Harajuku Fashion

I'm sure a lot of you know about Harajuku. This has been talked about and emphasized by Gwen Stefani and Nicki Minaj. Marc Jacobs has gotten quite a bit of influence from the Harajuku culture and Gaga absolutely luvs it 2. To kind of sum it up. Towards the end of World War 2, U.S soldiers and their families occupied the area known as Harajuku. The natives of the area became influenced by the Americans different sense of style. The major start of distinct fashions began in the late 70s and early 80s. A brand called Milk was established during this time and they specialized in the lolita style. Lolita style is basically very Victorian baby doll influenced. Teens picked up on this style, the popular 80s US style, punk fashion, and made the traditional kimono more edgy. The  area became more and more famous and is now a super crowded and super popular area that is the hub of the super trendy and the kids that inspire some of the top designers. Back to the history. Japanese kids have classes, Monday - Saturday and have Sunday off.. The teens use this free day to dress up in super eccentric and bold fashions, consisting of second-hand, brand new, and hand made pieces. The main styles done ranges from gothic lolita ( gothic baby doll, all black), sweet lolita (white and pastelles baby doll), punk, cosplay(anime character), and visual kei(super rocker, style used by most if not all Japanese rock bands and singers). The teens hang out by the bridge and mingle. Tourists flock the area and take pics and the teens just smile and pose. Although the teens dress in super outrageous fashions, it is quite normal and a tradition, and everyone in Tokyo is used to it, however, if they or you dress in these fashions completely on any other day you will get awkward stares nd chuckles, believe me. You can use these styles nd the other that is popular with Harajuku as a template to influence your personal style and water it down for everyday wear. The teens in this area are on point and on top of fasion and set a lot of trends. A theory is that most trends recently have started in Tokyo. I can't really disagree with this. If you check out Japanese street fashion sites, they wear whatever they want not realizing that it is in style or will be in style. There are other areas in Tokyo where the teens and young people have very unique styles. Tokyo is definitely the center of what will be in trend and when it comes to fashion week, Tokyo is the master of avant garde ready to wear.