SHIRONURI fashion and ANGURA culture

About SHIRONURI fashion

''shironuri'' (白塗り) litteraly means ''painted in white''. It refers to the white traditional makeup worn by geishas and stage actors. It is also sometimes called ''shiro mamba'' (white mamba) because it uses heavy makeup as yamamba, but with reversed colors.

The shironuri community isn't the same as the Harajuku kids community. They have their own gatherings and parties, that is why they rarely appear on any Harajuku-based snaps site such as Tokyo Fashion. Two exceptions are Uri who attends events such as Pop N Cute and Minori who can often be seen in the streets of Harajuku. While the Harajuku community is located in the Tokyo Harajuku-Shinjuku area, the angura and shironuri community is stronger in the Kansai area (Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto-Nara). However, there also are big shironuri meetings in Tokyo.

Inspiration

Shironuri fashion takes its inspiration from many sources. As there are no real rules except having your face painted in white, any clothing worn with shironuri makeup can be considered shironuri. However, some influences are more specific to shironuri fashion.
(Please take note that the names that I use aren't real ''styles''. It is only to make it easier to understand.)

''RETRO japanese look''
While most other japanese fashion styles have their sources in european culture, shironuri uses traditional japanese elements. Kimono, hakama and geta are sometimes part of the outfits. However, more than the purely traditional style, the Showa era (1926-1989) had a strong incluence on shironuri fashion. Gakuran, sailor fuku, military uniforms and japanese war flags are common elements.
This picture slideshow is quite representative of this look: shironuri meeting@harajuku on youtube

''Gothic/dolly look''
European fashion elements can also be used in shironuri. While some will go for a more gothic aristocratic look with well tailored clothes, the ''antique doll'' look is also popular. This look is created by wearing layers of vintage, sometimes ragged, clothes.

Some individuals have their own sub-style such as Uri's decora-shironuri and Minori's nature inspired outfits. I have also seen some lolita and cyber girls with shironuri makeup!

Inspiration list : grotesque, monsters, youkai, inugami, folklore, circus, grand guignol, horror, uniforms, black stars, japanese war flag, eclipses, dolls, gothic, cross, jester, clown, eyepatch, bandages.

Makeup

First comes the white foundation (cream or liquid) and white powder. You can either apply it only in the face like if it would be a white mask, or cover your neck area and make sure all your visible skin is painted in white. In this case, either paint your hands or wear gloves.
(Other angura styles sometimes use white powder or very light foundation on the face to create a softer effect than shironuri.)
Black heavy eyeliner is the most popular, with top and bottom fake lashes. Make sure the lashes you choose are long enough to show even over a tick eyeliner line. Another option is a very tick eyeliner line all arround the eye with smudged black eyeshadow and no fake lashes. This will give a less feminine panda-ish look.
For the lips, you may decide to leave them white or to reshape it and recolor it as you want. Black or red are popular colors.
Lenses are also often worn, either the special effects ones or the more classical circle lenses.

In shironuri, makeup is a step where you can have some fun and give a unique look to your whole outfit. Don't be affraid to experiment and draw on your face as you like! Kuchisake-onna's makeup (a sliced mouth with sharp teeths drawn on the side of the real mouth) or the japanese war flag are popular exemples. (No, it wasn't Kyary Pamyu Pamyu that invented this makeup, it is part of the japanese folklore).

Hairstyle

Black is the most classic hair color in shironuri, as it is the natural color of most japanese people. However, unnatural bright and flashy colors are also popular, often worn as wigs. 

Unless you are going for an all-in-white outfit, I would recommend avoiding pale hair color such as blond or white, as it won't contrast with the white makeup and your face will look larger. 

SHIRONURI fashion icons
(Now is the moment you will all think ''MINORI'', but sorry she is not the one I want to talk about first.)

TSUNOSHI (津野氏)
Tsunoshi is the very first person that got me into shironuri fashion. Her style is inspired by grandmothers and old clothing, and includes many handcrafted accessories. She calls herself a ''fat magician'' that can't perform magic tricks, but that crafts and draws.
She is well known in the shironuri community as she attends and organizes shironuri meetings. Oh and she is really kind~
Facebook Fan Page - Tumblr - Twitter - Ameba

N.96
N.96 is known for her impressive monster masks and makeups. All of her masks and other props are handmade. Her inspiration comes from Halloween and she likes to create ''colorful monsters' .
Twitter - Ameba

