Fashionably Informed: Exploitation of Labor & Popular Clothing Retailers
Welcome to College Fashion’s biweekly column, Fashionably Informed. As a CF reader, it’s clear that you love fashion. But have you ever wondered about the drama that goes on behind the scenes? To keep you up to speed, this column aims to inform you about important issues and controversies in the fashion industry.
In case you missed them, see past posts on Retouching & Photoshopping, Tanning Promotion in the Media, Hypocrisy in Beauty Marketing, Racism in the Modeling Industry, “White-Washing” & Skin Lightening, Homosexuality in the Fashion Industry, Cultural Appropriation & Stereotyping in Retail Fashion, Underage Models on the Runway and in Editorials, and Culturally and Racially Offensive Halloween Costumes.
Forever 21 Store | Photo Credit
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Fashionably Informed: Cultural Appropriation & Stereotyping in Retail Fashion
Welcome to College Fashion’s biweekly column, Fashionably Informed. As a CF reader, it’s clear that you love fashion. But have you ever wondered about the drama that goes on behind the scenes? To keep you up to speed, this column aims to inform you about important issues and controversies in the fashion industry.
In case you missed them, see past posts on Retouching & Photoshopping, Tanning Promotion in the Media, Hypocrisy in Beauty Marketing, Racism in the Modeling Industry, “White-Washing” & Skin Lightening, and Homosexuality in the Fashion Industry.
Stylish Harajuku Girls w/ Pink Hair, Teddy Bear & Halloween Nail Art
Here are two stylish Japanese girls who we ran into on Halloween weekend in Harajuku. It was raining lightly when we met them, so we didn’t have time to get all of their brand info. Even in the rain, though, the Halloween nail art on the girl with the pretty pink hair caught our eye!
The girl on the left looks dolly-inspired, with a beautiful floor length-lace dress (it’s literally touching the ground), lace hair piece, and cute teddy bear. The bow tied around her finger is nice as well. The girl on the right is wearing a cool coat that mixes traditional kimono elements with the current sheer trend. She also appears to be wearing a half-shorts, half-skirt bottom. (Wish we would have found out where her outfit came from!) Her entire look comes together with the color red – from her hair tie, to her badge and Hello Kitty necklace, to her candy red shoes.
The girl on the right was also sporting cute Halloween nail art, which you can see in the final photo.
Harajuku Fashion Walk “FUNtasy Halloween Night” Party Pictures
Halloween may not yet be as popular in Japan as it is in the West, but more and more people here celebrate the spooky holiday every year. One of the reasons that Japanese people love Halloween is the same reason that people everywhere else do – it’s a great excuse for a party!
This year, the already-super-dressed-up-and-colorful Harajuku Fashion Walk crew threw a big bash called “FUNtasy Halloween Night” at club Milkyway in Shibuya. The event was supported by several popular Harajuku fashion brands, including Super Loves and Hyper Core. The quirky colorful J-rock band Broken Doll headlined the event. Other musical acts included Lancer>>Bee (whose singer is KERA model Ayumi Yamauchi) and Full House. The DJs for the night included ITARU (this guy has the most amazing two-tone hair you’ll ever see on a guy), Emuoka, and Asacho (the super-fun girls in the pumpkin costumes).
Between the bands, models walked the stage in clothes by Super Lovers, Hyper Core and Broken Doll (which is a fashion label as well as a band). Harajuku Fashion Walk participants also had their moment onstage to show off their own personal styles. In addition to the music and fashion, HiMiKo, machico, and KERA model Kurebayashi performed live painting. Kumamiki’s brand Party Baby, as well as mrntpls, Tamamura Nodoka, and Broken Doll set up booths to show off their handmade goods.
Kumamiki and Junnyan were nice enough to invite us to the party, and we brought back lots and lots of pictures to share with you! Happy Halloween everyone, and please click on all of the pictures to see them in super-extra high resolution!
Turning Tricks for Treats: The Most Inappropriate Girls’ Costumes on Sale this Halloween
Ah, Halloween… A night when college students, professionals, and celebrities can all dress like cheap hookers in public with little or no repercussions. It used to be that you had to wait, longingly, until you were a teenager to get all skankified. When I was little, my mom always forced me to weather-proof my Halloween costumes because it was “going to be really cold out.” (I must add that I was still the coolest Princess Jasmine ever with a beige turtleneck under my turquoise crop top.)
But based on the costumes available to pre-adolescents today, times have seriously changed. Apparently, frost-bite is no longer a concern! Neither is looking like a child prostitute. A quick peruse through the myriad of specialty costume sites was enough to educate me on how the elementary and middle school set is now expected to celebrate Halloween. Some noteworthy info: No little girl’s costume is complete without a microscopic tutu. Fishnets are perfectly appropriate children’s wear and not at all suggestive. And female fire fighters wear shiny go-go boots.
So without further ado, here’s a list of some stand-out, pedo-friendly costumes for you to look out for in your neighborhood this October 31. If you thought those Pretty Woman and Dolly Parton outfits on Toddlers & Tiaras were appropriate and adorable, just wait until you’ve seen “Pretty Lil’ Kitty” and “Tween Kimono Cutie Geisha”! You just wait.
Jennifer Aniston, Nicole Richie, Elizabeth Olsen at the Women in Hollywood Tribute
18 October 2011 at 13:48
If there was one place to be last night, it was the 18th Annual Women in Hollywood Tribute shindig. Held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills (natch), a whole host of A-list actresses were in attendance, from a super-sexy Jennifer Aniston snapped chatting to Evan Rachel Wood to up-and-comer Elizabeth Olsen sporting a very grown-up Calvin Klein gown. So you know what this means? Best Dressed o’clock!