Where to buy harajuku fashion? (2024)

How do you get into Harajuku fashion?

Layer clothes to achieve a true Harajuku look.

Layering is a hallmark of Harajuku style and allows you to mix and match a wide variety of styles. Try layering tank tops and shirts, sweaters with vests and jackets, or dresses with leggings. Ruffled dresses are also a popular way to give the illusion of a layered look.

Japan is renowned for its offbeat trends, and its fashion sense is no different. The striking Harajuku style captures the imaginations of people all over the world.

People all around the world come to Tokyo to experience the Harajuku vibe. While it may not be what you see in magazines, it is the modern-day Harajuku. It's still oozing with energy and bustling with new fashion tribes. It's still the spot where fashion trends are born and made.

If you want to shop trendy, latest fashion pieces in Tokyo, Shibuya and Harajuku is the best area without any doubt!

There are many Lolita fashion brand shops in Harajuku and Shinjuku. Those who want to check out various brands at once, Shinjuku Marui One is the place to go. There are brands such as “ALICE and the PIRATES”, “PEACE NOW”, and “Angelic Pretty”.

The word Harajuku means “meadow lodging” in Japanese, according to the online Japanese dictionary Jisho. As a town or village, it's been around since at least the 12th century.

Yami-kawaii — "yami" meaning sick or alluding to the hospital — is a "sick-cute" aesthetic that has been bubbling out of Tokyo's streets and manifests through accessories such as fake guns, syringes, gas masks, pills, bandages and plasters.

The Origin of Harajuku Fashion. Harajuku fashion was once trendy during the 1990s and early 2000s. But its existence can trace back to the early 1980s. Harajuku became famous in the 1980s due to the street performers and wildly-dressed teens who gathered there on Sundays when Omotesando was closed to traffic.

Harajuku (原宿 in Japanese) is a station located between Shibuya and Shinjuku on the JR Yamanote loop line around central Tokyo. Many people get off the train at Harajuku Station to visit such popular spots as Yoyogi Park, Meiji Shrine and Omotesando, a boulevard of luxury brands and other high-end shopping experiences.

What defines Harajuku style?

Harajuku style refers to the Harajuku district, a large, urban fashion neighbourhood in Tokyo (which we recommend in our Tokyo weekend guide). It has long been the home of outrageous fashion, particularly among teenagers and young people.

Fairy Kei (フェアリー系 or フェアリーファッション) is a Japanese pastel fashion that is based on the Yume Kawaii aesthetic, with a focus on children's toys and TV shows from the 80s.

Laforet Harajuku: The latest trends from fashion to art

Laforet Harajuku, the fashion building, is a shopping center with about 140 popular stores. Stores include the latest fashion and accessories, miscellaneous goods, CDs, and cafes.

Otome (乙女) is a japanese maiden-like fashion as well as a lifestyle based around traditional girls' hobbies. It originated in the late 1970s and is often refered to as one of the predecessors of Lolita fashion.

Kawaii ("cute") has four syllables: ka wa i and i. Kawai (the piano manufacturer) has three syllables: Ka wa and i. Kaua'i — Not an expert on Hawai'ian but the sense from online is that it is kau-a-i. There is a spoken feature of the word Kauaʻi that is missing in the depiction above and it is known as a w-glide.

Tokyo's circular Yamanote Loop Line is the major line served by Harajuku Station. Traveling clockwise on the JR Yamanote Line, Yoyogi and Shinjuku are the preceding stations and Shibuya is the following station.

Etymology. Borrowed from Japanese 渋谷 (しぶや, Shibuya, literally “harsh valley”).

Manga. Momoka Sakurai is the protagonist of the manga series Wrist-Cut Transformation Subculture Menhera. Her name after transformation is Menhera Pink.

What is dark kawaii?

Kowakawaii (scary kawaii) is all about blood, eyes out of sockets, and other grotesque imagery. Yumekawaii (dream kawaii) is a mix of fairy-tale unicorns, bright pastels, and a splash of yami (this time, meaning “darkness”) represented by bandages, needles, you name it.

Menhera is a Japanese slang word that means mental health-er. The fashion style is related to the term. It is part of a counterculture movement to end the stigma against mental illness in Japan.

I don't think most Japanese people would consider Harajuku fashion intrinsically Japanese, so there shouldn't be any concerns about cultural appropriation. Even if they did, they WANT foreigners to partake in their culture. This is very similar to the question of whether wearing a kimono/yukata isi offensive. It isn't.

Kimono were so accepted as the main form of fashion that the name, kimono, literally means “thing to wear.” With its elegance and versatility, it's no wonder the kimono has survived so long. Today, the kimono is still known as the national dress of Japan.

Culture Richness of Japan

Japan's cultural richness has brought in many different interpretations of styles that are often observed in contemporary street fashion. Since the early 1850's, when international trade had just begun, Japan was often considered to be the fashion inspiration.