KAZE TAKA(風鷹)
Kaze Taka is easy to recognize with her bird-skull-like hat that she almost always wear. Beside attending shironuri meetings, she also performed with Tokyo Decadance. She also does some accessory crafting.
Twitter - Ameba

 (on the right)
URI (兎り)
Uri is a deco-boy who is part of both the harajuku and the shironuri communities, sometimes dressing in decora style, sometimes doing shironuri makeup and often mixing both of them.
Ameba

MINORI
Minori is probably the most popular shironuri artist on the internet right now (at least on tumblr). She has a style that is unique to her and as she states herself in her interview with Tokyo Fashion that it differs from the usually darker shironuri style. Her inspiration comes from nature and vintage european fashion. Her outfits often include pale puffy and curly wigs, dolly-like makeup and many layers of pale frilly clothing. She also draws and crafts.

Website - Facebook Fan Page - Tumblr - Twitter - Ameba

Those are only a few people from this wonderful community. If you want to see more shironuri pictures, I would recommend to take a look at Qhoto. It is the personal website of the photographer ''Nao-san'' who attends a large variety of underground events and shironuri gatherings.
There are also few videos of shironuri meetings on youtube.
Shironuri fashion walk @ Takeshita Doori
Shironuri people introducing themselves and their outfit  (in japanese)

About ANGURA culture (NSFW warning – there is no explicit content, but I will be talking about some R-18 stuff. )

''angura'' comes from the japanese pronunciation of ''underground'' (anda gurando). The underground culture touches to many artistic aspects such as theater, manga, painting and music. Please note that this is in no way an exhaustive list. There are many more, but naming them all would be endless.
Basically, the angura world is like a big spider web where everything is connected. I selected only a few artists from each cathegory who seemed to me the most relevents to understand shironuri fashion's influences.

ANGURA theater

From all the cultural aspects of the underground, theater is probably the one that had the stronger influence on shironuri. As I said at the beginning of this article, before becoming a fashion trend, shironuri was worn by stage actors. At the end of the 20th century, there were still a lot of actors that would wear shironuri makeup on stage.



[Angura theater posters. From left to right : Tenjo Sajiki, Tokyo Grand Guignol, Gesshoku Kageki Dan and Kaiten Hyakume Theatrical. ]

TENJO SAJIKI (天井桟敷) – from 1967 to 1983
Tenjo Sajiki is a legendary angura theater founded by Terayama Shuuji. The name of the company comes from the french movie ''Children of Paradise'' (''Tenjo Sajiki no Hitobito'' in japanese). Along with the Joukyou Theater, the Wasedashou Theater and the Theater Kuro Tent (other theater companies from the same time), they were called the four kings of the underground. They presented experimental plays with erotic and grotesque elements. They did adaptations of many well known stories such as Blue Beard, The Little Prince and Dr. Caligari.
Terayama Shuuji was an important figure of the underground culture. In adition to writing and directing theater plays, he also was a poet and a film director.

TOKYO Grand Guignol (東京グランギニョル) – from 1983 to 1986
The compagnie's name and concept was inspired by the french Grand Guignol theater. Their plays featured boys in school uniforms, shironuri makeup, blood and grotesque elements. They only performed 4 plays before dissolving.
Their most well known play is probably ''Litchi HIKARI Club'' which was adapted into a manga by Furuya Usamaru.
[Mercuro – 1984, GARACHIA TEITO MONOGATARI – 1985, Litchi HIKARI Club – 1985, Walpurgis – 1986]

GESSHOKU KAGEKI DAN (月蝕歌劇団）''The Lunar Eclipse Opera'' – from 1985 to today
Gesshoku Kageki Dan was founded by Takatori Ei, who also wrote most of its plays. They performed several plays based on Terayama Shuuji's works and adapted many mangas such as Metropolis and Shoujo Kakumei Utena. They also did a play inspired by Yumeno Kyuusaku's famous novel Dogra Magra.
Website

KAITEN HYAKUME (廻天百眼) – from around 2005 to today
Kaiten Hyakume is a quite recent theater group that performs in many underground events. Their plays include grotesque and traditional japanese elements, and shironuri makeup.
In 2011 they did a play based on Maruo Suehiro's manga Shoujo Tsubaki. Their most recent play is Onihime.
Website
Trailer for Kaiten Hyakume's Shoujo Tsubaki 

EROGURO manga

The genre ''eroguro'' comes from the expression ''Erotic Grotesque Nonsense''. It features explicit gore and sexual content in a strange and disturbing setting. Angura theater plays and eroguro mangas are often quite similar.
Magazines : Garo, Yasou(夜想), Takarajima(宝島)



