Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno: Tokyo Teen Fashion Subculture Handbook

by Izumi Evers, Patrick Macias, Kazumi Nonaka (Illustrator)

Japanese schoolgirl fashions and subcultures have sprung up, burned out, mutated, and evolved into a pop culture phenomenon gone global from Gwen Stefani's "Harajuku Girls" to Gothic Lolita-fueled manga and the deadly schoolgirl in Kill Bill , it's no wonder that international fashion designers look to the streets of Tokyo for fresh inspiration. This playful and thoroughly researched handbook examines the key styles and subcultures past and sailor-suited gangsters, Pippi Longstockings risen from the dead, girls in blackface, teens sporting giant hamster costumes, and more. Each fashion profile is packed with photos and illustrations, history, ideal boyfriends, and must-have items. Also included are a gatefold evolutionary fashion chart, resources, and makeup tips. At last, an in-depth guide to what the girls are wearing and why on earth they're wearing it.

Genres: Japan, Nonfiction, Fashion, Photography, Cultural, Manga

144 pages, Paperback

First published May 10, 2007

Reviews

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful and interesting book about Tokyo Teen Fashion! From kigurumi to sukedan, we find out all about various fashion and their histories.


I am a big big fan of fashion and especially Japanese fashion. I just love how free these teens are and how they dare to go big and bold! I mean, here you wouldn’t see that happening that easily that people wear lolita or sukedan or kigurumi, but there in parts it is something that is totally OK, and I would love to be part of that.

This one tells us about Japanese teen fashions from 1960 to now. I really loved reading about the various histories on how things started, who started it, what was typical for this fashion, and more. It was a delight to read and the author has a good writing style that keeps you engaged and makes you want to google to learn even more about the various fashions that are discussed. I also liked that the book looked at how society viewed fashion and gals. How the teens themselves felt given the comments from society.

After the history/general information part we get a profile on that specific fashion. From how to look like the real deal, to ideal boyfriends, and to other specific things that make that fashion. I loved that this was added it made the book more fun and gave it something extra.

We even get interviews with well-known teens about all sorts of fashion/gal related topics.

There are quite a few photographs, though in my eyes, maybe there could have been even more! Haha, sorry, I just love photographs so much especially when it is a topic I love.

All in all, this was a great read! I would recommend it if you like fashion/Japan/or are just curious!

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Merary · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5 stars.

This was a fun and short read, and the art was pretty cute, but my disappointment stems from the shallow research and misinformation (some misspellings as well, which is very lazy). All I could think of while reading was, "What are the sources?"

Some of the information was firsthand and I'm okay with that, but if I can't find the information to back it up, then it's useless. There was also some biases in a few sections, it failed to be objective in the right places.

To end this review on a positive note, I discovered some great movies and bands in this book, and I can't wait to spend my free time enjoying them.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sort of interesting, but overall reads like an poorly researched book report. I get the impression the a lot of the info came from other people's web sites. The styles as presented show the author's incomplete understanding. Some things are outright wrong, and the author offers thouroghly unsubtle put downs of the fashions. That's strange to me.

[Anina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wierd!

[John Defrog: global citizen, local gadfly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A roundup of Japanese teen girl fashion gangs from the 1970s to around 2005. For research purposes, mainly, though I’m also rather fascinated with the various manifestations of youth culture in Japan. It's not very in-depth, and from what I hear it has a few accuracy issues – and in any case it's almost certainly outdated by now. But it's interesting.

[Maria Fernanda Fabricio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este livro é muito interessante, pois ao apresentar as antigas tendências da moda de rua japonesa, também comenta sobre as influências da cultura popular no período descrito. Porém, em algumas partes do livro, fiquei incomodada com a descrição pejorativa que algumas tendências fashion receberam, como a moda Ganguro.

[Horror Nerd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Structured like some kind of academic study, but written in a very accessible way with a touch of humor. The authors chronicle the fashion trends (and the young women who often started them) of Japan's past and present (well, at least up to the early 2000s), focusing on everything from biker gang inspired fashion to the still popular Gothic Lolita scene. Does an excellent job connecting the ways that music and fashion can inspire each other to create something brand new.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice summary of the origin of street styles in Shibuya and Harajuku. The infographic-esque style is simplistic and a very quick read.

[fiction.prescription · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this book because it did not provide an accurate description of Japanese fashion. Also, the pictures in this book I have seen in many other books ~ the pictures were clearly not original. Another disappointment was that the book seemed to favour one fashion, as several pages were focused on that one style, there were a few other styles but their descriptions were very vague. I would not recommend this book, particularly to someone who knows quite a bit about Japanese fashion/culture already. Perhaps people who are new to this topic would enjoy this book.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

For those fascinated by Japanese pop culture, this is a fun look at teen fashion in Tokyo over the years. As a fan of the movie "Kamikaze Girls" it was interesting to see references to both styles of the main characters in the movie, as well as information about the store Momoko, the main character, loves so much "Baby, the Stars Shine Bright." There's also a fun guide in the back to help you determine your style.

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really neat book which discusses Japanese schoolgirl's various fashions from the late 1960's on through the present, discussing the type of fashion and illustrating those with various drawings, explanations, and photographs.

My own favorites are the gothic-lolita type fashions. Anyhow, the book is full of neat illustrations and information, and is a valuable addition to anyone who likes the Fruits books or the Gothic-Lolita Bibles.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting look into the fashion styles of the teenagers of Tokyo though the years. Previous to reading this I only knew about the Gothic Lolita and Yanki styles.

There were a ton of styles that ran though the years of the 1960's to the present. Includes pictures of each & lists of most have items for each style.

[Supermomochan (PeachyFishyBooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is still a really interesting read. A lot of the information is outdated (as this was published in 2007)... I would really like to see a more updated version of something like this. So many cool and interesting styles have come out since '07

[Nessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't really know how correct this is, but it was really interesting to read about all the crazy fashion that has sprouted in Japan. I wish it was longer and dwelved deeper, but the art was cute (^з^)-☆

[Teeny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and fascinating look at a subculture most Americans don't know about

[Sylvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very fascinating summary of the craziest fashion trends in Tokyo. A must for anyone interested in this topic.

[Drifloon · Rating 5 out of 5]

really good