J-Street

It all began with ...

I was looking up 18th century fashion for my doll-clothes-making at my library, and stumbled across this book in the fashion section, and fell in love with it. I skirted around various Japanese subculture styles (decora, gothic lolita, mori etc) in my online art circles, but now I am actually delving into them and they are fascinating! Tokyo street style is famous for being colorful, creative and eclectic, but when you really study it, it's a complex synthesis of many subcultures and specific style sets (kei) that each person puts together in unique ways. I enjoy working within strict guidelines just for fun when I'm making art, so the way these guys and gals are so creative within these style frameworks are so interesting to me.

I'm also fascinated by how Tokyo and other large cities have this vibrant street style culture, so that young people dress and go out in certain neighborhoods and possibly get photographed by professionals for magazines specifically devoted to street style. It's almost an institution there, unlike US or European street style, which seems to be a more informal thing individual people snap with their smartphones and post on personal blogs. Maybe they were inspired by Japan's street fashion magazines and are trying to bring something like it to Western culture? I think it would be amazing to put together your look, go out on the town, and expect you could be photographed for a professional style magazine! (I already do two of those things!)

A collection of things that inspire me from the Tokyo streets lately! Images have a watermark to show where they came from; if not, they are linked to where I got them.

Mori Kei

I grew up in a little town on the edge of the woods, so perhaps it's no surprise that I came to rest on mori kei (forest style) as one of my favorite Japanese subculture styles. I don't so much wear it myself as gravitate to the world of it, but I did buy a tan-hued floral tank the other day, so I think it is creeping into my own style!

the beginning of a beautiful friendship

bow accent nail + Fruits