Latest Trends in Japanese Fashion

By Jennie Gandhi

During the middle of the nineteenth century, the Japanese began to move away from their traditional clothing, to adopt the western style of dressing. Two centuries later this trend came to be termed as Street Fashion. Basically this term implies the customization of outfits by adopting a blend of current and traditional trends. Such clothes are usually tailored at home.

Basically, the street fashion is considered to be rather trendy amongst fashion gurus of the world. This is because it is an individualistic genre of dressing. And interestingly, across Japan, various dressing sub-cultures have mushroomed with their own unique way of dressing. Some rather simple and young, typically teenage in its way; while there are the outrageous styles that seem to emulate the punk trends of the eighties.

Whether tourists do shop for the street fashion clothing or not, visiting these shopping destinations are of interest. While almost every country has its own unique style of dressing, in Japan one would find a totally different street trend prevalent in various areas. There is uniqueness and innovation at almost every nook and corner, especially amongst the youngsters.

Tokyo is one of the prime fashion destinations of Japan. Her is a list of some places where one could shop for Japanese street clothing:

Harajuku: This has come to be regarded as the latest fashion center of Tokyo.

Ginza: This fashion area is dotted with a number of clothing shops as well as restaurants, for shoppers to refresh themselves when in the middle of a shopping spree.

Odaiba: This is considered as a tourist hotspot for street fashion shopping, as well as sightseeing.

Shinjuku: A fashion destination, with a brightly lit up nightlife.

Roppongi: This is an ideal shopping hotspot for English speaking tourists, with an entertaining after-shopping-hours life.

Shibuya: One can get the latest and most outrageously fashionable objects from here.