Japanese street fashion, kawaii, fruits, Harajuku street, jrock, anime news, links and images.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Rad Jrock Styles from Alterdolly.com


Alterdolly.com is an ebay online store offering endless variety of Japanese street fashion direct from Asia at affordable prices. Store is stocked with enough eye-catching and unusual inventory of clothing (and bags) to excite an avid fruits fan. Items are updated daily and most pieces do not get replenished. They combine shipping so it's best to buy a few at one-go to economize.

The power of Tokyo street style: FRUiTS magazine brings Japan fashion rebels to the world

Japan, Inc., April, 2003, by Lauren Sarti

IN THE CONSUMER-DAZED WORLD of Tokyo, a group of teens are battling the wave of change taking place in Japanese subculture. They are the FRUiTS kids of Harajuku, whose cutting-edge street fashion caused a cultural revolution, inspiring a new generation of designers all over the world.
The cult gained momentum in the mid-1990s, at the height of hokoten, or "pedestrian paradise," when Harajuku's main streets were a mecca for artists, musicians and trend worshippers of every kind. No longer willing to be slaves to designer labels, these kids created their own individual theme-based couture.
The vessel for their ideas was photographer Shoichi Aoki's FRUiTS magazine. It gave these shopping rebels the power to reach kids all over Japan. The release of the FRUiTS book by Phaidon Press in 2001 gave these kids a worldwide following.
Aoki says he was thrilled to have his work seen in Australia as part of the 2003 Sydney Festival. "I am proud of youth fashion culture in Japan. It is the only thing I can be proud of in present Japanese culture," he says.

Article Source :

Friday, April 20, 2007

What Are Wholesale Bapes?

What Are Wholesale Bapes?By Emma Drosy
What are the Bapes you will ask - if you are not among the fashion conscious people - and there are a lot of this kind around. Bapes are the short of 'Bathing Ape' which is now emerging as a world-class designer label sneakers originating from a young and extremely talented Japanese designer, named Nigo (which is pronounced Nee-go) and whose real name is, Tomoaki Nigo. Wholesale Bapes are a born for any young fashion enthusiast and a born to die for.
It is difficult however to get wholesale Bapes because the demand is very high and the supply is quite limited. There are however very few places which have genuine interaction with the shoe factories directly and those places only will give good value for your money.
You can definitely buy wholesale Bapes over the net, as you could buy them in open market, though it is quite rare to find them sold at wholesale price. However when you do you will like a million dollar note, not only because it is very difficult to get it, but also because it is such a gift to have something so exquisite at a discounted cost.
Wholesale Bapes range today includes clothing, haircuts, and even food joints. The success of this young entrepreneur is astounding. There is a tactic that Nigo used to make this brand a hot-seller and which worked like a charm. This technique is based of exclusivity. There is a rule that the Bape customer can purchase no more than one piece of one type of product and it is also necessary that the Bape should be exactly his/ her size.
From clothes Nigo went into the shoes arena and brought a very fashionable (and closely related to Nike in design) sneakers that were instant hits with the youngsters. They are brightly colored and non-conformist, which may be why it has caught the attention of the young generation. After a few rappers (Cassidy & Pharell, Jay-Z and others) used the Bapes, these sports shoe became fashion shoes sought by the entire young hip-hop crowd. Their heightened demand decreased the wholesale Bapes availability in the market as the prices soared and demands grew.
Today it is with great difficulty that you may get wholesale Bapes and with their popularity increasing in the market, this difficulty will not end in the near future. For those who still are looking for better prices, it is good to watch for sales or for specific net sites where such deals are available. Wholesale Bapes are not only beautiful, they even look a bit like Nike, but they are also highly durable.
Buy Nike Air Jordans, Bapes and Air Force Ones As Low As $25 a Pair
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Emma_Drosyhttp://EzineArticles.com/?What-Are-Wholesale-Bapes?&id=285667

