What is Japanese Street Fashion?

Japanese Street Fashion are styles seen worn by young people on the streets of Japan, more commonly in certain parts of Tokyo. The three main styles are Gyaru, Gothic & Lolita, and Decora. All of these styles have roots in older styles that emerged in the 1970's. They offer a weekend escape from the strict conformity enforced by the wearing of school uniforms for Junior High and High School students, and a lifestyle for older teens and twenty-somethings that is outside of normal Japanese society.

How did these trends start?

Gyaru was born as "Kogyaru" in the mid-90's. It is speculated to have roots in the earlier "bad girl" styles such as Sukeban (1960's & 70's) and Lady's (1980's-early 90's). This is speculation, of course, as there are no direct ties other than the desire to break away from traditional Japanese conformity, and the associated "bad girl" image.

Gothic Lolita has its roots in the 1970's postpunk-British music era. From there, the Japanese music scene slowly started to influence the fashion. Early interperations were the Nagomu Gals. Several brands catering to the style emerged in the late 80's and early 90's, such as Milk, Metamorphose, and Emily Temple Cute. In the mid-90's, Goth J-rock band Malice Mizer rose to astounding popularity, and their imagery of a beautiful, dream-like Victorian fantasy world saw the upswing of Gothic Lolita. The term "Elegant Gothic Lolita" was coined by Malice Mizer's Mana, who opened his own Gothic fashion store in 1999. With the release of the novel, and later film and manga, "Shimotsuma Monogatari" (known as "Kamikaze Girls" in the US), Baby, the Stars Shine Bright founder Novala Takemoto launched Lolita style into blazing popularity. The peak of this style was 2004-2005.

Where do these people hang out?

Different fashionistas hang out in different areas of Tokyo. Gyaru are primarily found in the streets of Shibuya, but also congregate in nearby Ikebukuro. They can also be found at various ParaPara Club events all of over the city, including Roppongi.

Gothic & Lolita are often seen in Daikanyama, an area of the city featuring several Gothic & Lolita stores. They are also part of the crowd that congregates around the Meiji Shrine on Sundays in Harajuku. You will also see Gothic & Lolita of other types, Visual Kei, Cosplay, Decora, Cyber, and others in this popular Sunday meeting spot.

What is Harajuku?

Harajuku is an area of Tokyo located between Shibuya and Shinjuku. It is internationally known for its street fashion.

This area is a thriving fashion district with shops ranging from designer labels to the most unknown underground brands. Gothic and Lolita, Decora, and Visual Kei patrons all gather here, usually on Sunday. Harajuku was globalized when US singer Gwen Stefani penned her song "Harajuku Girls", describing with longing her desire to be as fashionable as the hip, Japanese youngsters. The inspiration for her first solo album came from her time visiting Tokyo.

Where can I buy these fashions?

Why, right here, of course! SpicyCream features Japanese Street Fashion-inspired clothing in American sizes with considerably lower shipping. We feature several up-and-coming young designers in our store, as well as popular favorites here in the US.

If you are interested in purchasing Japanese brands, proceed with caution. Not all stores will ship outside of Japan. There are shopping services online that will purchase the item for you, and the ship it to you, but we do not endorse any of these. There are also Japanese auction sites like Yahoo! Japan auctions.

.:~Gyaru~:.

Types of Gyaru

Kogyaru/Mago-gyaru

Kogyaru refers to a high school girl who is a gyaru. Often seen wearing the current gyaru hair trends, loose socks and sporting a tan along with their school uniforms, kogyaru usually go against the rules of their school dress code to stand out and be the trendiest girls in the class. They'll often wear even more extreme clothes and makeup on the weekends when hanging out with their gyarusa. A Mago-gyaru is simply a Junior High school girl who follows gyaru style. These girls appeared in the earlier 90's, but became popular in 1996.

Oneegyaru

Oneegyaru, meaning "big sister gal", is the new, sexy and sophisticated look for gyaru. It is typically sported by gyaru who are over the age of 20, and are more interested in issues such as family, parenting, and careers. They have outgrown the outlandish look of Kogyaru and Yambanba, and prefer to look sexy rather than outrageous. They prefer designer brands to less expensive duds, such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Dior, and Dolce & Gabana. This style emerged around late 2005/2006, as gyaru began graduating high school and college, and needed a more practical look for their everyday style.

Gyaru-o

The male version of Gyaru. Gyaru-o are stylish, sexy young men who are interested in fashion, high-maintence looks, and the Shibuya lifestyle. They tan, dye their hair, shop and party just like their female counterparts. Gyaru-o emerged around 2005, and even have their own magazine, Men's Egg.

