white top or dress for every spring. Last Spring I went with a Jill Stuart dress that I bought straight from the mannequin (along with the necklace and vest that were with it)! But this Spring it's SLY for the win.



But if I picked my second choice, it would definitely be the purple. There's a black, but I am totally not into black as a Spring color (is it a color? This is debatable).

Anyways, I am totally crushing on this pair of rings:



I want to get them with the matching earrings, but I can't find them anywhere. SOLD OUT! I am still hunting, though. I am determined to get my hands on a set. 

Current love: Govil

JSG x Eva dress part two

I've had it for awhile now, and I'm wearing it again today. The first time I went with black tights (picture below), but today I let my hair loose and went for some hot pink tights. They suit it much better, IMO.  

Unfortunately, it's too cold to wear it without the undershirt (and a coat on top when I'm outside -- unfair! This weather is totally uncharacteristic of March in Tokyo)... That day, I had to stack on a hat, too! It made me feel like there was too much weight around my head and neck... I don't like that kind of imbalance! 

But today, I am free! 

...Except for a marketing quiz in about forty minutes. がんばりま〜す！

Regards,

Beru 

Server UP!

I have launched the test version of circle9 on its own domain (http://tokyocircle9.com). The products haven't been put up on the site yet, but at least it's on its way to being an online shopping source for the world to purchase gal fashion brands. More information as it comes! 

Regards,

Beru

JSG x Evangelion

This mix is practically opposite. But that's why it's so amazing.

One of the most famous animated series from Japan called Neon Genesis Evangelion did a collaboration with a Gal brand called JSG. They made this over-the-top nylon zipper parka-dress that looks like the giant robot-like "Evangelion" units. I am totally in love with it. 

JSG has always been kind of a contrast to my style (when it comes to Gal brands, I like the harder, 

more masculine looks like SLY, Moussy, Barak, etc.), but I totally just ordered one for myself.

Also, they did a collaboration with a brand called Soul Franky, which is targeted at the male version of Gal fashion (Gal-Oh... I'll explain later if necessary). My boyfriend's not into that kind of fashion, but he ordered the hoody from the collaboration. But it does have my favorite character, a warm-water penguin named Pen-pen, across the front, which totally makes up for the brand.

It's being modeled by one of the most famous gyaru-oh male models here. I'm surprised that Eva went to this length to expand its merchandise sales. 

It has me sold. 

I love flashy accessories.

I was poking around on Drop Snap to see if there were any inspiring pictures here and there, and I found an interview with Mademoiselle Yulia, a female DJ on EMI Records. She released her own jewelry line called Giza (inspired by the city in Egypt), and it's amazingly gold and flashy:  

I hope I can achieve something like this in the future. In the interview, she explained that because there aren't many designers who make bulky jewelry in Japan, she just thought "I might as well make some myself" and then went and did it. She told that she just made what she would have wanted to have for herself, something that has impact and is easy to understand. 

I'm totally inspired after reading about people like her. She is only 21, and her jewelry is sold in boutiques around the country. Some of it can be found on Zozo, one of the coolest online shopping sites from Japan for young people. I would link directly to the stuff, but my Internet is being really slow right now, so I can't load the page properly!! I will get back with that later. 

beru

 

ME:BAE - do more, look good

One of my very close contacts is setting up a website for male fashion and grooming in Japanese. Maybe if he makes an English version of the site, I will feature it on here. The name is ME:BAE and the subtitle is "Do more, look good." The design is super cute, and it covers content including how to style hair and which products to use; images of popular street fashion for guys and where to buy the clothes; and even skin care, makeup and hair removal products for guys. This is what the world needs!! 

The name ME:BAE comes from the phrase 「見栄えを良くして、芽生える」(mibae wo yoku shite, mebaeru). The phrase in a whole means that if you take care of your appearance, you will sprout (mibae means appearance, and mebae means bud or sprout). So you can read the "ME" in the title like either word. The idea is to communicate that if you take care of your appearance, you can be born again as a new person - one who has more confidence, is happier about his appearance, and who will draw the attention of others more. I'm excited to see how it plays out.  

Review: Teen Vogue takes a look at Tokyo Fashion / What are Gals??

I am a big fan of photojournalism. We all know the saying that "a picture tells a thousand words". But there is one big problem with media imagery - anything that has the power to inform equally must carry the power to misinform. Teen Vogue is one of the most popular American youth fashion magazines that is sold in Japan, so I am a bit surprised to say that they were quite a bit off target with this photo collection. The description talks about taking kawaii to the extreme, or something along those lines, but the girls skipping around Harajyuku every Sunday in layers of used clothing tend not to fit the word quite accurately. 

There's no doubt that one might call this style of clothing a Japanese fashion, but it is in no sense representative of Japanese youth fashion culture, and I feel that people see these and tend to feel that they do depict the essence of such. In fact, these images epitomize an outcast group that is not involved in pioneering fashion in a new direction but instead following an anti-fashion subculture. I note this as following, because while these kinds of girls certainly aren't welcome socially, they are still plentiful, and they repeat the same trend of over-layering that exists within their own sector of street fashion. Creative fashion is really applauded in Japan, but not a single one of those girls would be called kawaii by those standards. 

So, if these statements are disillusioning, then please give me the chance to help at least a little bit to guide you throughout your enlightening. 

I think that one important thing to do before exploring the really creative and amazing fashionistas in Japan is to learn about what the popular trends are. The first one is Gal (pronounced like gyaru in Japanese) fashion, which will be an important topic in this blog. 

You can find many websites that Westerners dedicate to the Gal style, but they tend to be outdated in their information, talking about outrageous sub-styles such as "Yamanba" and others that carry negative images like "O-Gal", which have long been abandoned by the majority of Gals in Japan. Of course, there are many exceptionally up-to-date sources, as well, but in case you haven't found one of those yet, below are some snaps from one of the most popular Gal magazines in Japan: S Cawaii.  

Okay. I know. It's hard to tell what Gal fashion is because... well... all of these girls are dressed quite a bit differently (except for the presence of small hats in a lot of these pictures; that's not something defining of Gal fashion; they just happened to appear a lot in this edition of S Cawaii). But typical Gal fashion is not simply classified, as others might insist. The point is not to put colors together logically but creatively; to test the borders of flashiness or cuteness; to dress, do hair, and just look differently.

The really sectionable subsets of Gals, i.e. Princess Gals (himegyaru), are not the norm for street fashion by any means. In retrospect, Gals lead the street fashion category with their creative color combinations, their pioneering of new street styles and their desires and efforts to express themselves through fashion and beauty. 

Gals are the real driving force of street fashion trends in Japan. Of course, to have numbers, there are followers, but within them, there are many who lead new styles and new definitions of matching and coordination. This is one thing that I hope to convince others of.

Beru