habitat!
digital camera, but you get the
idea.)
Youth fads in Japan aren’t all
that different from those in other countries in terms of their life cycle. They
start small, explode, then fade away. Some stick around longer than others, and
some are gone as quickly as they appeared.
One of the longest running ones was
the “loose socks” fad. It began in the mid-90s when Akira Tokita’s Browndoll
company introduced the very long, very loose socks. The fad exploded big time,
and over 600,000 pairs of the socks were sold in 1996 alone. It held on for a
long time, but the death knell sounded last year when Browndoll filed for
bankruptcy.
So endeth the
fad.
Or does
it?
The socks didn’t just evaporate
when the fad was over. There are plenty of them still out there. But since
they’re not “in” anymore, it’s rare to see them being worn.
But every now and then, you
get
lucky:
I
saw this girl on the Oedo line today. Not wanting to spook her, I was as sly as
I could be, and didn’t use the flash – so pardon the blur. And those are some
damned vintage socks she’s got on. I’ll bet those could stretch all the way up
to her neck!
I’ve got a few more days
left in Tokyo, so I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled (and camera ready!) for any
other unusual sights.
Stay
tuned!
^.^
(Some
source material for this bit came from the Mainichi
Daily News .)