[From left to right : Maruo Suehiro's Shoujo Tsubaki, Furuya Usamaru's Litchi Hikari Club and Kago Shintaro's Anamorphosis no Meijuu]

MARUO SUEHIRO (丸尾末広)
Maruo is a mangaka born in 1956. In his high school years, he tried to get published by Shonen Jump, but his submission was rejected because it was too graphic for the magazine. He later became an important contributor to the underground magazine Garo. Frequent themes in his mangas are Showa Era, circus freaks and other odities.
Some of his most famous works are Barairo no Kaibutsu, Yume no Q-SAKU, Shouji Tsubaki, Maruo Jigoku and LUNATIC LOVER'S.
He was involved in the production of Tokyo Grand Guignol and drew the posters for their plays.
He also drew the cover for R shitei's album ''Nihon Chinbotsu''.
His manga Shoujo Tsubaki was made into an animation movie named ''Midori''. It was also adapted into a theater play in 2011 by Kaiten Hyakume Theatrical.
Website

FURUYA USAMARU (古屋兎丸)
Furuya Usamaru in a mangaka born in Tokyo in 1968. In his high school years, he discovered the underground culture through Tokyo Grand Guignol's plays. He was later published in the magazine Garo. His style is greatly inspired by Maruo Suehiro (there are many reccuring elements between their works such as black stars and licking eyeballs).
He did the manga adaption of Sono Shion's Suicide Club movie and of Tokyo Grand Guignol's play Litchi Hikari Club. He also drew a manga based on Dazai Osamu's novel Ningen Jikkaku. Genkaku Picasso is one of his more recent publications.
His independent works include Palepoli, Garden, and other oneshots.
Blog - Twitter

KAGO SHINTARO (駕籠真太郎)
Kago Shintarou was born in 1969. His style mixes grotesque elements with science fiction and extreme sex. Some of his works include Hannya Haramita, Yume no Omocha Koujo, Anamorphosis no Meijuu and many oneshots.
Website

Authors
YUMENO KYUUSAKU
Born in 1889, Yumeno Kyuusaku is a writer from the early Showa era. His style is know as avant-gardism and surrealistic. His gothic novel Dogra Magra was adapted to the theater by Gesshoku Kageki Dan. Maruo Suehiro's manga Yume no Q-SAKU (pronounced ''Yume no Kyuu-saku'') is probably named after him.

Artists 

[Covers of Yamamoto Takato's artbooks]

YAMAMOTO TAKATO (山本タカト)
Yamamoto Takato is a painter and illustrator born in 1960. He released many artbooks through his career. His style is characterised by naked women in shibari, school uniforms, traditional japanese elements and grotesque.
He drew the cover art of Dir en Grey's Dozing Green single.

Website

LUCIO MAEKAWA(前川ルチオ)
Lucio Maekawa is a painter from Osaka. He is not a major artist yet. His paintings are unrealistic and use grotesque and symbolic elements.
He did many collaborations with Nao-san, painting portraits of shironuri/angura people based on Nao-san's photos.
Website - Tumblr
Lucio Maekawa's collaboration with Nao-san (on Qhoto)

Bands

INUGAMI Circus DAN (犬神サーカス団)
Inugami Circus Dan was formed in 1994 by Inugami Kyouko through an announce she posted in the magazine Garo. They began performing in 1997. Their visual features shironuri makeup, a kimono for Kyouko and school uniforms for the three male members.
In 2011, they did the music for Kaiten Hyakume's play ''Shoujou Tsubaki''.
Website
Inugami Circus Dan PV DEAD END KIDS on youtube

GURUGURU EIGAKAN (グルグル映畫館)
Guruguru Eigakan is a visual kei angura group formed in 1995. They disbanded in 2012. Their concept is based on the eroguro nonsense. They always appear in school uniforms and shironuri makeup. Their performances are very theater-like.
Website

Strawberry Song Orchestra (苺楽團・ストロベリーソングオーケストラ)
Strawberry Song Orchestra was founded in 1998. They have many former members, but their current lineup is composed of 17 members (8 actors, 8 musicians and their leader, Miyaaku Sensha).
They call themselves ”freak show punk” (見世物パンク一座).
The band concept is based on the opposition of reality and fiction, and the illusional town ”Kagamimachi” (mirror town). All members have two names, their ”real” name and their ”kagamimachi” name.
Strawberry Song Orchestra’s world is greatly influenced by the works of Terayama Shuuji, Edogawa Ranpo, Yumeno Kyuusaku and angura bands such as Guruguru Eigakan and Inugami Circus Dan.Website
Strawberry Song Orchestra PV Mekki no Circus on youtube

cali≠gari
Cali Gari is a visual kei experimental rock band formed in 1992. It was named after the horror movie ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari''. Their concept is also based on eroguro nonsense.
Website
Cali Gari PV MAGURO on youtube

