Men's Second Style

Finally, a break in the stream of accessory-based throwdowns. Instead, some Harajuku goodness for y’all. That’s right, that Japanese neighboorhood in Tokyo which is basically home to Japanese street fashion.

The theme was chosen by none other than the mix master Niko Lyle, who blogs over at A Shout and A Whisper. A DJ and a fashion blogger, I actually was listening to his latest mixtape while putting this post together. Give it a listen, its good.

Express Zenovka – Trip of Lifetime

He could barely contain his excitement. 13 hours and he’d be fulfilling so many life dreams. All the other guys on the forums had done it. And they brought back pictures to prove it. He was going to Japan.

Barely able to sleep, he was nervous and fidgety the entire time. He arrived at night, so he went directly to the hotel. But he couldn’t sleep. He opened up his suitcase and double checked that everything was here. He’d spent days preparing his outfit. He’d even packed extra fabric, a glue gun, and a portable sewing machine in case anything was damaged during the flight. He was gonna rock Harajuku in his costume and finally get laid like all those other guys who came to Japan.

The next morning he put on his costume and a ratty trenchcoat, stuttering to his taxi driver that he wanted to go to the edge of Harajuku. The taxi driver nodded silently and took him there. He paid and ran to the center of a plaza, ripping off his trenchcoat as he yelled “Yatta!”

For a moment, all was silent. He didn’t even notice landing on the ground again. Then it started.. from every corner.. something he’d heard so many times before. Tittering, giggling, guffawing.. everyone in the area was laughing at him. Pointing at him, taking pictures with their cell phones. He didn’t know what he’d done wrong. Why didn’t they like him? He’d made an awesome gothic outfit — isn’t that Harajuku was all about? He ran away into alley way, trying to hide his tears as he ripped off parts of his costume. He was alone.. in a new country where everyone thought he was a fool.

He woke up a few hours later. He couldn’t go back a failure. There were two things he was good at. Research. And costume making. Back to the hotel, he spent all night on the internet. He’d made the morning news, but he hadn’t impressed any girls. He was going to fix that. He found out that Harajuku was a fashionable district, and that visual kei was a sub-culture that was popular almost ten years ago. Real Japan wasn’t the anime land he had thought it was. On top of that, he’d been a day early. The people who dress up come out on Sundays, not Saturdays.

The next morning, he took a cab out to Takeshita-dori again. This time, as he stepped out of the car, he didn’t hear giggling everywhere. There were a few gasps, a few stares, but he walked out confidently and did his best to barter at one of the many shops. After a few purchases, his outfit was complete. Girls took pictures of him on their cell-phones, but this time they were the ones blushing when he made eye contact. Eventually, he sat down, basking in the gazes of all the people who couldn’t help wondering about the strange new guy. One girl came near. Hesitantly he started with.. “おはよう..”. She responded with a “Herro”. Grinning, he made a mental note: “Talking to a girl… check!”

Niko Lyle – Wishin to Be Harajuku

Though I have never personally been to Japan to witness the culture and fashion of the Harajuku boys and girls I found that through photos that I too could become one of them.

Total: 2,403L

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