Since I got several responses from the last post I thought I'd post this video because I think it's a really good segment on gangoru. If I ever find one of these tours you bet your ass I'll drop $40 to do it! XD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyK66UHc
OK, so gangoru is my favorite Japanese subculture that really died out. When I used to go to mountain parties in Gifu the gangoru girls were always really nice and cute and friendly. They had really toned down the makeup at that point and only wore a little bit of silver around the eyes and on the checks and a silver stripe down the nose. I actually wanted to try that subtle gangoru makeup but I never had the guts to.
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyK66UHc
OK, so gangoru is my favorite Japanese subculture that really died out. When I used to go to mountain parties in Gifu the gangoru girls were always really nice and cute and friendly. They had really toned down the makeup at that point and only wore a little bit of silver around the eyes and on the checks and a silver stripe down the nose. I actually wanted to try that subtle gangoru makeup but I never had the guts to.
- Mood:
cheerful
This is the TEST shipment you asked for
- 15:34 Practicing poi in a big coat is really difficult! No wonder all the fire spinners are going to India for the winter. #
- 15:40 Wow! Just thought of a solution for poi space! I can come to work early or stay late! #
- 15:44 So I'm having Twitter problems. 1)Loud twitter isn't working. 2) Is there any way to get e-mail notifications when someone @ you? #
- 19:38 I cracked a big part of the mystery in V.! Haha, Thomas Pynchon, you're dense, confusing story telling isn't kicking my ass this time! #
- 19:44 I find V. very enjoyable, actually. I understand most of it unlike Gravity's Rainbow. I didn't understand the last 1/3 at all. #
- 01:02 @meowberry yes! I agree! That stuff is the shit! #
- 01:03 @cafedunoir Try melatonin. That stuff made me sleep like a baby when I was having troubles sleeping. You can get it at organic stores. #
- 01:04 @cafedunoir ha! I figured it out! No worries! #
- 01:06 I just generated a #TweetCloud out of a year of my tweets. Top three words: japanese, fire, party - w33.us/5u0o #
- 01:08 My top three words for the year are Japaense, fire, party. Sounds like my life alright! ;D #
- 01:09 @japanbrenna That is so cute it makes me want to cry! #
- 01:09 @meowberry that sounds like heaven! #
- 01:11 I got hooked on watching Meth Minute 39. I'm like, visually tweeked out. www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTG0ao9dkXk #
http://community.nytimes.com/comments/w
I agree with this but the opinion article but I think it really didn't convey a lot of evidence that I see everyday to back this up. The idea is good and valid but his evidence just wasn't there. I don't like how he used the word "otaku" to describe the boredom in Japan because he really didn't define the word well. Otaku are the extreme nerds...the weird guys that go to Akihabara to buy porn and Gundam figures or the girls who dress up in maid costumes to pick up boyfriends. There really aren't as many of those as people think. He implies that people fiddling around on their cell phones or DS systems or reading manga on the trains are otaku but that's just normal. Everyone does that. Otaku are extreme with their geekdom and he seems to be saying that most Japanese are otaku, which is false. I think the thing he was really trying to say is that the Japanese are extreme with their hobbies because of boredom. I mean, from what this guy said, even fire spinners who are passionate about their art form fall into the category of "otaku".
So let me bring up a point of evidence to embellish this this writer's idea. I mentioned in my last entry that one of the biggest indicators that points to the decay of the Japanese culture that amused and infatuated everyone over the last 30 years is the decline in Japanese fashion. Call me superficial and flaky but as someone who watches street fashion and subculture fashion closely, the decline in Japanese fashion has been something that is a sign of the times. Japan has been declining for a while, that's true. But when I lived in Japan 3 years ago it was still pretty common to see people wearing amazing, original pieces of clothing on the street or at school everyday. Even the more conservative people had interesting outfits with elaborate bows and lace and long tresses of hair stacked up or teased out to outrageous proportions. Not so much today. A lot of it probably has to do with economics because as the value of the yen sky rockets (the dollar is currently worth 88 yen. That's about 88 cents), people are making less money and they can't afford to buy the outrageous, expensive, crazy clothes they used to be able to afford. A really cool pair of tights or a hair barrette could cost up to $50 in the small boutiques I poke around in. The most fascinating clothes cost a pretty penny and the money to buy those clothes just isn't here anymore. It also costs a lot to dye hair, buy hair products and buy the makeup to cake on your face.