Litchi HIKARI Club (ライチ☆光クラブ)
Litchi Hikari Club is an unit created by Hakuei from Penicillin that released 17 songs over two years. It featured various artists such as Kimura Yuu and members from the band Anli Pollicino. The PVs and the lyrics were inspired by Furuya Usamaru's manga. The songs were also used in Litchi DE Hikari Club anime.
Their last album, Grand Guignol, is a direct reference to Tokyo Grand Guignol's theater. There is also a reference to Maruo Suehiro's first manga, Barairo no Kaibutsu, at the beginning of the song Dark Night. Finally, the song ''GAGAGA'' is probably a reference to Sono Shion's Tokyo GAGAGA (as Hakuei stated in an interview, the song was supposed to give the feeling of a demonstration).
Website
(this website also includes all the information on the recent theater representations and on the anime)
Litchi Hikari Club PV Haikyo no Teiou on youtube

Movies



[From left to right : Suicide Club, Strange Circus and Guilty of Romance]

SONO SHION (園子温)
Sono Shion is a poet and a filmmaker.
He organized in 1997 the Tokyo GAGAGA, a guerrilla performance poetry-reading where poets would walk in the streets with flags shouting ''Tokyo GAGAGA!''.
He is mostly known for his movie ''Suicide Club'' released in 2001, about the high rate of suicides in Japan. A manga adaptation of his film was made by the mangaka Furuya Usamaru. Furuya also played in two of Sono's films, ''Love Exposure'' and ''Noriko's Dinner Table''.
His movie ''Strange Circus'' is a great exemple of a modern eroguro movie, as it is inspired by Grand Guignol's theater and features sexual content with extreme gore and other odities.

Website
Video of Tokyo GAGAGA (english dub)
Strange Circus Trailer (english sub)

Events



[Posters for GANTAI Alice SHOKOGUN event, from 2010, 2012 and 2013]

GANTAI Alice SHOKOGUN (眼帯アリス症候群) ''Eyepatch Alice Syndrome''
Underground event held every two months in Tokyo and Osaka. It features a large variety of performers, from angura bands to theatrical groups and Djs.

[Strawberry Song Orchestra, SaTaN, GPKism, Kaiten Hyakume Theatrical, DJ Tetra]
Snaps from Style Arena taken at this event, showing Tsunoshi and two members of Kaiten Hyakume, Tetra and Mariko.
Gantai Alice Shokogun photos on Qhoto

Fashion Walk

The Harajuku fashion walk isn't the only fashion walk in Japan. Since a few years ago, there is one taking place in Nara too. As the angura community is bigger in this area, there are a lot more shironuri participants than in Harajuku.
Nara fashion walk photos on Qhoto
Video on youtube

Zombie Walk – HYAKKI YAKOU (百鬼夜行) ''Night Parade of One Hundred Demons''
Shironuri people like to dress up as monsters! Zombie Walks and Hyakki Yakou (a demon night parade based on japanese folklore) are often organized by the shironuri community.
Zombie Walk photos on Qhoto
Hyakki Yakou photos on Qhoto

Anima Animus (アニマアニムス)
The Anima Animus is a ''secret'' club managed by Strawberry Song Orchestra in Osaka.
There are two songs (Shihainin Kara no Aisatsu and Anima Animus) from their album ''Gesshoku no Circus'' that explain the club's purpose.
The name of the club probably comes from Carl Jung's analitycal psychology, the Anima being the inner feminine part of a male personnality and the Animus the masculine part of the female one.
The club holds themed events, performances and art expositions. (Lucio Maekawa's paintings and Nao-san's photos are currently exposed there.)
Ameba

Sorry for this long post! Thank you to those of you who read it until the end~~
I hope that from now on more people will get to like this community as I like it myself!
 ✝nii 

Pop Kakumei's holidays!

Hello Pop Kakumei fans! I hope you all spent an amazing Christmas time with the people you love the most and had fun!

This year, Christmas was very particular to each of us, as we had special guest coming from Toronto and Quebec, and all Pop Kakumei members were together as it should always be!