The T-shirt Evolution by Clayton Lau

With every generation movie stars have worn them. Rock stars have shredded them. And celebrities have stripped them. Paris anyone? The t-shirt has been the fashion essential for over 70 years and probably another 70 years and more. So how did it get here and what does the future hold?
Origins – Call to Arms in Short Sleeves
The t-shirts humble beginnings can be traced back to the early 1930’s. WWI European soldiers entrenched in mud wore the t-shirt as an undergarment. The advantages of the light cotton underwear were quickly adopted by the US military. By WWII the US Army and Navy had supplied the t-shirt as standard issue. T-shirts at the time were still considered underwear and not worn casually.
1950’s - Cult Movie Bad Boys
With the help of a sweating Brando in the 1951 film “A Streetcar Named Desire”, and later a brooding James Dean in “Rebel without a Cause” the t-shirt had moved to mainstream youth culture. By the time Elvis had gyrated, the teenage rebellion seed was planted and along with denim jeans the t-shirt had become the hot fashion statement.
1960’s - From Beatniks to Vietnam
The 60’s were well known for social upheavals and political events. Many subcultures developed from Beatniks, Mods, Rockers to eventually Hippy’s. During the early 60’s The Beatles had ignored the t-shirt opting for their trademark suits. But by the late 60’s the haze of the Hippy generation had created the tie dyed t-shirt. Dunked in several buckets of colourful dyes it became a symbol of the psychedelic era and possibly one of the worst fashion crimes of the century. Other t-shirt styles were born including the ringer, muscle, v-neck and tank t-shirts. The invention of screen printing saw social and political slogans expressed on apparel especially for the anti war sentiments of Vietnam.
1970’s – Your Disco Needs You
Rock emerged beating to death the Hippy’s with their own sandals. The black t-shirt was now standard issue with printed logos of stadium rock Supergroups such as Led Zeppelin, ACDC and Pink Floyd. In the course of the mid 70’s Surf apparel started appearing. Niche surfing brands such as Lightning Bolt, Billabong, Rip Curl and Quiksilver would later become big corporations. Athletic giants Adidas, Puma, Reebok and Nike also gained prominence with their branded printed tees, shoes and apparel. The decade was also known for it’s many classic t-shirt motto’s including the Smiley face, “Sh*t Happens” and “I love NY” which would see a revival after 911. Fonzie in the TV sitcom Happy Days paid homage to Brando and Dean 20 years before by reintroducing the blank white tee. In 1977 the Star Wars phenomenon had exploded. Star Wars t-shirts were everywhere for the tween. But for the twenty something’s there was of course Disco. With movies like Saturday Night Fever and Thank God it’s Friday the flared trousers and tight t-shirts became the usual 70’s silhouette.
1980’s - Fashion beep beep
The influence of music had an extreme effect on fashion in the 80’s. The New Romantic movement in the early 80’s had passed on the simple tee, opting for a more extravagant look. Remember Flock of Seagulls? On the opposite spectrum the Punk movement was in full flight with black ripped up tees, Doc Marten boots, piercing and lots and lots of hair gel.
By the mid 80’s the Japanese fashion influence had caught on. Designers Yohji Yamamoto and Issey Miyake had reinvented the t-shirt to a large oversized kimono style cut. Katherine Hamnett in 1984 took it even further with the notable “Choose Life” print which was immediately embraced by Wham! in their video “Wake Me Up Before you Go Go”. Not long after Frankie said “Relax” and The Smiths said “Meat is Murder” regurgitating the political t-shirt. From the oversized tee stemmed the woman’s “t-shirt dress” which developed into neon and day glow colours.
Springsteen brought the jeans and a t-shirt back to basics with rolled up macho sleeves during his Born in the USA phase. For the MTV generation Armani took the t-shirt to high fashion wearing the tee underneath a suit jacket. Of course the suit jacket sleeves were rolled up ala Crocket and Tubbs Miami Vice style (parodied exceptionally in that Friends episode).
1990’s – Come As You Are
Surf tees saw a rebirth pioneered by new brands Stussy and Mossimo. Also adopted by Skaters long sleeve t-shirts became ever more popular. The Hypercolor t-shirt fad where the fabric changed colour with heat was very popular. Entertainingly if the wearer worked up a sweat big unsightly patches of colour change would occur around the armpits.
Again the influence of music came back into play. Hip Hop proved it wasn’t a phase adopting at first Adidas as a brand. Later various Rap specific brands emerged such as Sean John and Phat Farm. Dance, Trance and DJing gained prominence and tighter and sleeveless t-shirts worn with baggy pants become the mode. Grunge anti-fashion also took the tee in another direction with a dark worn appearance.
21st Century Brand Child
According to branding experts Al and Laura Ries in the book “The Origin of Brands”, as a product category evolves the category then diverges further into more categories. Like a tree some branches may whither and die while others will further grow and diverge again. This is probably best explained with the invention of the TV. The TV has diverged from the humble B&W television to many other categories. We now have CRT, Plasma, LCD, HDTV, Rear Projection, portable and widescreen.
There is no doubt that divergence has affected the t-shirt. The shape of the t-shirt itself has diverged to anywhere from tight, regular, hip hop loose to baby tee. With the advent of the Internet we’ve seen a boom in smaller t-shirt label startups. Now there are so many categories we are almost overwhelmed for choice. Some t-shirt/apparel categories are:
Skate Brands: Hurley International, Globe, Element, Volcom, World
Surf Brands: Billabong, Mambo, Rip Curl, Rusty Quiksilver which has diverged to girl surf category Roxy.
Snowboard Brands: Burton, Salomon
Hip Hop Brands: Sean John, Ecko, G-Unit, Phat Farm.
American Retro Classic Brands: Dickies, Von Dutch, Harley Davidson.
Martial Arts Brands: Drunken Munky and various Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris logos.
Funny t-shirts: Vote for Pedro. Jesus is my homeboy, White Castle.
Internet Brands: T-shirt Hell, Café Press, Threadless.
Sport Brands: Puma, Nike, Adidas, Reebok.
American Basic Brands: Hanes, American Apparel, Fruit of the Loom and GAP.
High fashion Brands: Tommy Hilfiger, Gucci, Armani, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein.
The Future
So which category branches will whither and die and which will survive to the next decade? Would you rather look like Eminem, Kelly Slater or Tony Hawks? And what is a t-shirt anyhow? Is it a simple apparel design with a coloured screen printed artwork featuring a hobby, sport, band or affluence that you may identify with? Or is it a product branded, marketed and directly mass produced for your particular demographic? Either way T-shirts have become a billion dollar industry.
What next for the now not so humble tee? We’re seeing 21st century fibres like Gortex, Merino wool and Lycra blends being used. As for logos some growing trends seem to be the Video Game t-shirts, Internet t-shirts and Poker t-shirts. Will these be the next surf or skate brands? Quite possibly. Will others develop out of our favourite past times? Could there even be a Sudoku brand, a MySpace brand, Porn brand, or an iPod brand of t-shirts? Perhaps design your own the new black? One thing is certain; history has shown us that there will be even more diversification far into the next decades. The power of the t-shirt has never been greater. Awesome!

