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Japanese fashion lovers, you can rejoice. This post is all about gyaru-kawaii clothing… … and there’s more on the way. I’m happy to announce that I’ll be in Tokyo (late Nov to mid Dec), working on a new TV show! The Pirates (our Japan fixing, arranging and hosting company) are once again teaming up with a German television network. We can’t reveal much about the episode, but it’ll involve the usual kooky Jpop culture, and has something to do with the “Basil in a Box” photo above. And of course, I’ll find time to bring you reports about the latest Tokyo trends. Since many of you enjoyed my post about Gothloli stores in Vivre, let’s continue our tour of this Yokohama youth department store. This time, we’ll focus on gyaru (gal) and kawaii brands, including Liz Lisa and Cecil McBee. You may have noticed I’ve been wearing a lot of Liz Lisa, such as in Belgrade. I like to mix and match items, rather than wearing the brand head-to-toe (LL is too pink and girly for me).

I think their aesthetic is well executed, from the swirling font to the rose-studded makeup. How cute are the little plush lambs, with pink heart-shaped noses? This lace-covered dress, from Liz Liza’s My Melody (Sanrio) collection, is my current favorite. (Remember I wore it in my Adone Magazine cover shoot.) I bought the light blue one because of the Alice in Wonderland vibe. It was less than $100 US — insane, for the quality and design! Cecil McBee is another well-known gyaru brand, with a more urban vibe. A favorite of trendy Shibuya girls. In Japan, a cute cat-face purse fits every style subgroup (Goth, Lolita, gyaru). Elegant pastel and black shoes with metallic accents. Blue Moon Blue has a bright, casual look. Light, wide-neck sweaters and soft pastels are everywhere. A lot of gyaru boutiques sell the same or similar items. Prices are quite reasonable; these “set items” are about $50. Happy face backpack, anyone? I love these artistic cat purses and wallets.

I wish I got some at the time… What’s new in the world of Tokyo shoes? Pastel creepers, platforms and sequins.I always buy shoes when I’m in Japan, as they’re very well priced and the designs are outstanding. Not sure what’s going on with this poster. Tokyo fashion has something for everyone. You can be a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world. Yokohama Vivre contains a Swimmer shop. dedolight backpackNo scuba equipment here, but tons of cute accessories and homewares.backpack ironlak Would you choose the cat or the bear purse?vesuvius backpack trail Swimmer’s a funny mix of cute and ugly. backpack oxy-acetylene

(More about Swimmer in this post.) What do you think of Japanese gyaru and kawaii clothes? If you’d like to see more of Liz Lisa, check out my Hong Kong gyaru shop photos. I think the only downside of going to Japan is being away from this cat-face! Is there anything you’d like me to cover while I’m in Tokyo? All previous blog posts about Japan are here, and my shopping / clubbing guides are linked in the right sidebar.maxpedition typhoon backpack for saleTOKYO — In a city once known as fashion addict central for Asia, the shop-till-you-drop lifestyle has not only become passé, it’s now also an object of ridicule.f-stop guru backpack with medium icuExamples of excessive consumerism no longer draw envious sighs; they are now a cue for laughter. Early this year a 33-year-old woman had so crammed her studio apartment with designer shoes, bags and clothing that she couldn’t find the front door and called in a television crew (armed with a crowbar) to come wrestle her out of the choking mass of luxury products while the whole process was aired on a variety show.

Still, the Tokyo Girl insists on having fun, and that has manifested itself in the trend of carrying paper shopping bags in lieu of backpacks and briefcases. And not just any bags, but ones marked with brand logos — the more upscale or upbeat the better.In Harajuku, Japan’s famous teen stomping grounds, Ayaka Nogami, 17, was toting around a lumpy Prada shopping bag on a recent day. Inside were her school gym clothes, a plastic canister with a vitamin drink and her lunchbox. “It used to be my older sister’s,” Ayaka said. “But it got a little creasy, and so she let me have it for ¥300,” or about $3.20. Ayaka also has a shopping bag from Cecil McBee, a popular girl’s brand, whose flagship boutique is in the famous 109 Building in Shibuya. She procured the bag two months ago when buying a dress and pair of black summer tights, with money earned from working the register at her neighborhood convenience store.“This is the bag I save for weekend dates with my boyfriend,” Ayaka says, adding that after each outing she irons the bag — after turning it inside out to avoid burning the logo.

And then she folds it away. “For me, shopping is a special occasion,” she says. “The bag will be a reminder of that day, how I felt when I bought the dress, the whole experience.” The trend, as it were, is not new. In the early 1980s, teenagers used to carry their school things and sports gear in designer shopping bags, mainly to broadcast their social standing (showing that they could afford these boutiques). Now, the meaning behind the paper-bag syndrome is more nuanced, and tinged with parsimonious romance. Adults and teenagers carry them around partly to bask in the memory of a shopping (splurging) occasion, partly because the “eco-bag” trend has run its course.“I don’t really like carrying eco-bags,” says Asami Harada, 24, who works at a bookstore in Shibuya. “I’m concerned about the environment and all that, but I’m not interested in promoting myself as a nature-lover.”Ms. Harada was also carrying a Cecil McBee paper bag and inside were her makeup case, a packet of cigarettes, a paperback to read on the train, a magazine, a small towel, a plastic bottle of water and a box of chocolates.

She carries her train pass, wallet, cellphone and handkerchief in a smaller shoulder bag and says that “this is the way women utilize their bags — valuables in a proper bag, and everything else in a paper one.”It’s typical of the Tokyo femme to divide her belongings into two different camps. Many women carry yet another paper shopping bag for their purchases. These can range from sneakers to radishes to cartons of soy milk — the important thing is to refuse the plastic bags offered and nonchalantly take out a boutique shopping bag.Akiho Mizuta, a part-time waitress in her late 20s, says: “I think most women have their own personal paper bag hierarchy. The really good ones are for holding personal belongings, the ordinary ones are for holding groceries, the cute ones for using as gift wrappings, etc.”The paper bags actually constitute a market, and have been auctioned on the Internet for as much as ¥2,000 for a large-size Louis Vuitton paper bag. A Cecil McBee shopping bag, whose eye-catching logo is often emblazoned in gold — sells for as much as ¥800.It’s little wonder that, in spite of the recession, Tokyo’s closets continue to be crammed to the hilt — less so with Prada and Marc Jacobs dresses than their paper wrappers.