Shopping in Japan

[Matt Deckard]

Went swing dancing Sunday http://www.swifle.com/... again, i'll post pics later.

I'm leaving in the morning for LA. I might be returning again in October on business so I'll keep you posted... perhaps we can have a real meet.

Stopped by some really really cool shops and picked up a air of Buzz Rickson shoes. Very well made and just a great fit... we'll see how well I think they fit after a few months wear.

 

[LaMedicine]

I am looking forward to your pics
I always enjoy learning how "gaijin" see our culture becasue that helps me view and assess the country I was born to, objectively as well as give me renewed pride in all the craftsmanship that we have been able to master. I also hope you will let us know (and any/all members of FL as well) beforehand when you plan to visit Japan and Tokyo. There are at least three of us in the general Tokyo area, or withing reasonable access distance of Tokyo. I have never met the other two who are in close proximity (not Japaneese, either), the only person from FL that I have had the pleasure of meeting is Ben from Chicago who was in Japan last year, this being due basically to conflicting schedules, but I sure hope to meet everyone who find this country interesting enough to visit and/or to live in.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Next time I'll put out the word and we'll do a meet. Right now I'm catching up on work... custom clothing and such...

I'll write more about Japan and Tokyo in a bit.

 

[Nighthawk]

^ Matt, are those PF Flyers you're wearing with the suit?

NH

 

[Matt Deckard]

Not PF Flyers, Converse vintage repro.

there was a point where my dress shoes all became soaked with all the rain in Japan. The suit takes it and dries fine though wet dress shoes become aggravating to the feet after a while so I went with my next alternative on this trip... The vintage repro Converse.

Check out his thread
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=3888

 

[Rufus]

Hey Matt, Is that at the Meiji jingu Shrine?

Hope you had fun, I miss Japan a lot (I lived there as a kid).

 

[MrBern]

Not PF Flyers, Converse vintage repro.

there was a point where my dress shoes all became soaked with all the rain in Japan. The suit takes it and dries fine though wet dress shoes become aggravating to the feet after a while so I went with my next alternative on this trip... The vintage repro Converse.

Galoshes, Matt, galoshes...

http://swims.com/

 

[LaMedicine]

Galoshes, Matt, galoshes...

Nobodywould bat an eye, either lol

Incidentally, it's preferable that you refrain from putting your foot on the brim of the lower basin, as the entire water house is supposed to be the area where you cleanse yourself before worship, and the water house and water basin is consecrated.

 

[ShoreRoadLady]

fftopic: Forgetting Japan for a moment - I want Matt's office! Or whatever it is. Is it possible to steal a whole room?

 

[cookie]

The economy isn't doing to well here from what I here, though when compared to the goods and the prices in the US you wouldn't know it.

hats with brims are pretty trendy for the guys and there are plenty of girls dressed as Bo-peep to go around. I

It is a bizarre place. I went there every week for years when I was in the airlines and the yen was high (our song was "we are the yen men!"lol ).

But the Japanese economy tanked 15 years ago and it still costs a fortune for everything there ...yet the quality remains as Matt D observes...

The hat thing is also taking off this year DownUnder with the young dudes... they tell me at Strand Hatters. As for the bopeeps the Japanese guys have a thing about white panties...I won't go there....

 

[Rufus]

Bopeeps have been around for at least ten years,you'd see them in Aoyama and Yoyogi park, with their crocks, usually hanging out with the goth vampire kids.

 

[Lefty]

I can't remember the name of the bridge in Tokyo where they all congregate, but I've never seen so many photographers. It seems like all the kids have been practicing for their poses for years.

I took photos of them on their cell phones, eating french fries, etc. I like catching people who really try to act one way in an act that defies their image.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I'll get more of the menswear in in a sec.... shoes shops were amazing but first, I can't have a thread on Japan without showing my stop at Japan's international liaison. America has Ronald McDonald, and Japan has Hello Kitty.

 

[Nighthawk]

^ That episode of No Reservations where Anthony Bourdain walks through the Hello Kitty aisle in Japan was pretty funny.