On the 25th,  , Berry Pinku arrived and we had diner together at Momo’s, to be honest we wanted to cook Chinese food for SV because if you didn’t know IT WAS HER BIRTHDAY TOO!  However as everything was closed the only option left was Chinese takeout, which was still good! After that we played “secret Santa” and exchanged gifts, as you can imagine SV got some extra gifts for her birthday!

On the 26th  Kumi arrived and we wanted to go shopping as crazy because it was the Boxing Day! But as usual… the security guards didn’t like us much because we were a big group and told us to go away… Then we went to a bubble tea place and after that we had to say bye to Peach Pinku , that was really sad… and finally we went back to Momo’s place.

For the rest of the holidays we wanted to do different activities as go trhifting and taking our guests to different parts of Montreal, however as the weather was really bad, that  always went to the shopping mall to eat and go shopping, it can seem repetitive, but actually it was really fun, as long as we are together we always have lots of fun and do crazy things!

New Year’s Eve was also cool! Jiji organized a party at her place and cooked delicious Korean food, even if she doesn’t believes so, she’s a quite good at cooking. While I was busy working, the Pop Kakumei members watched movies, danced and had lot's of fun! 

To be honest those holidays were the best in my life, I was really happy to spent so much time with all my friends, we were like a family, cleaning, cooking and living together, seeing everybody going back home made me really sad, however I know we’ll get to see each other again soon, at G-anime! Thank you all who made an effort to come visit us in Montreal and make this holidays possible!

Finally, to everybody who supports Pop Kakumei, We also want to thank you, 2012 was an important year for us because we created Pop Kakumei and we promise you in 2013 we’ll show and even more amazing side of us, please look forward it!

~*~ Fairy Kei ~*~

As most of your probably know, fairy kei is a Japanese Harajuku style that consists of pretty pastel colors and cute patterns. Since 2010 the style "Fairy kei" has been growing more and more popular over the internet which is why it is important to have an article explaining it to you all!

            Let's start by defining what fairy kei is. When people think about fairy kei they usually associate it with pastels and some crazy motifs. The classic coords are usually cute tops with tutus or bloomers as bottoms, but tutus are usually the popular ones. Pastel tights with cool colored vintage running shoes or even cute "lolita" shoes. Most of the time fairy girls use wigs (lots of times in pastel colors or blonde) for beautiful voluminous hair to fit all the cute accessories! Though, do not go overboard with accessories. Fairy kei is not Decora after all~ Keep the accessories in your hair not too overwhelming. A few bows with some cute little clips or mocomoco accessories is perfect!

           Now a style that fairy kei is often mistaken with is Spank!. The two styles are indeed very similar and it is very easy to confuse them. When I started out wearing fairy, I thought it and Spank! where the same style but with two different names. But they are easy to differenciate when keeping in mind that Spank! is inspired by the 80s in Japan with funky prints and 80s inspired coordinations. Below is a good example of a Spank! coord worn by our Mochi at Otakuthon~ You guys can probably see the differences easily between the fairy and spank! style now, right?

            The makeup is also an important factor of the fairy kei style! Coordinations are just half way~ Hair and makeup are important as well! As I explained before, hair can be a wig which just makes everything easier! But natural hair is good too! Pigtails or buns do the trick perfectly~ Moving onto makeup, which is the fun part! Stick to pastel eyeshadows or vibrant pinks and blues~ Remember to not make the makeup too dark! Circle lenses are a must ! Unless of course you have eye problems..... which no one can really do anything about.

For those of you who have a hard time with your makeup or don't know the basics of it, I prepared a little tutorial for you so here it is!

And to sum things up, I prepared a little shopping list for you! Hopefully it will help you out~

~~*~Online stores~*~~

• Milklim: This is a typical Fairy kei brand, it has adorable clothes! They can be found at http://oshamagic.ocnk.net/ Make sure to translate your page though, unless you can read japanese! (Note that this shop works with shopping services, so there will be a commission price on the overall)

• Swimmer: This shop has the most adorable accessories and cutesey things for your phone, home and much more! I think it specializes less in clothing and works more on bags, fashion goods and cute interior things~ Their products are very cute and a very affordable price! You can find them here~ http://www.swimmer.co.jp/SHOPPING/ (Note that this shop works with shopping services, so there will be a commission price on the overall)

• ManiaQ: ManiaQ has really adorable merchandise! Their physical shop has closed but luckily they still sell online! Their tights are really cool~ The store itself has a mixture of Spank! and Fairy Kei too! Overall they are very good shop for fairy kei clothing and accessories~ You can find them here: http://maniaq.ocnk.net/ (Note that this shop works with shopping services, so there will be a commission price on the overall)

