Week 3 | Teens as Producers of Street Fashion and Trend Impulses

Rida Riaz
ASA 141
Be Green Challenge Week 3

It's week 3 already and to my surprise I'm still doing well! As I knew this challenge was upon us, I had already bought my commencement dress and initially, I wanted to buy two separate outfits: one for my photoshoot and one for commencement. However, I decided to opt for only one dress that I could wear to my commencement as well as photoshoot as I didn't think that buying two different dresses was a necessity. I wanted to go against the impulse and besides over thinking about what outfit I was going to wear for my commencement and photoshoot, I found one dress that I loved so much and used the rest of that energy to focus on bigger and better things. Focusing on my studies as this is my last quarter, has given me the chance to think about ways I can improve my grades and start planning for life post graduation.

I love fashion and style is something so important to me as it connects my identity with my surroundings; however, we tend to forget all the time shopping and styling clothes takes and we can use a chunk of that time for something useful. Fashion driven teenagers and young adults want to present themselves a certain way to the public eye for various reasons, but one of them being able to look presentable and "trendy" in the eyes of others; therefore, we tend to buy and consume multiple times a month in order to keep our wardrobe up to date.

In the article, "Japanese Teens as Producers of Street Fashion" by Yuniya Kawamura, explores the impact young Japanese teenagers have on designers by giving them variety as well as taste in streetstyle. These teens have various different ways to express their identity through styles and offer creativity as well as uniqueness on the streets of Japan. Just looking at the accessories, wigs, clothes and shoes that is used to make a single outfit really makes me think about how many times these youngsters go shopping in a week. This type of creativity requires a lot of effort and time resulting in money spent not just on clothing, but various different accessories as well.

This video by Glamour, "100 Years of Japanese Fashion" showcases the revelation of Japanese fashion and highlights how fashion has paved its way to become inclusive in the form of identity. In the beginning, Japanese fashion is shown with various different styles and patterns of kimonos with basic makeup. Then, as soon as 1990s hit, one could see the epic transition Japanese fashion took to stand out from the crowd and how it continues to evolve. Loved it!

Works Cited:


Glamour. YouTube, 100 Years of Japanese Fashion. 11 Jan. 2018.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqQcRmXuG20. 

Kawamura, Yuniya. “Japanese Teens as Producers of Street Fashion.” Current Sociology, vol. 54, no. 5, 2006, pp. 784–801. doi:10.1177/0011392106066816.