Source: http://www.articlecity.com/articles/kids_and_teens/article_298.shtml

Harajuku Girls

Harajuku GirlsBy Peter Shuttlewood
Gwen Stefani, lead singer of the pop band No Doubt, has lead a Madonna-esque fashion revolt in both her recent videoclip for her single What You Waiting For and her solo album Love, Angel, Music, Baby. Her catchy 80’s inspired popish tunes, platinum blonde hair and Like A Virgin kit out on the album cover art only reinforce her homage to the material girl, even though it may be somewhat tongue in cheek.
But its her references to the Japanese Harajuku Girls peppered throughout the album and on one track in particular that has drawn interest from a diverse range of commentators.
So who are these Harajuku Girls anyway?
The Harajuku District of Tokyo and in particular Takeshita Street, a narrow street lined with shops is home to these funky fashionistas. Since the end of World War II, “consumerism” and “consumption” have become the national past-time for most Japanese and in particular teenage girls who often live at home with their parents well into their twenties. Their rent free existence provides them with the enough funds to flock to Harajuku every weekend, where they transform themselves into Lolita-esque baby doll caracitures.
It’s all a sort of a pop-art meets pop-culture meets Western decadence kinda street where often a t-shirt with a western image like Mickey Mouse can go for several hundred dollars a pop. This constant pursuit of rock n roll pop star hipness extends to teenage boys too. They in turn have opted for the western inspired hip-hop culture of disheveled jeans hanging half way to their knees, caps at all angles on their heads and of course lots and lots of bling.
Often the net result looks like something out of a Manga comic book as the fashionistas of Harajuku compete to look less human and more iconic. Not concerned about what we in the West may see as a conflict of style over substance, Harajuku Girls unlike the Goths, punks and bond girls that came before are not about rebellion from society. No, in fact these girls, like most Japanese, are often extremely polite and happy to pose for photographs with inquisitive tourists who gather every Sunday to take happy snaps of these super-model caricatures.
For the Girls of Harajuku, their most extreme vice may be a simple cigarette.
Peter Shuttlewood is the author of webzine freshread which contains articles on Popular Culture with an Australian slant. Freshread - the everyday in a fresh way.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Shuttlewoodhttp://EzineArticles.com/?Harajuku-Girls&id=85759