• Pinkly Ever After: This shop is found on etsy and has really adorable clothes! The accessories are perfect and it's great for fairy kei! They have limited stock and update with new stuff regularily so check that out! Their website is http://www.pinklyeverafter.com/ which also has a link to the shop~

• Bodyline: This is not a fairy kei brand but certain sections of their shop has some clothes that would work out well for fairy kei and that are a very affordable price. Mostly for cutsews, panniers (tutus!), shoes, socks and other sections where you can dig out fairy kei stuff! You can find them riiiiight here~ http://www.bodyline.co.jp

• 6%Dokidoki: Not everything on 6%Dokidoki is traditional fairy kei, they have kind of a POPkei style but a lot of accessories and clothes work great for fairy kei! Wish on my Shooting Star necklace is one of my personal favorite accessories of all time! Here is a link to their recently opened online shop! http://6dokidoki.shop-pro.jp/

• Chocomint: Chocomint is the perfect brand for accessories! They are inexpensive, cute and perfect for fairy kei! Here is a link to where you can buy their merchandise~ http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/chocomint/ or http://closetchild.ocnk.net/ (I recommend Rakuten though, it has a wider selection~)

            I hope this small shopping list helped you out a bit if you are trying out fairy kei or needed any help with finding some things. But if you have trouble with online shopping, your local thrift shop is your best friend! Thrift stores have so much fairy kei material, it is crazy! And it's so cheap!!! Places like American Apparel have really good pastel tights and surprisingly you can even find some stuff hidden in H&M or Forever21 if you look closely enough~!

So now that you understand fairy kei a little better, hopefully... Go out and have fun! Try it out for yourself~ (/^o^)/ ~~**~*~

article by Momo~

A Guide to Thrift Shopping

One of the most important aspects of the harajuku underground fashion scene is the strong feeling of individuality, and every day the desire to "stand out" is taken to a further level.

Trends are created, set and changed by people instead of leading brands and designers. Instead of looking for the expensive trench coat that everyone wears, they will hunt down that old coat that was in vogue 20 years ago and add lace, studs, or paint on it. That's the key to the underground harajuku spirit: make everything you wear your own. I'm not saying that brands aren't present at all, but they don't predominate and they, most of the time, have little influence and importance, as people will prefer shopping in resale and thrift shops over shopping malls and high class signature stores.

Thrift and resale stores are gaining more and more popularity (and not only in Japan) because practically everything you will find in them is unique. Every time I go thrift shopping, I personnaly feel like I'm on a treasure hunt, and every single find is precious.

Why you should shop in thrift stores

Thrift shops are perfect if you're a little low on money like me and you can't always afford mainstream stores' price ranges. They are so avantageous price-wise that when I occasionaly find myself at the mall, everything seems infinitely more expensive, and any purchase hurts.....

This said, you think twice about it and decide that it indeed is a dream come true! You can buy five times or more the amount of clothes and accessories you'd have bought online or anywhere else, really.
However, thrift shopping is somewhat like lottery. You never know what you're gonna find, or if you're even going to end up buying something. Be patient is the first thing I'd tell you. Then, don't have any expectations. You're not looking for your dream item here, because chances are you'll never find it. Just start the day without any specific set goal, and just look around anywhere you can.

Where to look (in chain thrift stores like Vallue Village and Goodwill/Rennaissance)

Anywhere is the key word here, or okay, almost anywhere. Most of the time, you can avoid the electronics or underwear section without missing anything...
Yet, some relevant sections are sometimes overlooked. Never be lazy while thifting! You don't wanna miss a perfect opportunity!

For example, even if you avoid the underwear section (those are kind of unhygienic and I wouldn't reccomend them even if they've been "washed".), the lingerie and nightwear section is one of my favorite. It's a must for styles like Spank!, Cult Party and Fairy Kei. It's where you'll find all those sheer nighties and long pretty nightgowns, corsets, and if you're lucky, garters that are a must for layering in Cult Party. You'll also find cute pajama tops that can be remade in dresses or t-shirts.

 nighties from the lingerie/nightwear section

The men section is another pretty useful area that you'll forget but wait! It's awesome for baggy sweaters and really large t-shirts ( just don't think about the fact it might have been worn by a dirty obese man... and it will be okay...). I once found a huge old Adidas t-shirt and cut it into a tank top/dress!

