While wandering around Berlin’s Charlottenburg Palace a week ago, I came across a group of Lolitas (both goth and sweet) setting up for a picnic in the gardens. I was so pleased! In the past, I have only seen Lolitas in more contrived situations outside of Japan (where one may expect to see them anywhere), such as around a Lolita clothing store, or at an anime convention or Japanese culture festival.
Sometimes it is refreshing to step into a world completely different from one’s own. I did so yesterday, and the world pertained to the Japanese sex trade! I know it might be an off-color subject, but it is also rather fascinating. Should you also like to step into another world for a bit, I’ll share some of my findings and reference links below.
CScout is a global consumer trends consulting firm based in New York and Tokyo. CScout utilizes an extensive network of trend scouts in innovative cities all around the world to keep updated on marketing, lifestyle, and consumer technology trends, and offers a mixture of online content and customized service. In addition, CScout collaborates with trend consulting partners Cherryflava and Mandalah. CScout’s previous clients include Vodafone, BMW, Lufthansa, Audi, Gizmodo, Wrigley, and Siemens.
JapanProbe recently posted a video on 3-D nail art in Japan: I love the hair bow the nail artist at the beginning of the segment wears, and I am also interested to see that some men are also getting their nails done in this style (be it wildly toned down). 3-D nail art, in my [...]
One of my favorite blogs for news on new Japanese trends is Tokyo Kawaii, etc. Its author, Kirin, describes it as a website for those who are interested in kawaii goods, art, shopping, and fashion, as well as travel, food, and culture. Kirin’s blog features various Japanese stores and boutiques, food tutorials and posts, language [...]
While contemplating macarons and whoopie pies within the context of the cupcake trend, I couldn’t help but notice the disdinct lack of interest in cupcakes in Japan. This observation prompted me to search for Japan’s trendy desert of the moment, which turns out to be Taiyaki. Taiyaki is a fish-shaped treat consisting of a fried [...]
Loic Bizel, originally from France, is the founder of FashionInJapan.com, a trendspotting resource focused on Japanese developments. The site shares fresh street fashion photos of the latest trends, a monthly newsletter, “it” keywords of the season, and as of this October, a Season Report. In addition to providing online content, Loic Bizel leads Tokyo Fashion Tours [...]
There was a bit of blogger buzz about manskirts earlier this week. It started three days ago with an article on the Mainichi Daily News. Author Tsukimi Goda set the premise: “Called “the skirt boys,” or “skirt tribe,” the skirt-wearing men of Tokyo are beginning to get some attention from the fashion world.” Goda points [...]
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how people are adapting to mass-produced, global products by modifying them to fit their tastes. I used Fancy Fast Food and Ikea Hacker as examples, and now I’ve found another cool manifestation of the modern modification trend: UNI-Kakushi. I discovered UNI-kakushi this morning in Kirin’s summary of [...]
[image via msjtan2 on Photobucket] Can you not help but be dazzled by kawaii Japanese eye makeup? Kirin of Tokyo Kawaii, etc. recently shared and explained a segment on Japanese TV that got me thinking about what it takes to get this wide-eyed look together. The TV segment explores the lengths to which young Tokyo [...]