Himegyaru

These gyaru are the definition of high class. Himegyaru, meaning Princess Gals, wear the most expensive clothing, feature the most luxurious accessories and hairstyles, and are at all times immaculate. The huge, bouffant-and-curls hairstyle, super-girly high heels, and completely feminine clothing are the uniform. Popular brands are Jesus Diamante and Liz Lisa. The Himegyaru emerged around 2006, around the same time as the Oneegyaru. Himegyaru is sometimes considered a branch of Oneegyaru, since the girls are usually out of high school and interested in more expensive, luxurious styles.

B-Gyaru

The B-Gyaru are a sect that idolize popular R&B performers, such as Beyonce, J-Lo, and Janet Jackson. They usually have a permanent tan, sport microbraids, cornrows, and extensions, and wear popular African-American brands such as FUBU, Adidas, and Baby Phat.

Manba

Manba is the updated take on Yamanba. The look is still pretty much the same, but in some cases the gyaru prefer to wear softer makeup and less beachy clothing. Similar to Manba, Banba convert the look into a more sophisticated, rock-inspired style. O-gyaru are a sect of gyaru that are usually Manba who spend all of their time on the streets and don't bathe for days or weeks at a time. The "O-" prefix stands for "dirty".

Sentaa Gai

The male counterpart to Manba, Sentaa wear the same outrageous makeup, super-teashed hairstyles, and usually even the same clothing. They usually have on tons of rave-style jewelry, and prefer flip-flops to heels or boots.

Ganjiro

Gyaru who follow the same fashion, hair and makeup styles but prefer not to tan are known as Ganjiro.

"Old" Styles:

Ganguro

When most people think of Gyaru, they tend to instantly think of Ganguro. Ganguro was one of the first updates of the infant Kogyaru style in the mid-90's. Ganguro had a uniform- mini-skirts, extremely tall platform boots, neon color, the beginnings of panda makeup (thick black eyeliner and white around the eyes), and bleached-blonde hair. Of course, since the technology for hair-dying and tanning was still relatively new in Japan, the girls often ended up looking like giant orange monsters from the self-tanner, and their hair was more of a sandy white or pale yellow from the hair dye.

Yamanba

Eventually, girls yearned to take the Ganguro style to the next extreme, and thusly the Gonguro was born. Gonguro was the even darker (nearly black), silver-haired upgrade of Ganguro. Of course, some girls still desired even more attention, and began the trend known as Yamanba. Yamanba, a term that refers to a mountain hag in Japanese folklore, were the Extreme. They had extremely dark tans, wore very wide, white panda circles around their makeup, and at time even drew designs or whiskers on their cheeks. They stuck small stickers all over their cheeks around their eyes, and even used white paint pens to get the extreme white they desired. Their hair could be any color of the rainbow, and was teased to stand anywhere from four to six inches off their heads. Extensions almost always were worn, sometimes in different colors. Their clothes were bright and outlandish. After time, they began to sport certain brands such as CocoLulu and Alba Rosa. The hibiscus, featured in the logo of Alba Rosa, became the unofficial symbol of the Gyaru. These looks were popular from 1998 until about 2001.

Gal Circles

Around 2001, the Gyaru-sa, or Gal Circle, started to appear. Gyaru would form girls-only clubs online and meetup for parties, drinking nights, parapara events, and shopping outings. The most popular of these is a group known as Angeleek, an Ive-sa (Event Circle) that coordinates events for other gyaru to attend. They are still running today, and are extremely famous in gyaru culture. Angeleek can be credited for keeping the Manba look alive and well.

Kigurumin

Sometime around 2003, a trend known as Kigurumin became popular among the Yamanba. Kigurumin are one-piece pajamas that look like popular animal characters. The most popular kigurumin characters were Hello Kitty, Hamtaro, and Pikachu. This trend didn't last long, and had faded away by 2004, although you can occasionally see a kigurumin wandering the streets of Harajuku being worn by a teen who follows Decora style.

Seasonal Styles

Gyaru trends are constantly changing and updating, so many styles come in and out of popularity only for a few months or weeks at a time. Some popular seasonal styles have been Military Gyaru, featuring camoflage and army-inspired clothing; Rasuta, Jamaican-inspired prints, tie-dye, and dreadlocks; Nautical, an ocean-inspired look featuring navy stripes, anchors, and yacht wear. Even Yamanba have the occasional seasonal style. One such style was known as Romanba, or "Romantic Manba". These girls followed their manba extremes of super-dark and white panda make, but included pinks and glitter, and would wear frilly, feminine clothing and carry super-girly accessories like parasols or lace handbags.

