I didn't do a post for April as I was getting ready for an overseas trip that was so stressful lol. But I'm back now. I don't want to dress up because it's humid out, but I had this inspired idea brewing for a while and I want to share it before I forget.
[alt text for readers: titled Japanese Fashion Spectrum (effort versus accrual). Left side states lifestyle (gyaru, hime gyaru, agejo) with a picture of a hime gyaru model, captioned "the most effort; hair, makeup, nails or skin upkeep. The center states "vibes" (jirai kei, larme, mori kei, any trend on tiktok probably, western styles - cottagecore, etc) with a picture of a larme kei model, captioned "amount of effort and clothes vary as long as the vibe is recognizable and complete". The right side states wardrobe (lolita, historical styles) with a picture of a lolita model wearing a red jumperskirt, captioned "the most stuff: clothes, accessories, shoes, structure garments"]
Obviously this is a very high level overview of Japanese street fashion, not including the fact that most common fashion items for Japanese women are baggy neutral clothing straight out of Uniqlo. There can be variables between substyles within each category, but for a general summary, I think this chart differentiates the most popular fashion trends succinctly for the new or casual fan of Japanese fashion.
Let's start with the lifestyle, or most effort side, in which I placed gyaru even though it's no longer popular in Japan (although it seems to be making a slight comeback with idols and Korean or Chinese trends.) This includes hime gyaru, hime kaji, agejo, maybe even shironuri, all of the styles in which personal individual effort is required, especially for makeup and hair, and depending on the substyle, skin and nails care. Clothes and jewelry are of course important, but if you didn't make an attempt with makeup or hair, you really did not complete the assignment, whereas if you have the perfect hair/makeup, you can wear more casual normie clothes and still be recognized as a gyaru. I call this lifestyle because the time put in makes the style, which takes a part of your day, as you need to either learn the skills or go to a salon or have a friend do it for you. The question is, if you decide to not wear makeup for a while because you are having a rash or eczema flareup for example, are you in the fashion? Many gyarus would say they compensate by putting extra effort into their hair or nails or clothes and maybe do some gyaru life stuff, like blogging or shopping or socializing. But the appeal and fun of these fashions is the time/effort in the upkeep of personal appearance. (Addendum, this is not necessarily a daily lifestyle fashion, although it usually is for many gyarus because they love makeup that much, however, some fashions do aim for fairly long-lasting changes to their appearance like bleaching or perming hair or tanning, and that's key to this fashion versus the other 2 categories which are much more temporary or require no change.)
I titled the middle of the spectrum "vibes" for lack of a better word. This includes many smaller street fashion trends that pop up in Harajuku and Shibuya, some of which include jirai kei, larme, mori kei, cult party kei, yami kawaii, menhera, etc although I might classify decora more towards wardrobe. This category also includes tiktok/douyin trends and western trends, like cottage-core, history bounding, dark academia, royalty core, ren faire, etc. It does not include established Western subcultures such as goth and punk, which are a little deeper than trends or fashions in my opinion. What is common about these "vibes" fashions is neither physical appearance nor clothes are more important, as long as the head to toe look is complete and recognized by other people who know the trend. Although buying a new set of clothes is the easiest way to make the look, many people can start most of these fashions from their existing closet with only a few extra purchases. Lifestyle is an optional part of these trends; some are more involved such as cottage-core which can encompass your house and daily activities, others are just the right clothes and quick hairstyling for going out with friends. I also consider these easier for beginners to get into, especially cottagecore or dark academia.
The last part of the fashion spectrum is wardrobe, or accrual, which covers lolita and historical styles (that is not history bounding). This is where the clothes and stuff you have is the most important, and your physical appearance much less important or doesn't even matter if you don't have the right clothes. For example, you can only truly be called a lolita if you have a complete lolita outfit. It doesn't have to be all brand name, but it needs to be a head to toe coord by definition of any lolita out there. You do not have to style your hair or have any specific makeup although it would help for historical styles like 1940s retro vintage pinup or rococco era French nobility. As long as you have the right clothes, including undergarments and structure garments and shoes, that's like 99% of the look and everything else is icing on the cake. This is especially so now that makeup trends and hairstyles are more natural and inclusive with these fashions, since previously the trends were more over the top layered makeup and artificial hair color wigs, at least for lolitas. (Addendum: what if you only have part of a lolita outfit in your wardrobe, are you a lolita in waiting? Nope, still not a lolita, but most lolita clothes can be incorporated into the other styles in the vibes category and honestly, I think that's just as good and a really great use of the money you spent.)
I hope this helps clarify some of the Japanese fashion styles, especially if you want to explore a trend for yourself, or want to understand what motivates different fans of Japanese street fashion. Again, this is a personal classification system that I made for fun, it's absolutely not the only way of categorizing or describing the fashion out there. I did try to include the most representative photo to show the differences in appearance all with the same general hairstyle - the gyaru has bleached curled hair and flashy makeup and elaborate nails, the larme kei girl has wavy natural colored hair and soft yet noticeable makeup, while the lolita has (presumably) naturally straight undyed hair and no noticeable makeup. Let me know what you think. And that's that!
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