japan fashion subculture wrap-up

Just wanted to share a few more pictures of my favorites that I've seen this week.  I've done a lot of picture searching (it's just so interesting that I can't tear my eyes away) and have concluded two things:

1.  Japan has a lot of diverse subcultures, ranging from wearable to outlandish.  All are fun to look at.

2.  These girls seem to just wear whatever on earth it is that makes them happy.  We don't see this kind of stuff in the US (at least not very often or in groups), and it almost makes me wonder why.  Are we too self-conscious of our looks?  Do we try too hard to fit in?  Can we not just let go and wear what we love, regardless of it being a pony-printed skirt and bunny-shaped bag, as long as it makes us happy inside?

Anyway, here are a few more photos to wrap up what I've found.  I hope you've enjoyed looking at these as much as I have!  These photos are mostly street-fashion photos.

All from tumblr

obsession : mori girls

I'm on a Japanese subculture kick - but why stop?  It's interesting to learn about different styles.

After my sweet lolita post (which got a lot of comments!) I stumbled across Susie Bubble's post on mori girls (not the first Japanese subculture post I've seen recently - it must be a trending topic).  Mori girls (forest girls or in some cases but not all, dolly kei) fashion themselves in a similar lolita style but with a vintage inspiration taken from forest fairy tales like the Grimm stories. Many layers, earth tones, reds and greens, sweaters, laces, aprons, and rural pieces are used, some with longer silhouettes, some resembling the traditional lolita.  Vintage and handmade items are heavily stressed.  Doll-like looks are still very much important.

 

There is a much more natural element to the mori girls that isn't in sweet lolita!

To apply to your every day look, focus on layers - the layer of garments, the layering of cultures (Slovic, Native American, anything with history).  Calicos, embroidery, forest prints, reds and greens, horse motifs; all are easy ways to integrate this into your style.

 Source: chictopia

All images that are not sourced were untraceable from tumblr.  If you know the source, just let me know!