Tokyo Street Fashion has developed since the 1980s on the sidewalks and boutiques of neighborhoods like Harajuku, Shibuya and Aoyama. There is no single strain in the designs other than originality and collaboration of colors, styles, and time periods. The two sides of Tokyo Street Fashion though, when broken down include the half that is both modern and clean and the other half that is wild and inspired by rock and roll and club style.
Defined in a few particular areas of Tokyo, street fashion is most apparent in the shopping districts of Harajuku, Shibuya, Omotesando, Daikanyama, and Ginza. Harajuku is by far the most popular of these districts though, representing a confluence of the top street fashion boutiques and individuals in the country and stemming an international interest in how the street and its teen denizens dress and think.
Clothing in Harajuku is easily recognized for its source because of its confluence of high socks, colorful clothing, short skirts, dyed hair, and a huge assortment of accessories.
There are multiple trends in Tokyo that embody the street fashion mentality, including those like Ganguro, which combines the idea of the Southern California blond beauty with modern Japanese fashion, resulting in bleach blonds, fake tans, white lips, and heavy makeup. Gothic Lolita is another major street fashion in the city which usually consists of Victorian and Rococo dress and embellished blacks and whites alongside cute accessories, hats, contact lenses, and anything else that will help the dressers take on the appearance of dolls.
Many Tokyo street fashions are best described as lifestyles rather than just dress because of how thoroughly they intermingle with the pop culture and attitudes of so much of Japan’s youth. The number of those who wear and practice these fashions is quite numerous, even throughout the world as Tokyo’s effect on fashion continues to grow.