I watched this interesting but sort of outdated video about gangaru girls a while ago. They use fake tanner, and gops and gops of makeup. If you have to put it on everyday, it's going to run out soon and that stuff is NOT CHEAP. So really, I blame economics and the rise of China, which this artist also touched on but didn't elboarte.
But back to Japan. Gone are the gangoru/yamamba girls (I saw a yamamba two weeks ago near my station and I was ESTATIC to see one), the gothic lolita, the visual Kei kids, the Cyber Punk kids...the list just goes on and on of all the fashion styles.
gangoru/yamamba
More below the cut. Image Heavy( Read more... )
And so my theory is (and it's a no brainer) is that as a country's economy declines, so does it's style. And I didn't make an argument for this but I do want to mention a topic a student and mine discussed when I was helping her write an essay. She's in 6th grade so I was really shocked she came up with this idea. All the styles that I've mentioned are uncomfortable. As women become more active, they dress more and more comfortably. So another reason why fashion in Japan may be on the decline is that the amount of mothers entering the work force along with the rising number of single parent households due to the rising number of divorces. I'd never met a divorced Japanese woman until this year, which means it is a fresh and increasingly popular trend in Japanese society. Also, young women are choosing to work or travel and not get married. So a lot of the decline in fashion may also have to do with the changing roles of women in Japanese society.
I'm actually sort of interested in what's happening with fashion in China because I really have my doubts that there's a street fashion movement in China, simply because everything is so restricted and I haven't heard anything about any music, which often drives underground style, coming out of China. I haven't heard of any big Chinese rock groups or DJ's and it makes me think that the music scene hasn't developed enough yet to push any sort of style, which can also be linked to rebellion. But I'll be the first to say that I don't know much about China and the only way for me to really find out is to go have a look around, which I may do someday. Actually, I'm way more interested in what's coming out of India because most of the really interesting clothes I've seen/bought recently have come from India. If we're looking at the next place where fashion will develop, I'm calling the shots on India. There's a reason why everyone is flocking to India and I intend to go check it out next year. India has a rich history of fashion and I think that it's probably the next place where we're going to see some really cool stuff happen in fashion. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, India also has an underground music scene and I will debate this with ANYONE and win-- mark my words, street fashion is linked to music movement. If you want to meet people who like the same music and the culture surrounding it as you, you dress like that as seen with punk, grunge, hippie and rave styles in the past.
but I think there's hope in the future. There will always be people who want to wear outfits they can't find anywhere else and I think that this will lead to the revival of home made clothes. I was never any good at it, I gave it a try but I failed miserably because I didn't get the mathematics behind it. So on the flip side, fashion has to decline but it'll bounce back once the market is completely devoid of interesting clothing and we'll see a Renaissance in street fashion again. I'll probably be like, 45 by the time that happens, but I'll still go out and take pictures and show the young ladies I meet pictures of all the wacky stuff I used to wear. lol. I mean, we're in a musical Renassiance right now because people who wanted to make music said, "Fuck you," to the labels because they wouldn't record their shit and now the record companies are in deep shit and there's SO MUCH music to hear. I think the same thing will happen with fashion.
And that's my rant on that. I should write an article about this topic and send it into a fashion magazine to make some money. I'm super lazy though. lol.
I wanna read Thomas Pynchon but I gotta put my clothes away, while we're on the topic of fashion. lol.
I agree with this but the opinion article but I think it really didn't convey a lot of evidence that I see everyday to back this up. The idea is good and valid but his evidence just wasn't there. I don't like how he used the word "otaku" to describe the boredom in Japan because he really didn't define the word well. Otaku are the extreme nerds...the weird guys that go to Akihabara to buy porn and Gundam figures or the girls who dress up in maid costumes to pick up boyfriends. There really aren't as many of those as people think. He implies that people fiddling around on their cell phones or DS systems or reading manga on the trains are otaku but that's just normal. Everyone does that. Otaku are extreme with their geekdom and he seems to be saying that most Japanese are otaku, which is false. I think the thing he was really trying to say is that the Japanese are extreme with their hobbies because of boredom. I mean, from what this guy said, even fire spinners who are passionate about their art form fall into the category of "otaku".
