Saturday Spotlight: Harajuku Lovers
This week’s fashion spotlight is shining on a designer who already has quite the few spotlights shining her way already. I’m talking about Gwen Stefani and her line of clothing, Harajuku Lovers.
Harajuku is actually a train station in Japan. Due to the proximity of parks as well as upscale shops on Takeshita-dori, the station became a popular hangout for Japanese youth. And we all know that when a bunch of young people congregate, trouble creativity is bound to happen. The Harajuku station bathrooms became the place for teens to change from their normal clothes into the fun, spirited, and outrageous fashions that the area is now famous for.
Harajuku fashion is seen as a form of dress-up, not necessarily a lifestyle. It is all about freedom of expression and of course, the age-old rebellion thing that teens have a well-deserved reputation for displaying. The picture below is an example of this.
To be honest, I was fully prepared to hate Gwen Stefani’s line for girls. I kind of wanted to look at it and say, “Woman, stick to the music!” I wasn’t fond of the entourage of “Harajuku girls” that Gwen surrounded hersef with for a time. But, suprisingly, I think the clothes are cute, and unlike many clothing lines for young girls nowadays, totally age-appropriate. The clothes reflect the colorful, cartoonish style popular with Japanese youth. They are casual and comfortable, with an emphasis on shirts and hoodies.
Um, damn! I totally love those. She’s got some talented people working for her; I was expecting tube tops, flippy micro-crinolines and jail-striped thigh-highs.
These are really cute. And I love Japanese street fashion too, there are seveal blogs devoted to photos of the kids and what they wear.
These really are tasteful, but trendy! And like you said age-appropriate. I’m amazed at what trendy clothes are out there for little girls these days. Completely hoochie-mama if you ask me! I’m glad I have boys.