.:~Gothic & Lolita~:.

Types of Lolita

Classic Lolita

Also known as "gothic lolita", Classic Lolita are usually wearing black and/or white victorian-inspired babydoll dresses, headwear such as small crowns or tiny top hats with ribbon ties, or bands of lace and ribbon that tie under the chin. Popular brands for this style are Metamorphose and Innocent World.

Sweet Lolita

Sweet Lolita wear childish, pastel colors and cute prints. They often carry childish accessories like teddy bears or other stuffed animals, and aim to appear as young and innocent as they can. Popular brands are Angelic Pretty and Baby, The Stars Shine Bright.

Shiro/Kuro Lolita

Shiro ("white") Loli are lolita who wear all white, while Kuro ("black") Loli are lolita who wear all black. Almost all brands carry items in this style. There are also lolita who wear only blue, pink, red, and so on. Each of these lolita is named after the color they chose.

Country Lolita

A style of Lolita with a Country touch. Fabrics are usually gingham or soft floral prints. Aprons are common, as well as small straw hats and other "country" accessories. This style has a "Gone with the Wind" inspiration. Baby, The Stars Shine Bright, MAM, and Angelic Pretty usually carry it.

Gorgeous Gothic Lolita

Gorgeous Lolita refer to elaborate, detailed lolita looks, usually appearing as ball gowns or wedding dresses. Atelier-Pierrot and Metamorphose are popular brands.

Gothic Aristocrat

This style is closer to it's Victorian-era inspirations. Usually all black, this style feature long dresses with high-necklines, corsets, long sleeves, gloves, and appears much more mature. Moi Meme Moitie, Black Peace Now, and Arachnophobia are popular brands.

Madam

Madam is a Japanese fashion which is the feminine version of Aristocrat, which is inspired by what is thought to be worn by European Middle Class and above status persons in the Middle Ages and by fashion worn by the upper class in the 19th Century, though Madam gets more of its influences from 19th Century fashion. The fashion includes long sleeve blouses and shirts, long skirts, corsetry and dresses with feminine, but not usually frilly styling that can come in a variety of colors. Make-up, when worn, is usually mature and on the slightly heavier side, though not excessive.

Neo Gothic

Contains elements of Elegant Aristocrat, except with a modern, high-fashion twist. Assymetrical hems, a ripped or worn look, and decorative hardware suck as snaps, straps, or extra layers of fabric are common. Alice Auaa and Na+H are popular brands.

Dandy

Men's Gothic style. Featuring elements from it's Victorian-era inpiration, such as bowler hats, canes, frock coats and cravats.

Gothic and Lolita Punk

Gothic Punk has a rock-inspired look. It usually features tartans, stripes, chains, piercings, and an overall more industrial look. Lolita punk is similar, but with a lolita twist. Lolita punk keeps the lolita bell skirt, but is less feminine and keep the elements of punk. an-ten-na and Choccochip Cookie are popular brands.

Ero-Lolita - Short for "Erotic Lolita", Ero-Loli uses vinyl, fishnet, and leather. The dresses has super-short skirts, and feature corsets or bustier tops. Accessories include spiked heels, long gloves, and other "erotic" items.

Qi & Wa-Loli

These lolita get their inspiration from Qi-Pao chinese dresses with Mandarin collars (Qi Loli), and traditional Japanese Kimono (Wa-Loli). Often the top portion of the outfit will retain elements of the "original" costume, but the rest is entirely loli with lots of lace, fluffy skirts, and aprons.

.:~Decora~:.

Types of Decora:

Decora

Decora, or Decorer as it is also known, means "to decorate" or "be decorated". Featured primarily in the popular magazine and book series fRuiTs, Decora (or Decorer as it is commonly known) is a more wearer-interpereted fashion. It almost always features multiple layers of clothing and massive amounts of accessories. It can range from extremely bright, neon colors and tons of cheap hair clips, bracelets, and multiple layers of differen patterned socks, tights, skirts, and shirts, to a more muted, demure and somewhat stylish layered look. There are a couple of unique styles of Decora.

Cyber

One of the two decora "trends" is known as Cyber, a futuristic style whose wearers appear like they just walked out of a Sci-Fi movie. This style often has a Raver touch, such as neon colors and brightly-colored, unique hairstyles. Fotus is a popular Cyber brand.

Angeler