baggy t-shirts from the men section

This part here isn't available for everyone, but if you're small and thin, never overlook the children section. I'm not saying the baby section, but in the racks for 8-14 years old, you'll find pretty big sized clothes that will fit (sometimes with little adjustments here and there). I've found all sorts of dreamy clothing there: vintage grimoire-looking dresses, old pastel sweaters and milklim worthy skirts~

vintage dresses from the children section
(they all fit me, some with small adjustments here and there)

What you should know about Vallue Village and Goodwill/Rennaissance

The difference between the two is that Goodwill is a non-profit organisation helping reintegrate people into society, and Vallue Village is a commercial group making money on every item bought, while Goodwill barely does. In other words, Goodwill's prices are slightly lower but unfortunately their items are usually less taken care of; you'll be more likely to find ripped or stained clothes, so verify ever piece carefully. Vallue Village has, on the other hand, a more strict policy, so while their items are in better shape, their policy is more strict. That means no selling items without a price tagg. It happens often I'll find something  awesome and they'll refuse to sell it because the tagg fell off without me noticing, saying "come back tomorrow"... so be careful about that too. Both have their good and bad points~

Other places to check out

Aside from chain stores, which are the easiest choice because of their wide selection and various accessible locations, don't forget to look for smaller independant stores.

Another good option, if you're not bothered by money and you're willing to pay a bit more for the hunting job all done for you, resale stores are always really interresting. They're in fact all over harajuku: Spank!, Virgin Mary and Grimoire to name a few, are all resale stores where the employes search in every thrift store they can (even overseas!) and select the best items, or in this case, items that fit in a specific theme: Rockabilly, Antique, 80's, Pop, the list goes on.
It'll be easier for you to find what you want; just look for stores that appeal to your personnal style! I'm not saying you'll find shops like Spank! in your city (I highly doubt it, unfortunately), but resale stores' stocks are way more interresting and inspiring!
The only "bad" point is that they actually know the value to items they sell, so it might get expensive sometimes...

Prepare yourself mentaly

Thrift shopping isn't the hardest thing to do, really, but it's always good to know what to expect beforehand. To have an efficient thrifting session, you will need:

• A lot of patience. When going to Vallue Village, it's worth it to look around for at least two hours, and don't be mad if you don't end up finding anything good. Try again soon, the stocks change frequently!

• An open mind. Don't narrow your research too much, you could find something nice in nearly every section. Don't limit yourself to only the obvious!

• Experience in a certain style, or just a good fashion/coordination sense. While it is not a necessity, it's certainly a huge plus. In opposition to mainstream stores where they guide you with color palettes, mannequins and proposed coordinates, how you should dress, how you whould wear this particular top with that particular skirt and those specific jeans with those specific shoes, thrift stores leave you with nothing but your intuition and it might get difficult to find something if you have no idea how you'd wear it. Having an overflowing imagination is a good point too, that way you can easily visualize remakes and customs, buying pieces you would never wear and modifying them into something new and unique.

Tips and warnings

• Be careful for stained or ripped clothes when shopping in any used clothing store that isn't resale.

• Sort out your finds to narrow your purchase; the low prices make it even more easier to flush all your money in one go, and you'll rarely have to reflex to "only buy what you really need" (believe me, I have a hard time reminding myself, sometimes...). This way you'll spend less, and you'll avoid useless items you bought for a "why not, maybe i'll use it one day" pilling up in your room.

• Choose your shopping places well, especially if you're going to a more underground store. A place filled with old clothes and furniture is favorable for ticks and bugs, and you don't want them invading your house because of this. I wouldn't reccomend stores in really poor neighborhoods or badly kept places. Trust me, finding something in those places isn't worth the risk of dealing with extermination fees and mattress shopping.

• For the trip to be worth it, allow a period of time for the stock to renew itself. Select various shops in your city and alternate between those places. I try to go alone about twice every month to one of my two favorite spots.
  You can also plan big thrifting days with your friends and make an itinary with 6 or 7 different stores. (This is only a reccomendation, but going with friends who have a very different style from yours is normaly easier because you won't end up fighting over anything and this way you can all help each other finding stuff~)

• Don't forget to put all the clothes you bought in the laundry as soon as you go home and wash them as soon as possible before wearing them. This applies to plushies too. Hand wash toys and disinfect earrings with alcohol before wearing them. You never know where your purchases come from, so better be safe than sorry. You usually don't have to do this for resale stores of course, for they're normally equivalent to mainstream shops in therms of hygiene and the washing was done by the staff.

All in all, thrifting is a perfect way to indentify yourself through fashion by finding unique pieces. It's perfect for creating your own style without being limited by brands and seasonal trends. With a little effort, it's easy to dress exactly the way you want!


