Tokyo Fashion Check
I was out and about in Tokyo’s Shibyua district the other night. It was the middle of Golden Week and all the kids were out making the most of their short vacation (Golden Week, or GW for short, is a week of holidays decreed by the Government to force the Japanese working bee to take a well deserved brake at least once a year). As always I was checking what people were wearing and it struck me that one item out of everything on sale this summer was a huge hit: the straw hat. I walked around and snapped photos of everyone in straw hat I could see, and in less than half an hour I had shot dozens of people. Straw hats were everywhere, and almost every fashion store had a few different models on sale.
Now, I consider myself rather conservative when it comes to fashion, but this throw back to something that hasn’t really been in fashion since Jerome Klapka Jerome penned that master piece “Three Men In A Boat” back in 1889, really surprised me. I had seen it around for a few months, a couple here and a couple there, but suddenly they were everywhere. The Month of May 2010 will forever be known in history books as The Month of the Strawhat. Have a look for yourself at this totally unedited selection of shots from a few minutes in Shibuya on holiday evening.
Now, is this something breaking only in Tokyo or is it worldwide? Have you seen strawhats around where you live?
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Indie Chic. Indie Chic said: Tokyo Fashion Check « Tokyobling's Blog http://bit.ly/9yh0Hk [...]
Really liked the 1:st and the 4:th shot, the concentrated look and the slightly annoyed look
I haven’t seen any straw hats in Sweden, but Tokyo probably is, as usually, one step ahead fashion wise.
Marie, thanks for the update! It’s been years since I visited Sweden. But I sense a business chance here… H&M are surely already scouting around for cheap manufacturers of straw hats, perhaps you can beat them to it?
Wow, that first girl is all-out turn of the century. Even a straw purse. (But no straw cellphone.)
Thanks Greg! She sure is! Incidentally, this look ties in with something that has been going on for a couple of years here in Japan, the Mori-Girl look, “forest girl”. I predict this girl’s look will be bigger once summer really hits us! It’s still unseasonably cold here in Japan.
It was in fashion a few years back too… maybe 2002 or so? I had gotten a straw hat. Kabuki heartthrob Ichikawa Ebizo often wears one in public. The girl with light blue denim jacket and black leggings looks like a Japanese Natalie Portman.
Now I want a straw hat too!
Julie, if that photo you had on your old site was you I think you would look fantastic in a straw hat! That’s right, I had forgotten about Ichikawa Ebizo (once you get rid of TV you’re pretty much out of the loop on anything you can’t actually go see for yourself). He often wore one in public…! Great catch.
Yes, the black leggings girl sure is cute! I still remember seeing ms Portman in a movie for the first time (I was half asleep in an Auckland hotel room). Great actress.
straw hats are also popular here in the Philippines.
i like the first shot by the way, she looks so vintage. 
Thanks Yanangski! I had no idea. Now your mission is to go out and do a similar photo shoot on the streets of your city! Is it Manilla perhaps?
yes Manila.
hmm. . . when i have my own DSLR i most probably will. ^_^
i do love hats! took a photoshoot one day with my friend. the girl on the couch is me, and i’m also wearing my fave hat. here’s the link http://yanangskiart.wordpress.com/2010/02/11/dreamy/
Girl! You have two blogs? Wow! You must get up very early in the morning! Lovely photo, but a beautiful girl like you would probably look good in any photo with any sort of camera. Love that outfit by the way! Looking forward to your third blog, Manilbling! (^0^)/
hi. i hope you never shut down this blog. i love the mix of art, culture, fashion, architecture, nature, everyday life, food (!!), etc. that it takes place in tokyo probably helps, but still, you make everything interesting and fun! when i see other blogs, perhaps photo blogs especially, i often get the feeling of the writers/bloggers being overly pretentious. your photographs are wonderful and always spot on. i adore your work and hobby! that was all!
Hi Carol, and thank you so much for your kind words! It really made my day! I am sure I am often overly pretentious but please forgive me. It is often poorly worded enthusiasm. I only blog about things I love and since there are soooo many things I love I plan to keep going for as long as I can! Thanks again!!!
No straw hats in Germany. They’re really adorable … but I wouldn’t wear it anywhere else than at the beach, it looks really strange!
Thanks for the comment Zayi! I can’t really imagine straw hats on the streets of Berlin or Dusseldorf. Maybe Heidelberg perhaps? It would def. look good in “Das Gartenreich Dessau-Wörlitz” though! If I ever come to Germany I must find someone to show me around that area!
I love your blog! I read it all the time. Thanks for posting so many great pictures.
I haven’t seen the hats in Chicago, where I leave, but I’ll be paying more attention.
If I see one I’ll let you know.
O.
Thank you Olivia! I love your blog too – it’s all about art and we seem to share a similar taste in visual arts! I’m looking forward to your first straw hat observation in Chicago, although the Windy City is hardly the most convenient place to wear hats – in my imagination at least… (^-^;)
I’m from Malaysia and I loved your blogs. I stayed in Tokyo for few months and I fall in love with the japan. Because I don’t understand Japanese your site keeps me inform of happenings there. I also loved all your pic. What camera and lens that you use?
Hi Alex! Thanks for visiting my blog all the way from Malaysia! I’m happy to hear that Tokyobling can help you stay in tune with Tokyo. I understand your feeling – there are many good places around the world but nowhere that I would miss more than Tokyo if I weren’t living here!
About my photos, I use many different cameras and lenses, in this post I used a Nikon D700 with a 135mm f2.0 DC lens, I hope that helps! (^-^)
Great street shots…I noticed that vertical stuff is great for street shots, and in Japan where shorter people try to look taller with hats and caps, you can’t miss…
Keep it up…
Hi! Thanks for the kind comment. Yes indeed, vertical is the way to go for street fashion. There are only two problems: you have to be closer to the subject and the grip needed to hold the camera vertically is really tiresome. Or maybe I just need to hit the gym? haha… At least with horizontal you get more of a “street scene” as well. Choices! So many choices…
I got Tokina 80-400 for that reason, don’t need to get close anymore. Although not the best lens ever, it’s compact (in size, not in weight) and performs good for the money I paid for it. Also, I hate battery grip, never got one….
Keep those photos coming, now that I left Japan, I appreciate these shots even more…
The Tokina 80-400 is indeed a sweet little lense, but for my purposes, shooting moving people at night with a D700 I required a much brighter lens, hence the 135mm f2.0. No VR but wonderful optics with the added bonus of really separating the subject from the messy city background. I never used a battery grip either. The bigger D3 series has a better grip for vertical shooting, anything below that (or D2, D1) is just a pain to use vertically for any extended periods of time.
Thanks! I will try to make sure you never forget about Japan! Hope your new job in the old country is treating you well!
Job? What job?
Unemployed and loving it…
You lucky bastard! Put that Gin & Tonic down and get back to work! (p^-^)p
I went to the store the other day and was surprised to find a huge selection of straw fedoras, of the kind Jason Mraz (and only Jason Mraz in the U.S.) has been known to sport.
http://musicmaven.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/jason-mraz.jpg
Apparently they will be in fashion in America this summer, though I’ve only seen a few so far.
Wow, looks like they’re going global! It’ll be interesting to see how it works out. Btw, they are already on decline over here… it seems they peaked in May.