Top Tokyo Trends To Start Working Into Your Wardrobe
[Photo: Liyana Aris]
If you’re one those people who has this idea that all Japanese kids go out in crazy, anime-inspired, individually oriented outfits every day, you’ve got another think coming; they are surprisingly as conforming to current trends as we all are.
You will spot some super cool, crazy, anime-inspired, individually oriented outfits once in a while in the streets of Tokyo, sure, but the Japanese are just as au courant as we are—except, instead wearing the trends like everybody else does, they seem to put their own unique spin on it, mixing and matching like it’s only their business.
I have been to Tokyo five times in the past year and discovered that the street style there has been the most authentic source of fashion inspiration for me personally; the Japanese just have this enviable nonchalant, cool factor to their everyday wardrobe that I wish I posses naturally.
I doubt I’ll ever be as cool as them Japanese girls but, hey, that’s hardly stopped me from trying to emulate them sartorially. Even so, it’s somehow more appropriate to think of it as “borrowing” instead of “stealing” their trends, as I don’t think anyone else can own them as well as they do.
Here are the Tokyo street style trends that I’m “borrowing”, spanning across all four seasons:
1. Super Chunky Sandals
Season: Summer
Finding pretty ballet flats or delicate sandals in Tokyo is like trying to locate a needle in a haystack; it’s all about bold chunkiness for them.
[Photo: Liyana Aris]
2. Printed See-through Socks
Season: Summer
3. Socks With Sandals
Season: End of summer, early autumn
It’s so interesting how this trend is spotted on almost everyone on the trendy Tokyo streets, when it is considered as a fashion no-no in other parts of the world.
4. Matching Two-piece
Season: Summer
It seemed like most shops were carrying matching two-piece sets, comprising mostly of cropped tank tops with either a skirt or a pair of palazzo / culottes hybrid (see below for enlightenment).
[Photo: Liyana Aris]
5. The Palazzo / Culottes Hybrid
Season: Spring, summer, autumn
How exactly does a palazzo and culottes hybrid look like? Palazzo pants are wide-legged pants that reach just below the ankles or even to the floor, while culottes are palazzos that are cut off anywhere between below the knees or mid-calves and are usually more fitted around the waist. Well, the Japanese seem to favour a hybrid: pants that are worn right smack on the waist and hang about one inch above ankles — and are always paired with sneakers.
6. Stripes
Season: Spring, summer
Vertical stripes, that is. All vertical. Plus loads and loads of pinstripes.
[Photo: Liyana Aris]
7. Sneakers With EVERYTHING
Season: End of summer, autumn, winter
[Photo: Liyana Aris]
8. Oversized Denim Jacket
Season: Autumn, early winter
[Photo: Liyana Aris]
9. Hug the Clutch
Season: Spring, summer
Most Japanese girls hold their rectangular or elongated clutches the same way: turning the clutch 90 degrees and hugging it really close to the torso using only one hand — unlike the usual way of clutching a clutch or clamping it between the arm and the body horizontally (getting real technical here).
[Photo: Liyana Aris]
So which of these Tokyo trends are you on board with?
