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Seamy side of the Summer heat
Dinah Logan
2009.7.28
The hotter it gets in Tokyo the more tricky fashion objects you'll spot outside.
That's how you grab the feeling of the season. Summer is here. With knits. And furry Flintstones' like boots. Hoodies. Heavy cardigans and scarves. No kidding. You have to suffer a lot to prove yourself as a truly fashionable creature. Ends justifies the means - that's the jazz of summer-melting Tokyo, that's the crazy heat beat.
Here in the City we have cosplayers, Maids, cute pinky Lolita girls and spooky Gothic-all-black-Lolita girls to take our breath away.
There are volumes written. Its trendy, its everywhere in Harajuku from 10a.m. to 18 p.m. (please check your guide book for details). It's authentically pleasing, specifically traditional, constant and therefore boring.
It's like your first Kyoto trip when you just cant have enough of all those World Heritage sites. After a while you find out they are more or less the same everywhere and start hitting on local cuisine instead.
And yet there is another special summer fashion plague in the City happening during hottest and most exhausting months of the year. The drama that unwraps right in front of our eyes.
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Thus we ask Prime question of Everything.
What's that all for?
Probably it has something to do with national character. Correlation between national character and original fashion sense sounds like solid and delicious piece for scientific research. Probably someone here (a couple of millions? Hm?) has this thing for silent suffering. If we dig in Japanese history will find plenty of examples. I guess the emphases should be on "silent". There was for instance Spanish Inquisition in Europe, but you can hardly call the whole suffering process quite.
Or may be its about willpower or character development. In ancient times there were mammoths to hunt and feasts to cook up. But now you forfeited such luxury of self-expression. Have to use creative resources.
Then comes Prime question number 2.
Where is the beef?
I mean, who is the victim?
There are two large groups of diseased: our lovely OL (office ladies) and pure "fashion geeks", girls and boys whose concept of fashion sounds like fashion for the sake of fashion. Pretty much about Uroboros, if you ask me.
The first group may appear to be emanation of poor climate control. When the temperature gap is more then 10 C and you are forced to swing from chilly subway to the grilling sunny streets and then again immure yourself in the airconed office, all these can dramatically jeopardise your inner temperature balance. All right, I guess sweaters and woolen cardigans are granted forgiveness. Though that lady I saw a couple of days ago, standing in the burning sunshine with UV-cut umbrella and wearing heavy cashmere turtleneck vest nearly gave me a heatstroke.
The second group is fascinatingly confusing.
Because there are no obvious reasons for them to wear thick woolen caps in the heat of midsummer noon. Or do something similar.
Your curiosity won't get any descent explanation except for "This is cool". Well, well, well, don't we have a little world play here?
A little consideration required and it brings us to the same Harajuku-style need to articulate yourself through putting on something out-standing. Perhaps not everybody fancy Victorian looks with layers of frills. Personal touch can be achieved through total bizarre season mix of the outfit.
Drastic brew to show the world that in the homogeneous society shaped with rigid formality there are still ways to express yourself, to be brave, careless for smb's opinion and utterly overheated.
It could be freedom.
If not for its trendy and imposing seamy side.
Don't miss summer in the City with its silent fashion battles!
Japan-Fashion.com
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