An Intro to Japanese Fashion

I spent my holidays in Taipei, Taiwan and Tokyo, Japan and I have to say it was like a fashion wake-up call. Even though I am a big follower of Japanese fashion mags, it was a totally different experience being there. I’ve always been really fascinated with Japanese fashion culture so get ready for my next few entries to be about Japanese fashion. :)

It’s especially interesting to see how much Japanese fashion has influence Taiwan fashion over the years. I haven’t been back to Taiwan in about 8 years now and noticed a huge difference in the way a lot of girls look nowadays – basically straight out of a japanese fashion mag. Of course you still have your “regular” Taiwan girls. Most have dyed hair, but have more of the natural look with not much makeup and nothing too extreme, too girly, or too anything. But then you have girls who look like this (ok, this is a slightly more extreme representation, but you get the idea)

Curly dyed hair, fake eyelashes, heavy eye makeup, short skirts and boots are the bare minimum to looking trendy in Japan. Taiwanese girls seem to take it to the next level though. I couldn’t help but notice that Chinese people in general tend to have some funky taste in clothes. I’m not trying to be mean, just observant (especially since I’m 100% Chinese!) While people watching, there were a lot of girls who were very well put together… but then there was that one item that just didn’t work or was a little too over the top – a super fuzzy outrageous skirt, maybe a plaid purse that just didn’t go, or a pair of shoes that I couldn’t stop staring at… I can’t quite explain it, but I have to give props to Japanese girls for just knowing how to really put an outfit together.