What is Harajuku fashion?
Harajuku is an area in Shibuya, Japan. Harajuku is internationally known for being the center of Japanese youth culture and fashion, it is a very popular area for teens and adults. Harajuku is also known worldwide for being the home of Tokyo’s Streetwear, cosplay, and “kawaii” culture, it’s named one of the best places to shop on earth. Harajuku has tons of fashion boutiques, dessert shops/cafes, fast food outlets, and clothing stores to go to. Harajuku fashion can range from very vibrant and cutesy to dark and extreme but generally a very eclectic style. It’s a place where you can enjoy and express yourself through clothing.
Styles seen in Harajuku
As said in the previous paragraph, Harajuku has a range of many different styles going from more vibrant and cuter clothing to more dark and aggressive clothing. Some examples of sub-styles in Harajuku fashion are:
Kawaii
Kawaii is more of an aesthetic than a style though many Harajuku styles are under the kawaii aesthetic category as Harajuku is known for being the home of “kawaii” culture. Kawaii is described as cutesy, childlike, innocent, and charming. It is characterized by pastel or soft colors, round shapes, and “vulnerable” features like big eyes or a small mouth. There are also many sub-genres to kawaii, some major ones are Gurokawa, Yami-kawaii, Kimo-kawaii, and more. Many things can be called “kawaii” including food, toys/plushies, stationery, clothing and accessories, characters, real people, animals, and fashion styles.
Lolita
Lolita fashion is a style heavily inspired by Victorian and rococo clothing. It is often described as feminine, cutesy, and modest though there are many different types of Lolita. This includes classic, gothic, sweet, sailor, country, hime(princess), punk, steampunk, and many more. A Lolita outfit consists of wearing a skirt(usually bell or a-line shaped) with a petticoat or a crinoline, a waist-defined top with usually no shoulders shown, and cute and demure accessories like lace, bows, ruffles, and more.
Gyaru (Ganguro, Yamanba/Manba)
Gyaru fashion is a style for a young woman known for their rebellious outfits that went against Japanese stereotypical beauty, social, and aesthetic standards. Gyarus were usually tan-skinned with sometimes dyed poofed-up hair while the Japanese standards were pale-skinned and dark hair. Gyarus usually wears showy clothing like mini skirts and crop tops with flashy colors, patterns, and platform shoes. They wear a heavy amount of makeup and are filled with a bold and confident attitude.
Decora
Decora fashion is a maximalist style described as playful and childlike because of the bright, colorful, and heavily layered and accessorized outfits. They often wear excessive amounts of vibrant headwear, plastic clips, pins, stickers, bracelets, and necklaces to accessorize their outfits. Graphic t-shirts with old characters or fun patterns are also popular within the community. Decoras usually wear minimal amounts of makeup to let the clothing and accessories stand out but still often switch it up with colorful eyeshadows. There are also some sub-styles to Decora including Oshi Decora, Hadeko, Dark Decora, and Cyber Decora.
Goth punk
Goth punk is a style inspired by Western goth and punk fashion. It blends dark colors with some vibrant colors. Goth punks usually wear ripped clothing, sometimes bondage pants, and chunky platform shoes. Some added details to the clothing are safety pins, studs, piercings, spikes, and leather or fishnet pieces. Some popular accessories are chokers, dark-colored accessories, and more. They often have fun spiked hair, dramatic makeup, pale skin, dark eyeliner, and lipstick.
Oshare Kei
Oshare Kei is a sub-style of Visual Kei. Oshare Kei is almost identical to the classic Visual Kei style except it uses more vibrant, bright, and pastel colors, unlike the other Visual Kei sub-styles. This style often uses plenty of layered patterns and Western cartoon characters. This style is very similar to Decora as they both wear tons of jewelry and accessories. Oshare Kei accessorizes with clips, goggles, biker chains, arm/leg warmers, studded bracelets, and straps/buckles. Bright makeup styles with some dramatic details are usually their go-to makeup style.
Fairy Kei
Fairy Kei is a fashion style based on making cute, vintage, or retro clothing looks. This style is also pretty similar to Decora as it is often confused with it because of the bright color schemes, though Fairy Kei typically has more muted pastel colors with some factors of neon/high-saturated colors. This style is heavily inspired by 80s pop fashion, featuring many 80s cartoon characters. You would usually wear more loose-fit clothing like oversized sweatshirts, bloomer shorts, tulle skirts and petticoats, thick sweaters, tights, and flowy a-line dresses that are ankle, knee, or mini-skirt lengthed. The use of accessories is still a lot, though not as much as Decora. They would accessorize with cut bows, clips, mokomoko accessories, necklaces, bracelets, and rings.
RELATED STORIES:
https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Harajuku_Fashion
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3006.html
https://www.gotokyo.org/en/destinations/western-tokyo/harajuku/index.html
https://www.japan.travel/en/spot/2174/
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