On an unrelated note, I see that Tokyo is getting an Abercrombie and Fitch next year. Too bad, now Japanese college students will look like my fellow ones here in the US. :eusa_doh:

NH

 

[LaMedicine]

On an unrelated note, I see that Tokyo is getting an Abercrombie and Fitch next year. Too bad, now Japanese college students will look like my fellow ones here in the US. :eusa_doh:

NH

Nah. Can't imagine the charcoal/black/navy job interview suits (and white dress shirt and ties for the guys, straight/A line skirt and white blouse for the gals) *uniform* going out of style in the forseeable future.
You know when the job interview season for college students come around because when you see droves of them.
Incidentally, when the admission exam season for private kindergartens and elementary schools start, you see droves of Moms in navy suits, Dads in conservative business suits, and the kids in navy or charcoal dresses or suit for boys as well. Can't see that going out of style in the forseeable future either lol lol lol

 

[Mid-fogey]

Consider yourself...

Nah. Can't imagine the charcoal/black/navy job interview suits (and white dress shirt and ties for the guys, straight/A line skirt and white blouse for the gals) *uniform* going out of style in the forseeable future.
You know when the job interview season for college students come around because when you see droves of them.
Incidentally, when the admission exam season for private kindergartens and elementary schools start, you see droves of Moms in navy suits, Dads in conservative business suits, and the kids in navy or charcoal dresses or suit for boys as well. Can't see that going out of style in the forseeable future either lol lol lol

...Lucky. I wish folks did that here.

 

[MrBern]

and there are plenty of girls dressed as Bo-peep to go around. I haven't researched what that's all about yet though Mr. Bern has some input on that and maybe if he reads this he can share it.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080929/lf_nm_life/us_lolitas_japan

Hmm, the 'L-O-L' in 'L olita' turns into smiley faces & messes up the links...

 

[MrBern]

Japan's 2008 INDIVIDUAL FASHION EXPO IV
slideshow:
http://www.japanesestreets.com/photos/categories.php?cat_id=241

 

[LaMedicine]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080929/lf_nm_life/us_lolitas_japan

Hmm, the 'L-O-L' in 'L olita' turns into smiley faces & messes up the links...

Ah, I see, I was wondering which style was meant by Bo-peep.
It's known as "Gosu-Rori" here, short for Gothic-Lolita with the foot note that "th" and "L" aren't in the list of our original phonetics lol
There seem to be two types to this, the purely monotone style, and the pinkish/colorful style though I'm no expert when it comes to Japanese street fashion (I you have any Qs about kimonos, I'm the person to ask )The place to go see them is Jingubashi and Harajuku, if I'm not mistaken, though I do see a fair share these days in Shibuya and Shinjuku, which are located on either sides of the Harajuku/Yoyogi area.

It's a very visible style these days, but I seriously doubt if it will become mainstream street fashion in the sense that it will become acceptable in the majority of the business scenes. Our society and cooporate atmosphere is in general far more conservative than in the US, so while no one will object what kind of fashion employees sport on their off days and times, they most certainly will object Goth-Loli styles in the business scene, unless it's the fashion industry specializing in particular in these styles. Many of the cooperate companies have uniforms for their female office staff, as do the municipal goverments, even if they are only jackets. A lot of middle schools and the majority of senior high schools, whether public or private, have uniforms as well. Plus, as I posted before, I don't see the various "interview" uniforms going out in the near future either, especially since the fashion industry makes big sales each year from these "interview" suits.

I do think that part of the reason of the relative "stability" in styles is the much stricter dress code for kimono, even if kimono rules are loosening up some. Which kimono is acceptable for what occassion is dictated clearly, and enforced in such traditional arts as tea ceremonies and various traditional occasions, so the kind of Western dresses acceptable that match the level of kimono is dictated automatically.

 

[MrBern]

lolita in nyc

heres a little multi-media of the lo lita spread to NY

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/09/18/nyregion/thecity/20080928_LOLITAS.html