10Nov, 2006
The Anime Blog Poll: Which J-Fashion are You?
Posted by: Rachel In: Japanese Culture| Polls
Checking out some of the underground street styles in Japan might lead one to believe they’ve entered a strange, fantasy world where cute things rule with a fluffy fist and Rainbow Bright is considered a fashion icon. Teenagers and young people wearing toys, dolls, intensely bright striped clothes, and little girl’s pinafores can be utterly shocking when compared to the West’s more sober emo, punk, and goth.
Most people who are familiar to anime and j-culture have probably heard of Visual Kei (it seems to becoming a fashion statement as well as a form of music) and Gothic Lolita but what about Decora, Wamano, and Fruits?
Visual Kei
If you’re not familiar with visual kei, check out this nifty site. Visual kei seems to be a glammed up version of American style goth with a healthy dose of Brian Froud-esque influence. It was originally a style for the Japanese bands that invented it, but it seems to be gaining popularity as a style in its own right.
Decora
Decora comes from the English word decoration and it fits the definition beautifully:
“…decoras wear mostly simple clothes and endeavor to appear as kawaii as possible by decorating themselves excessively with accessories used with clothing that is bright, fuzzy, and innocent. Shoes are often over sized and shirts are almost always too tight. Females try to look as young as possible by wearing babydoll dresses, Mary Jane shoes, bows, ribbons, and colorful stockings. Their hair is usually dyed pink, blonde, or auburn and worn in pigtails or curled excessively.†taken from “decora†in the Urban Dictionary.
Wamano
Wamano is an “East meets West†style made popular by Japanese fashion designer Takuya Sawada’s clothing line Takuya Angel. It combines the patterns and colors popular in kimonos and other traditional garments and puts a new spin on them.
Friuts
Fruits is a word used to describe Japanese street fashion and trends. It comes from the magazine FRUiTS which is essentially a photo log of street fashion in downtown Tokyo. Fruits is all about individual style and expression. It’s an eclectic mix of whatever you like, whatever works and whatever you’re feeling.
If you were hanging out in Harajuku on the weekend, which style would you sport? Would you try for the cuteness of Sweet Lolita and Decora? Would be styling in a revamped kimono as a fan of wamano? Or would you rock out in your version of visual kei?
more creativity to all i say 