So let me bring up a point of evidence to embellish this this writer's idea. I mentioned in my last entry that one of the biggest indicators that points to the decay of the Japanese culture that amused and infatuated everyone over the last 30 years is the decline in Japanese fashion. Call me superficial and flaky but as someone who watches street fashion and subculture fashion closely, the decline in Japanese fashion has been something that is a sign of the times. Japan has been declining for a while, that's true. But when I lived in Japan 3 years ago it was still pretty common to see people wearing amazing, original pieces of clothing on the street or at school everyday. Even the more conservative people had interesting outfits with elaborate bows and lace and long tresses of hair stacked up or teased out to outrageous proportions. Not so much today. A lot of it probably has to do with economics because as the value of the yen sky rockets (the dollar is currently worth 88 yen. That's about 88 cents), people are making less money and they can't afford to buy the outrageous, expensive, crazy clothes they used to be able to afford. A really cool pair of tights or a hair barrette could cost up to $50 in the small boutiques I poke around in. The most fascinating clothes cost a pretty penny and the money to buy those clothes just isn't here anymore. It also costs a lot to dye hair, buy hair products and buy the makeup to cake on your face.
I watched this interesting but sort of outdated video about gangaru girls a while ago. They use fake tanner, and gops and gops of makeup. If you have to put it on everyday, it's going to run out soon and that stuff is NOT CHEAP. So really, I blame economics and the rise of China, which this artist also touched on but didn't elboarte.
But back to Japan. Gone are the gangoru/yamamba girls (I saw a yamamba two weeks ago near my station and I was ESTATIC to see one), the gothic lolita, the visual Kei kids, the Cyber Punk kids...the list just goes on and on of all the fashion styles.
gangoru/yamamba
More below the cut. Image Heavy( Read more... )
And so my theory is (and it's a no brainer) is that as a country's economy declines, so does it's style. And I didn't make an argument for this but I do want to mention a topic a student and mine discussed when I was helping her write an essay. She's in 6th grade so I was really shocked she came up with this idea. All the styles that I've mentioned are uncomfortable. As women become more active, they dress more and more comfortably. So another reason why fashion in Japan may be on the decline is that the amount of mothers entering the work force along with the rising number of single parent households due to the rising number of divorces. I'd never met a divorced Japanese woman until this year, which means it is a fresh and increasingly popular trend in Japanese society. Also, young women are choosing to work or travel and not get married. So a lot of the decline in fashion may also have to do with the changing roles of women in Japanese society.
I'm actually sort of interested in what's happening with fashion in China because I really have my doubts that there's a street fashion movement in China, simply because everything is so restricted and I haven't heard anything about any music, which often drives underground style, coming out of China. I haven't heard of any big Chinese rock groups or DJ's and it makes me think that the music scene hasn't developed enough yet to push any sort of style, which can also be linked to rebellion. But I'll be the first to say that I don't know much about China and the only way for me to really find out is to go have a look around, which I may do someday. Actually, I'm way more interested in what's coming out of India because most of the really interesting clothes I've seen/bought recently have come from India. If we're looking at the next place where fashion will develop, I'm calling the shots on India. There's a reason why everyone is flocking to India and I intend to go check it out next year. India has a rich history of fashion and I think that it's probably the next place where we're going to see some really cool stuff happen in fashion. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, India also has an underground music scene and I will debate this with ANYONE and win-- mark my words, street fashion is linked to music movement. If you want to meet people who like the same music and the culture surrounding it as you, you dress like that as seen with punk, grunge, hippie and rave styles in the past.
but I think there's hope in the future. There will always be people who want to wear outfits they can't find anywhere else and I think that this will lead to the revival of home made clothes. I was never any good at it, I gave it a try but I failed miserably because I didn't get the mathematics behind it. So on the flip side, fashion has to decline but it'll bounce back once the market is completely devoid of interesting clothing and we'll see a Renaissance in street fashion again. I'll probably be like, 45 by the time that happens, but I'll still go out and take pictures and show the young ladies I meet pictures of all the wacky stuff I used to wear. lol. I mean, we're in a musical Renassiance right now because people who wanted to make music said, "Fuck you," to the labels because they wouldn't record their shit and now the record companies are in deep shit and there's SO MUCH music to hear. I think the same thing will happen with fashion.
And that's my rant on that. I should write an article about this topic and send it into a fashion magazine to make some money. I'm super lazy though. lol.
I wanna read Thomas Pynchon but I gotta put my clothes away, while we're on the topic of fashion. lol.
- Mood:
contemplative - Music:Floating Free- Vibrasphere