fashion news from Osaka land
So. I'm taking a break from studying to talk about some stuff I've been realizing over the past few days. Maybe it's obvious that Japan is full of fashion-conscious and extremely stylish individuals. There are tons of magazines, stores, and specific & categorized styles of dress catered to every and any individual (generalization). Every sightseeing tour so far, of the local train stations (Hirakata and Makino), as well as my latest trip to Osaka, all seem to have the primary goal of shopping. With Kyoto, there were gorgeous temples and landscapes to see, but still, all along the way to these temples were loads of elegant, delightful shops.



Three days into being here, I realized I felt a slight pressure to dress fashionably, and "cute." After hanging around with a number of average Japanese college girls, I began to feel somewhat underdressed, in the sense that I was not "cute" enough. My nails were not done. I wasn't wearing any mascara. And I didn't have any feminine, drapey sort of shirt/skirt/dress ensemble on. It would be so easy for me to immediately switch my style to this. Even the cheapest of clothing stores sells any number of stylish pieces to instantly make a good outfit. Still, it's been my habit to only buy things I absolutely love, that I thought would appear unique and flattering, or at least felt representative of my personality. Sure, I could easily switch to a stylish, feminine, and more cute way of dress here, and I sort of want to try it out ... but it doesn't feel right. When I went to Osaka and to the shopping center next to Hep Five (the mall with the ferris wheel on top), I found three stores that catered to my weirdo-tomboy/weird-cute sense of style (Laundry, Candy Stripper, and another shop I forget ... Nene?). Pricey items, but well made. It gave me reassurance that indeed, not all young women in Japan dress in the crazy latest girly trends ... It's just that I seem to know mostly girly chicks right now. For the past three days, I've gone back to no-worries chucks, shorts, and t-shirts, with big earrings and a bandana or scarf thrown in for good measure. I painted my nails the usual chrome silver ... and have put on mascara a couple times. Heh.

The other day in downtown Hirakata, I asked my friend Sayoko why none of the Japanese seem to wear sunglasses when it's so freaking bright outside, and she said she wasn't sure why, but they mostly just didn't. When I showed her my silly 50s/80s fake Ray Bans from Urban Outfitters, she thought it was too cool and took a picture of me with them on. So in some funny way, I feel like I'm passing off a kind of "vintage American" style, which a bunch of the men's magazines have as a thing.




Current trends I'm noticing? Of all FREAKING things, UGG-style boots and PLAID! Fur-lined boots and suede-fringe boots are the craze right now, and none of them are made with cold weather in mind. Plaid, tartan, flannel is also hot, available for both sexes, in any and every form - dresses, drapey blouses, regular ole button-ups, whatever. Can you believe it? Silly Philadelphia hipster/college style is IN here in Osaka. Also, messenger bags in the style of the smaller REload jawns are kicking around, waterproof and all - just no elaborate flap designs. Some fun things I kind of want to buy are leggings made out of a denim-like fabric, some even with front and back pockets (just like regular jeans). The point is to roll them up haphazardly underneath a tunic-length top or dress. They come in dark and light blue denim colors, and crazy shit like neon green, pink, and purple leopard print. The 14-year-old in me REALLY wants a pair of the neon green leopard print jawns ...

I have to be careful here. I have to budget. But ohhh, the clothes here are intense.



Also, can anyone tell me if they're selling these glow-in-the-dark/reflective zebra stripe chucks anywhere in the states? I WANT.

Thoughts for later: If after only a few days being here, I felt the pressure to adhere to a certain style of dress & expected cuteness, how do girls who are born and raised in Japan feel??? Also, the gal/super sexy/light brown hair/short-shorts long legs image is fascinating ...