Blog #4 - Bryan

Bryan Bui
Blog #4

The last week I almost completely forgot about the challenge and bought something. I can't recall what it was but it was either a hat or a pair of shoes. I a sucker for those two things because of my idol. I always wonder how people get their fashion senses and when I think about it it is probably from celebrities. Whether they are on YouTube, music artists, or movie stars it is what we see and like. In the U.S. most of what we see is from the media but there doesn't seem to be much of a mainstream culture of fashion. There are shows for it but the mainstream audiences watch shows where fashion is not the top priority. Needless to say the actors still are always dressed beautifully and that has an impact on the viewers.

Japanese fashion happens in a much different way. In our reading "Japanese Teens as Producers of Street Fashion." we found out that Japan happens in more of a bottom-up model where teens tend to make fashion trends and styles. We also talked in class how department stores work much differently in Japan. The stores actually seek out managers to put together ensembles for mannequins to help shoppers see what looks good. It is very different than in the U.S. where most people shop on their own without much help from the store. Another aspect in the reading was kawaii items. Basically cute items that are most likely popular because of the nostalgic feeling they give us. I am definitely guilty of this for I still have all of the stuffed animals I had as a kid. The number one kawaii thing to me, or to the mainstream society, is Hello Kitty. I find her lame and much prefer Doraemon but that's besides the point.

Thinking of Japan I always thing of anime and video games and it got me thinking about fashion in video games. Video game characters are always dressed in very unique ways and it generates a lot of cosplay. I searched up "fashion in video games" and did not really find much except for one article. It was not really what I was looking for but it talked how companies were thinking of fashion games because girls were a pretty big percentage game players. To me a fashion game would be too hard to make because it would lack the freedom to do anything. A game that could do that would never be finished because there would always be something to add. I was more interested in how games affect fashion but if I really think about it I could probably get that answer looking at Japanese fashion. Much of the fashion is inspired from anime, manga, and games. It'd be awesome if more people made clothes from very popular games. Some have but I think it should happen more because video games do create some awesome clothes.



Inside source: Yuniya Kawamura. “Japanese Teens as Producers of Street Fashion.” Reader.

Outside source: Adams, Rebecca. "Is Fashion Gaming The Next Marketing Frontier?" <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/24/fashion-video-games_n_1622149.html>