I'm gonna go on a ramble today because I'm still sick and I've been browsing the web a lot and I have some thoughts and opinions.
In J Fashion spaces, I always seem people complaining about how things aren't like how they were before, no one goes as hard as they used to, no one looks as dramatic as they used to...
It is my firm belief that that is NOT true, it is just being looked right over.
Everything you seek in J Fashion that you believe has gone still remains in the form of Jirai/Ryousangata!!!!
"The Clothes are all Generic FashionNova crap now!"
Not in this style!
Yes, you can get accessories on SHEIN, but the clothes... generally you can really only find them from the brands that specialize in it.
(or the factories that sell under the table on AliExpress, of course).
If you buy off brand... it generally doesn't even begin to resemble the look.
The pieces are uniquely structured with many detail elements, fancy fabric, unique prints, and low luxury price tag.
In this way I feel that ryousangata is like an evolution from lolita.
@fuyuuuu9999_
"The makeup is too subtle now"
Not in this style!
circle lens, (usually) false lashes, and pounds and pounds of makeup are absolutely essential to the look. There's also simply no possible way of achieving those eyebrows without shaving the natural eyebrows off!
In this way I believe that jirai/ryousangata is like an evolution from gyaru.
@fuyuuuu9999_
"The hairstyles are too boring now!"
Not in this style!
Elaborate, highly damaging, product eating hairsets are huge in this style!
And in the day-to-day, a minimum hair routine of bleach/dye, hot iron, hairspray, styling wax, and precise twin tails do great damage over time.
In this way as well, I believe that jirai/ryousangata is like an evolution from gyaru.
"No one's doing nails like they used to!"
They are in this style!
Elaborate, long, covered in 3D charms, nails are HUGE in jirai/ryousangata, both literally and figuratively.
Of course, now press ons are quite in-style. But acrylics are still big where the salons who are capable of doing the right kind exist.
In this way as well, I believe that jirai/ryousangata is like an evolution from gyaru.
"Gaijin don't strive for Japan anymore"
They do in this style!
I've seen more gaijin participating in this style traveling or moving to Japan in the recent years than basically any other style in the past decade and a half.
In my opinion, the rise of influencing as a career path and brands partnering with girls to promote their clothes online has opened the door for mass produced girls to follow their weeaboo dreams all the way to a career in Japan. An opportunity very rarely afforded to JFashion internet personalities in the past, even if they became very successful. (ofc, that doesn't apply to everyone, it's just worth mentioning).
I think there's added appeal in the fact that it's actually currently happening, so there's good reason to go to Japan. You can actually go to the shops, buy the clothes, participate, make friends with shared interests, etc.
"No one is serious about commiting to the lifestyle anymore"
Say it with me:
Not in this style!
Mass Produced encompass everything. Not just personal style, but home decor, hobbies, activities, everything can be changed to align with the lifestyle.
And mass produced girls sure commit!
The maintenance required to upkeep the look is also not to be ignored.
Nails, Hair, Hairstyling, keeping up with currently evolving fashion trends (and it's not cheap), Oshikatsu, Daily lenses worn every day without fail, it's a constant and expensive maintenance routine.
In this way as well, jirai/ryousangata really reminds me of the gyaru lifestyle.
(I'll just post room decors)
"There is no princess style like there used to be!"
If you are craving the hime style, the OTT sweet lolita days, golden era himekaji, and you only look to the past thinking "something like this will never exist again", well it exists right now.
The style language of ryousangata is, at it's core, unavoidably girly.
The style trends of Ryousangata have been quickly getting more and more OTT, adding lace, ruffles, bows, rhinestones, anything they can, basically.
and that doesnt just apply to clothes but decor and objects as well.
In this way, I believe that jirai/ryousangata is like an evolution from both gyaru AND lolita.
"Brands don't have the same strong style and identity as they used to!"
The brands producing for mass produced girls have a strong image with fairly unique (in a wider sense) and strong style.
(Of course, it's called "Mass Produced" for a reason, every brand kind of looks the same as the next, but in that they all look like eachother, but nothing else. You certainly can't walk into H&M and find something suitable.)
And if you've been on SNS you'll see the CULT following that brands like LIZ LISA have accomplished. Which is an impressive feat when remembering that LL had virtually died off in the consciousness of japanese fashion consumers just a few years ago.
This is also true for MA*RS and Princess Melody. Currently coveted for their older pieces, but extremely successful in their current sales as well.
The shops totally embody that blinding kirakira, beautiful decoration and fantasy that you used to feel from shops like Angelic Pretty and La Pafait.
Beautiful shop staff really representing the brand identity.
"Blogging Culture"
While I can't say that blogging is big in in modern day like it used to be, Vlogging and PLogging (photo logging, if you never heard of this) are HUGE with Mass Produced girls.
In my opinion this is the modern equivalent of blogging culture that used to be so prolific.
There is basically no shortage of vlogs made by Mass Produced girls. And I love it!
"Platforms!"
"Freedom and Experimentation"
One huge complaint shared by just about everyone nowadays (even though it's also completely self imposed) is that there is little freedom and experimentation in J Fashion. That at some point in a mythic past, style was fluid and people did different things, tried out combining and changing styles, and didnt follow "the rules". (really, it's because the rules didn't exist to begin with).
But Mass Produced girls really aren't that way. Although there's current trends and everyone loves to follow them, theres also a lot of freedom to wear vastly different things and be quite free with personal style from day to day. If you scroll down someone's feed, you'll likely see a wide variety of different sorts of outfits. From an oversized graphic tee with legwarmers to a French style pencil skirt and sweater to an idol style airy gown and bows to jeans and a tee to... whatever you can dream of (or whatever your favorite kpop group wears next).
In conclusion
I think this movement gets dismissed and ignored by ''''heisei'''' J Fashion enjoyers because they have rose colored glasses for the past, and the usual "young girls like it so it's stupid""it's popular right now so it's stupid".
But I think genuinely everything people are seeking and missing in J Fashion are existing right here right now, just being ignored.
Maybe I'm biased because I like the look, but I honestly genuinely believe half the people who think the things in this post would also like this look just as much as whatever it is they're holding up as a gold standard of JFashion, if they just genuinely interacted with it.
At the end of the day, this is what's big right now. This is what brands are making, this is what girls are buying, this is what makes the money. It's here to stay. I think it should be acknowledged that this trend is doing what we've been asking for, whether we like it or not.
0 件のコメント:
コメントを投稿