 | Chako
Street/Urban Wear Expert
The word on the street is... fashion! Our sassy Street Wear Expert Chako is the urban outfitter you need to sport serious threads, G. |
Street Style on the East Side
10/22/00
I've updated you on a plethora of the Fall fashions in most of the world, but what I haven't
mentioned is the trend storm that is currently engulfing Japan. What started out as a "punk"
statement against women's roles in Japan has now blown up across the country. This style of
dressing is known as "gungaro." The girls wear super short skirts or dresses with ridiculously
high platform shoes (we're talking 5-6 inches thick!), very tan skin, bleached hair and white
eyeliner under their eyes. When my sister visited Japan she reported that their faces looked
scary because they were so tan with really bright white liner and eye shadow and pale lips.
She reported that one "gungaro" girl died from falling over in her platforms!! But what's fashion
without risk, right?! Yikes.
This whole look is an exaggeration of a California/beach Barbie girl look that plays directly
against the socially accepted look of Japanese women: pale (think Geisha), small, and modest.
At once worn to offend the public, it now happens that the look has been wholly taken over by
local malls and youth. It is now being capitalized off of and exploited: stores focus on "gungaro"
fashions (short skirts, bright prints, 60's style dresses, surfer style tee shirts) and makeup
counters now even offer "gungaro" makeup kits! This just tells us that it's never too long before
the public catches a trend and blows any meaning out of it other than that it's just "cool"
and "alternative." You've got to wonder what the next big trend will be in Japan . . .
Chako
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