Good luck and have fun!

J-fest!♪

As you should already know, on the 20th of October, Pop Kakumei participated to J-fest Halloween Edition. We met Kumi at the metro station early in the morning, as she had travelled from Québec city just to see us! Then, we went shopping a little to buy light sticks and some other things for the event. As everybody was here, I decided to do my birthday party earlier, so we went to a Mexican restaurant where they give you a sombrero and sing for you when it’s your birthday~!

At around 6pm, we went to Momo’s house to get ready. To be honest it was quiet stressful as we all wanted to be perfect for the occasion! We helped each other by doing our hair and sharing our makeup, Pop Kakumei works the best when we are all together! At around 9pm we were all ready and dressed up. Everyone tried to represent a different fashion style, from fairy kei, to cyber pop, cult party kei and even shironuri.

We arrived to the venue a little early, we were all excited and patiently waited for the meet and greet with Takuya Angel to start. He was really kind and a little shy~ We presented ourselves and introduced the group, as Nii speaks Japanese fluently and Jiji is studying really hard we were able to communicate with him.  There was also a booth for his brand with lots of interesting accessories and clothes.

During the night, we spent time with our friends, dancing, eating snacks and meeting new people. Not all the girls in Pop Kakumei enjoy dancing as much as I or Momo, but we all had fun. 

When we were really tired we came back to Momo’s place. After undoing our hair, removing our makeup and changing into our pyjamas, everybody sang happy birthday to me in different languages and we ate cake.  Pop Kakumei’s favorite way to eat a cake is to give each person a fork and just share the whole cake without cutting it! We don’t have pictures of this because at that time of the night we looked like mommies!

Because we bought VIP tickets for J-fest we were able to spend the next day with Takuya Angel, we went to a famous restaurant where they specialise in poutine, a typical French Canadian dish. After the delicious meal, we took a walk to the downtown to finally end up in chinatown as usual! We can’t help ourselves! 
Unfortunately we weren’t expecting to spend the day with such a guest, so we didn’t have any good outfits prepared…

To conclude, it was such an amazing weekend with lots of surprises and the best part is that the whole Pop Kakumei was together!  I hope we’ll get to see Kumi again soon!

Harajuku Meeting~☆

Two weeks ago, we went to Montreal's annual harajuku meeting! It is the second biggest harajuku event of the year, along with the St-Dolorès (lolita meeting) in spring.

 Everyone gathered at the nearest subway station, then we walked together to the park where the meeting was held. It was cold outside so we all had to wear big coats (we only took them off to take pictures).

Momo and Reiko had a great time with Pomme and took pretty pictures together~!

Before leaving, we went to an old church nearby to take our snaps.

We were happy to see our friends!

(Momo was doing weird faces as always) 

At the end of the day, we went to the Chinatown where we met Jiji and we had bubble tea together~

Jiji's Birthday party!

On September 12th our dear Jiji turned 18 years old, however as we were all rather busy with college and work we couldn’t properly make her a birthday party until the 3rd of October! She put us in charge of planning her birthday secretly. 
As we all have different schedules so the guests arrived at different times, yet we did a good number of different activities! 

First, we went trifthing to a place called ‘Eva B’ where you can find all kind of used and vintage clothing and even costumes, we were a little short on money as usual (LOL) so we couldn’t buy much stuff, however we had fun looking around. 

Then, we found a piercing and tattoo salon with Nii’s help. Jiji is such a huge fan of ear piercings and as a collective gift we offered her the piercing of her choice! We all went with her 

to the piercing room to support her (LOL) even though it apparently didn’t hurt much and now she feels ready to have more and more piercings! 

Just before supper time, we had the pleasure to meet with “Kami-sama”, a designer-DJ-producer and organiser. We discussed about our future plans and of course the J-Fest, an awesome event taking place on Oct. 20th. Please look forward it! Pop Kakumei is working hard to get ready to create a good impression! 

For supper, we went to a Thai restautant. We always have a hard time deciding where we should eat and even when we try to eat something different we always end up at an Asian restaurants as the good Asianaboos we are, right! The food was rather good but the portions were way toooo big or us!!
Then, we lighted up the candles and ate the delicious cake together. I wonder what Jiji wished for… I hope she wished for Pop Kakumei to be successful! 

Finally, we went to the arcades and played our favorite games: Mortal Kombat, motorcycle and car racing and a haunted attraction park game.

I really hope Jiji had an amazing birthday!