by Jon Day


TOKYO John Elway Color Rush Jersey , July 5 (Xinhua) -- Once upon a time the word cute or " kawaii" in Japanese language and culture referred to an aesthetic that was deemed by the masses to posses the qualities of beauty and refinement. But fast forward to modern-day Japan, the word has become so pervasive that it can be used to describe anything from Chihuahua's dressed in doggy Chanel clothes and being pushed around in baby buggies, to the way a young lady has applied her eyeliner, or even to express the delight found in the way soft- scoop ice cream that is artfully decorated with strawberry sauce- shaped heart marks.


But, however the word is applied, one thing is for sure, in Japan being kawaii in any of its standard, trendy or outright bizarre manifestations is a good thing. To many Royce Freeman Color Rush Jersey , in fact, there's no greater compliment than being called or having something about your person, referred to as being "kawaii" and this refers to both men and women.


Such is the deep-rooted love of all things kawaii in Japan, that its constant evolution, particularly in the fashion world, is more science than culture and in Harajuku in Tokyo -- the universe 's spiritual home of all things "kawaii" -- to the uninitiated, kawaii fashion, usually a sub-genre or reinterpretation of one of the many Lolita fashion sub-genres Black Justin Simmons Jersey , is just a "quirk" of Japanese fashion and for tourists the chance to snap a pic of something far- removed from wherever they've hailed from.


Take the Gothic Lolita style for instance, which has borrowed heavily from more traditional eastern as well as Victorian Gothic style; comprising knee-length black skirts worn over ruffled petticoats for added volume, lace-trimmed white blouses with ruffled collars and cuffs for the Victorian effect, knee-length boots with optional ripped stockings and sometimes finished with bonnets and a parasol to ensure the edgy look is still "kawaii," -- to the untrained eye, odd, to the fashionists an expression of " self."


"I hang out in Harajuku most weekends and as much as I can when I'm not at school because it's not like Japan here, it's a different world; it's a world that we have created for people like us Black Jake Butt Jersey ," Sae, 17, a senior high school student, told Xinhua recently through her mesmerizing, yet clearly fake green eyes.


"When I was younger, I preferred the Sweet Lolita style, cause it's more girly and childish and it made me feel really pretty and innocent, like I'd be young forever and never grow up. I used to where a lot of pink pastels and lace and always wear lace socks or stockings under my ruffled skirt."


"My pink 6-inch platform shoes completed my transformation Black Chad Kelly Jersey , as a I felt so tall. But of course I carried a pink parasol, even if the sun wasn't out, just so everyone could see how super-cute I was," Sae, who said she plans to study veterinary science in university once she's finished school, said.


Clearly over her Sweet Lolita phase and looking distinctly more edgy in her gothic-inspired outfit and dark-hued makeup, Sae and her friend Chie said they're in no way rebels, as they're sometimes vilified as being in the media Black Brendan Langley Jersey , nor are they "freeters" - - young Japanese with no jobs, who don't study and spend most of their time on the streets, although still rely on handouts from their parents.


Chie, in fact, a year older than Sae, who describes herself as more Punk Lolita than Gothic Lolita, is something of a mathematics prodigy who not only tutors younger students at her school to pass the high school entrance exam, also plays mahjong at an advanced level and while gambling is illegal in Japan Black Carlos Henderson Jersey , confesses to have taken the odd guy or two for a ride.


"They assume because I'm cute, have long eyelashes, wear my hair in pony tails and speak in a high-pitched voice -- probably more so when I was into Sweet Lolita-Decora fusion fashion, and my entire baby pink outfits were decorated in tons of cute accessories, so you could hardly see my bag or shirt or anything -- that I must be dumb."


"If I told them which high school I went to, or which university I was likely to attend, they'd have been utterly surprised. So with mahjong booming for younger players like me, it 's kind of easy for me to dupe these old suckers!" she said giggling.


For Sae's part she likes the attention Black Demarcus Walker Jersey , but knows it's more of a hobby and way to spend her pocket money than a fixed lifestyle, and while she's happy to stop and have her picture taken by foreigners and sometimes poses at the "Lolita bridge" between Harajuku station and Meiji Shrine just next door -- so named for the gathering of hundreds of Lolitas of all descriptions on a Sunday afternoon -- is quick to dismiss any notion of her having ulterior motives for playing dress up.


"When I was a Sweet Lolita and taking the train from my house in Saitama Prefecture to come and hang out here, I could feel guys checking me out all the time and it made me feel really uncomfortable, because I wasn't dressing for them or for anyone, I was dressing this way because it made me feel really comfortable; putting on my cute outfits and my makeup was like putting on my real skin," Sae said, adding that hanging out with her girlfriends who were all into the same fashion made her feel comfortable, united and even more cute as they'd check out each other's outfits and accessories and compliment each other.


"I was only like 14 or 15-years-old in those days Black Garett Bolles Jersey , so these guys on the trains and sometimes on the streets trying to secretly take pictures of me were really creepy. I know that some guys have a 'lolicon' (a Japanese abbreviation of the term Lolita Complex), but their dysfunction has nothing to do with our style and I'm sure they'd ogle young girls however they were dressed," Sae said, adding that some parts of Shibuya and Shinjuku were renown for such behavior, yet Harajuku remained in her words "pure."


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