Tokyo trend tradition

Shibuya
Fashion
By Shiori
History
Shibuya has
achieved great popularity
among young people in the
last 30 years. Japan Fashion
Week is preparing for a
major geographical shift
from previously used Tokyo
Midtown in Roppongi to
Shibuya Hikarie, a department
store built recently in Shibuya.
Shibuya is the fashion trendy
area, for teens to early 20’s
Japanese fashionistas. Trends
are very fast, and tastes are
diverse, but mainly focused on
the “gals.” There are several
Ganguro Girl in Shibuya
famous fashion department
stores in Shibuya. One is Hikarie
as mentioned above. Another is
a very popular department store
called Shibuya 109. It is a major
shopping center near Shibuya
Station. The name 109 is read
"Ichi-Maru-kyū" and is a pun on
Tokyu, the corporation that
owns it. 109 is particularly
famous for being the origin of
the “kogal” subculture.
The kogal fashion involves
wearing an outfit based on
a Japanese school uniform, but
with a shortened skirt, loose
socks, and often dyed hair and
a scarf as well. The
phenomenon was prominent in
the 1990s, but has since
Kogyaru Make-up
declined. The word "kogal" is
short for kokosei gyaru, which
means high school gal. These
girls refer to themselves
as “gyaru” (gals), although this
term is applied to several other
fashion looks as well. To begin
with, the name gyaru originated
from a 1970s brand
of jeans called "gals", with the
advertising slogan: "I can't live
without men", and was applied
to fashion and peer
conscious girls in their teens and
early twenties.
Other types of gyaru are
ganguro, yamanba, and manba.
Ganguro literally translates to
“black face.” They have
blonde,pink, or silver hair