galismBorder patrol.
Lady-like, simple, and sweet gal summer coordinates from GOLDS Infinity (top), XOXO -kisskiss- (middle) and LIZ LISA (bottom). Various pieces can be purchased here.
Which is your favorite?
Love it or it hate it—this Tumblr being no exception!—it’s always worth examining how Western media interprets Japanese pop culture and fashion trends. In this quick video snippet from mega beauty retalier Sephora, you can catch a glimpse into what beauty junkies have raved about forever: Japan knows nails. Still, we can’t help but wonder what happens when things like Akihabara’s cute and quirky maid culture are seemingly taken out of context and chopped up to be made more appetizing for Western audiences not already in the know. The description of the video reads as follows:
Discover Akihabara and its unique anime-inspired local take on nail art. The latest technology blinks, glimmers, beckons in packed store windows. Bright, bold images of famed anime and manga stars are splashed on billboards and posters. Throngs of Japanese locals and tourists flock to the shops to point, to purchase—to dive into the experience they’ve heard so much about.
This is Akihabara, the “Electric Town”—Tokyo’s mecca of electronic goods new and old. Here, technology has manifested itself in two ways: the highest concentration of electronic products in the city meets a propensity for anime and manga (the Japanese cartoons popular all around the world). Akihabara is defined by an animated reality, which turns art into a three-dimensional experience—and proves to be the defining characteristic of this neighborhood. Watch our video to see anime-inspired nail art in action.
Truthfully, nails like these can be found on the hands of ladies all over Japan, not just Tokyo, and certainly not just Akihabara. It’s hard to not be drawn in by the twinkly stones and adorable bows of next-level manicures like these, though, and our guess is that’s ultimately what Sephora is hoping for. The nails featured in the video were done by R’s6, a chain of nail salons with several locations in Japan, including one in Akihabara.
What do you think of features about Japanese culture like this?
brad-tIsamu Katayama Backlash – Printed Pig Leather Patchwork Shirt – ¥120,750
The stuff Backlash does with printed leather always blows my mind.
