Key Threads

Hi everyone,

I hope you all enjoyed my last post and in this one I’ve decided to go more in depth about the street culture present in Japan and some of the shopping that I got done whilst I was there.

While in Tokyo I got to stay in the newest city of Shinjuku,and after a day of feeling jet lagged,I managed to explore the city a bit more and realized that I was being exposed to a completely different level of retail shopping.

Brands upon brands,from flagship stores to malls exceeding twelve floors,the whole idea of shopping in Tokyo is present on a mammoth scale. The retailing hours are a bit different in comparison to South Africa as most stores in Japan only open at 11:00 am and close at 10:00 pm.
At first I was tempted by all the big stores like a moth to a light from Dior to Barney’s New York,it was truly amazing, but as I ventured on in my shopping experience I discovered more and more resale stores with brand new clothing from last season at almost half the price.Currently in South Africa we are already a season behind global fashion sometimes maybe even two seasons so what I could buy for half the price in Japan people are paying premium for back home and it made me question so much about how our retail environment works.

An example of this would be the pair of pre-owned Fear of God Nike moccasins that I purchased for about R2000 and are in pristine condition, whereas the same pair of shoes in South Africa would cost at minimum R4000.To be fairly honest that was the only resale store from which I actually purchased from,due to the sole reason that most of the stores did not have what I wanted.

I thought that I’d go to Japan and get brands authentic to the country but I was so blinded by all the larger brands we don’t get in South Africa and got a little carried away. I did however, get a pair of shoes from a Japanese designer I could have honestly gotten them anywhere but I wanted to experience Kickslab which is one of the biggest sneaker stores in Japan,where you can find anything from Yeezys to Jordans and everything else in between.The store is located on the same street as the Supreme and Undefeated. With smaller resale stores all around them it was truly astounding.The shoes in question were the Ambush Nike’s Air Max 180, I loved the look of them simply because they mimic the Mars Yard over shoe by Tom Sach but at a fraction of the cost.

I did plan to do a lot of clothing shopping which I was successful in but was a bit disappointed by size due to the fact that I’m an extra small in South Africa and a medium in Japan.This led to me not finding a lot of clothing that I like,because it usually gets sold out as soon as it hits the shelf.I did however,manage to catch the fear of god essentials drop,I had to get something from this drop due to the fact that it had reflective print. I also managed to get an Acne Studios crewneck which was out of sheer luck as they had my size, the Acne store experience was beyond amazing the minimalistic aspect of the store was incredible as was the Rick Owens store with all the staff members draped in high end brands it was truly amazing to see such level of style in retail.
I also managed to pay a visit to the Palace store in Harajuku which was amazing I always loved the brand but never really owned anything from it but being in the store I had to step up and get something which happened to be another shirt at almost half the price that we pay for it in South Africa.

I had visited Doverstreet Market in Ginza it was a strange experience and was let down as I somewhat expected more from it. I did enjoy the Ginza Six mall it was by far the best mall that I’ve ever been to,truly breathtaking. I purchased Y-3 from there and I also managed to pick up Helmut Lang just a basic logo tee due to the sizing issue,I had to settle for a larger shirt never the less I loved the design of the shirt. I was lucky enough to find Daily Paper in Shibuya for a crazy price.None of these shopping experiences however compared to that at Omotesando Hills it makes Sandton City seem like a mini shopping center, every store you could imagine is located in the area and I dream about going back there it was truly the highlight of my shopping trip.

I am so grateful to you for reading about my shopping experiences in Japan,will be updating soon.

This is something that I’ve wanted to do for the longest time and with a new outlook on life and a change of heart about many things I can finally share this piece of me and my experience.

I’ve always had the idea of starting a fashion blog,that showcased my perspective on certain things.I recently had the privilege of going to Japan where I spent two weeks in the fashion hub,east of Tokyo.

Fashion in Japan is at an incomprehensible level and is the heart of what I personally consider fashion.After visiting the breathtaking cities of Shinjuku and Harajuku,it is safe to say that South Africa is years behind in terms of fashion. Every person that one may pass has their own sense of fashion whether the inspiration stems from the greats of 80’s rap or the extremely futuristic ideas of Craig Green.It was truly mind blowing to experience the people of Tokyo shop seven days a week at stores that are considered high end.Gucci and Louis Vuitton littered the malls and could be found in multiple places by taking a mere five minute walk.

Something that became known very early in the trip was that Japan kept up with the latest trends,this meant that the second hand market was just as large if not larger than the normal market here in South Africa.With reasonable pricing and authentic goods it is no surprise that there are second hand clothing stores present all around the city,with items ranging from hype wear to jewelry to clothing that is considered elite.

However in cities considered fashion hubs such as Ginza and Shibuya,second hand stores became less popular and the streets were filled with flagships stores that had increasingly higher prices than Shinjuku and Harajuku and it is all due to the location.Being used to stores only occupying a small space on a floor in a mall in SA it was truly amazing to see that in Ginza,brands occupied entire buildings such as Hermès and Gucci.It really was a sight to see.

If you have a few days to spare,the search for clothing will be worth it and can be assured that you’d find what you are looking for.It was really refreshing to see that no matter the age of a person,they all had a sense of fashion with a personal touch,unlike many places where trends are drawn out for long periods of times till it is no longer a trend.

With the great fashion,exquisite food and rich culture,Japan is definitely a country that I personally recommend visiting.No days will be wasted in this breathtaking country and upon returning will leave you,the traveller,with a new and fresh outlook on life.

I can only say one thing which is thank you for reading my personal views and experience from my trip.Stay tuned for the next blog post where I go into detail about Japanese street culture and some personal shopping I did.