✩ made of stardust and dreams ✩

Subcultural lifestyles are often related to music, and many of the spectacular outfits in this chapter are inspired by a rock genre known as visual-kei, meaning "visual style." Musically, the genre combines the weight of metal and punk with the melodies typical to most Japanese pop songs, and visually, it's a spectacle of spiked and dyed hair, heavy makeup and piercings, colored contact lenses, and costumes that make Kiss look boring. Young visual-kei fans dress in an array of subcultural styles from Lolita, punk, and goth to more uniquely Japanese styles such as decora-kei (decoration style) and Takuya Angel, a brand that dramatically combines a futuristic cyber look with a traditional Japanese one. Many of these spectacular Tokyo youths, however, only wear their subcultural uniforms at weekends. So who exactly are these people? And what are they wearing- uniforms, costumes, or fashion?

There are Lolitas, who come in all shapes and colors. The central aesthetic around which this look revolves is Little Bo Peep: frills, petticoats, ribbons, Mary Jane shoes, and bonnets. Kawaii or "cute" is central to this look, and indeed many girls get into Lolita because they feel prettier when wearing it. Variations on this kawaii theme abound: perhaps most famous is Gothic Lolita, or gosurori as it is known, which is different from Black Lolita, Pink Lolita, Country Lolita, Elegant Lolita, and so on.

If Lolita is based on a childish aesthetic, decora-kei borrows more from the toddler. This look consists of all manner of plastic accessories worn in abundance anywhere they can be hung or stuck, including little bows carefully clipped onto straight curtain bangs. Clothes in animal- or cartoon-character prints in fluorescent or bright clashing colors are also worn. In extreme cases, you may even see people in fully accessorized head-to-toe dinosaur or Pikachu costumes.

"Fancy dress" is not a concept limited to parties for many of Tokyo's more spectacular dressers. Whether dressing up as a videogame robot, an Elegant Gothic Aristocrat or a Pink Lolita, their sartorial inspiration often features a strong element of emulation.

While authentic goth and punk subcultures still exist in Tokyo, visual-kei has co-opted and reworked the goth and punk looks. "Sunday goths" might be mocked by fully paid-up members of the scene in the UK, but Tokyo's Sunday goths are a force in their own right. Schoolgirls and boys in their masses dress up in black, red, fishnet, and crucifix regalia and hang around conspicuously with their similarly dressed friends. For them, goth is a fashion: there are brand names behind the clothes they wear, and numerous magazines available for perusal of the latest styles. These goths do not make it to the goth clubs, do not go in for extensive body modification, and listen of course to visual-kei, not typical goth music. Young Tokyo punks are a similar story.

As in many countries, the original punk ideology has been diluted and virtually separated from the clothing, which has become just another type of fashion. Japanese teenyboppers wearing punk fashion tend to be fans of visual-kei music, unlike the mohicaned, multiple-pierced punks, who know their Clash from their Pistols.

Another burgeoning Tokyo subculture is that of the anime and manga geek, the otaku. Usually the otaku is dressed in nerdy, practical clothes, but is transformed when cosplaying (literally "playing in costume"). Cosplayers could be considered the Japanese Trekkies. They dress up to emulate as accurately as possible their favorite manga or anime character, and gather at special cosplaying events, often held at manga conventions. Visual-kei fans also enjoy cosplaying their favorite rock stars. Maid cafés (where the waitresses are in a sense cosplaying the typical manga maid) are another otaku favorite. But for heaven's sake, don't mistake a maid for a Lolita!

A trip on a Sunday down to Harajuku's Jingubashi, a pedestrianized bridge next to Harajuku Station, will reveal a true spectacle. Young visual-kei fans, mainly in their teens, decked out in a riot of styles, will be squatting in intimidating groups, posing for photographs, applying makeup, parading, and generally having fun. Except for when being photographed, they can be quite oblivious to the photography hobbyists and hordes of bemused tourists flocking around them. The bridge is more than just a place to hang out; it is a nurturing ground for the spectacular styles we cover in this chapter.

There is no doubt that all these spectacular and subcultural groups stand out, often in ways that are deemed socially unacceptable. But there is conformity within this rebellion: they are standing out together, in a similar way. As with uniforms, however, there is plenty of room for individual variation, and just as with uniforms, these outfits can be put on and taken off. The living doll Lolita that was moshing at a gig on Sunday may be back to normality in her school uniform on Monday.

LEFT: Short, punky Aki and long-haired Lolita Ageha make a slightly odd couple, but they are here in one of Shinjuku's many game centers "on a date," they say. Ageha, with hair down to her thighs, has just won a Chaki bear, a goth mascot with bloody claws. They both like the brand Moi-même-Moitié, although neither is wearing it. Ageha wears a coat by Victorian maiden, carries a Jean Paul Gaultier bag, and the rest of her outfit is by Metamorphose-all brands held in high esteem by the gothic and Lolita crowd, although she admits to also liking the more saccharine Angelic Pretty label. Aki's punkier tastes come through with her preference for h.Naoto and Batsu, the latter being the brand of the dress she is wearing.

RIGHT: Kyoka (a pseudonym meaning "crazy song") has come to Jingubashi bridge to hang out with his friends and have his photo taken by the tourists and photographers who gather there every Sunday. At 24, he is getting by working at a ramen shop. His coat, costing ¥30,000, is from Black Peace Now, a popular gothic and rock brand, one of his favorites, along with h.Naoto. Like many visual-kei rock stars he wears colored contact lenses and heavy makeup. Perhaps he has picked up some tips from Gothic & Lolita Bible, a magazine he regularly reads.

LEFT: These girls are serious about their goth fashion. With clothes from Atelier Boz, Moi-même-Moitié, and Victorian maiden - some of the cream of the gothic and Lolita crop - they are making serious financial investments into their look. Moi-même-Moitié is the fashion brand set up by visual-kei legend Mana, formerly of the band Malice Mizer and now with new group Moi dix Mois. Mana is often credited with creating the Elegant Gothic Lolita look, of which the girl on the left is a good example.

RIGHT: Yu has expensive tastes: his outfit cost about ¥150,000 and his favorite designer is Alice Auaa, the Louis Vuitton of goth. Today he is wearing a Vivienne Westwood necklace and an Atelier Boz coat. He came to the bridge to meet a friend who had promised to wear a matching outfit, but who still hasn't turned up. "These are my new friends," he laughs, indicating the gaggle of adoring girls who surround him. Dressed like a gothic gentleman, he is certainly charismatic, and his appeal is enhanced by his good command of English (which he says he learned to impress a girl).

RIGHT: Lolitas cannot help looking younger than they really are-and perhaps this is intentional. This Lolita has a full-time weekday job and also makes regular appearances as a "reader model" in a couple of her favorite magazines, Kera and Gothic & Lolita Bible. Both owned by the same company, Kera covers all kinds of punk, goth, and cyber fashion while the latter is more selective. Most of her outfit is by Angelic Pretty.

BELOW: This flowery Lolita looks as if she has stepped out of a Victorian doll's house, but she is more into high-octane macabre visual-kei music than gardening. While Aya stands out from the black-swathed majority at the gig she is going to, her attire is entirely acceptable, and falls within the boundaries of the subcultural dress code.