sushijerk

i understand what you are saying, but the point i would like you to adress in greater detail is why do these other countries emulate japan and not the west??

They do emulate the west. European luxury brands like Gucci and LV are making huge inroads into Asia. The upper class buy huge amounts of designer suits and accessories, but that market is mostly co-opted by a slightly older generation. I think you are mistaken in thinking that Asians don't covet the western style. If anything it is more prevalent than the Japanese style.

It is only the younger generation that are into Japanese luxury goods, partly because they don't want to look like thier parents who are decked out in LV.

with pure curiosity, does anyome have opinions about why other asian countries are on japan's dick and late (i have some, but would love to hear yours)?

generally speaking that is (don't worry. if you're a non-japanese asian, this may not particularly be about you. don't get mad, this is purely an academic interest.).

I've noticed this a lot, and I think this is because Japan is open to creativity and consumerism in a way that is simply not widely applicable to other Asian countries. Japan is at the forefront in areas like design, music, technology....and the "culture of youth", if you will, is a lot less suppressed in Japan than it is in other countries.

Other countries such as China are very restrictive about individual pursuits. There you do what your parents tell you, study all the time, goto college, and dress like everyone else who has a job. Alternative foreign cultures and ideas about sex are incredibally repressed. Even if a kid wants to dream, chances are he is too poor to do anything about it.

Why do people want to know about and copy the lives of movies stars and celebrities? To live vicariously. Other Asian countries just want to be the rebellious, influencial, and rich kid that Japan is, whether they want to admit it or not.

^^ explain the "fashion victim" idea you are getting at?

I'm just saying that sometimes a piece will look so distinct that it will be very obvious as to what collection it came from, or at least what collection it was obviously meant to emulate. What seems very stylish and fashion forward today can look very silly in the near future after the design has saturated the market.

Right now I'm seeing the houndstooth print all over the place, in jackets, scarfs, etc.... While it is a classic pattern, I don't think it was ever used that much outside of sport coats (and for good reason).

weird...in most of the public highschools in sf, it's all the thuggish types that wear pea coats with pants sagged below them. well, that was true when i was in hs.

This just blew my mind.

NO BUY. This is such a retarded trend, if you buy one, buy a cheap one. After next season, it'll just look stupid IMO. Plus, it only looks good on built tall men. If you are skinny or short, the cardigan will look off. And wearing it unbuttoned looks off as well. Buy a regular cardigan, you'll thank yourself later.

Totally agree. I can see this looking pretty cool, but if I do get it I would avoid the stripes/houndstooth patterned ones like the plague. Those are wearable for maybe 3 more months max before you'll look like a fashion victim.

I'm not a big fan of the typical Asian style at all. Everything is so trend-oriented with very little rewear value for the future. The Asian look can seem stylish/creative in America, until you goto Asia and realize that every guy at the mall plus every actor on MTV/teen dramas is dressed that exact same way. It is the overseas equivalent of high schoolers who are all decked out in Hollister pseudosurfer gear and think they are hot stuff.

Hits stores Nov.9.

and the shorts have cargo details

So......cargo shorts?

This is pretty freaking awesome. I certainly wouldn't mind if the NJ stores get the designer stuff but I highly doubt they would put it in that market. Their traffic is split between high schoolers and middle aged Asians from the burbs.

well, i can buy trashbags of a lot of authentic abercrombie goods in china at 10% or less of what they sell it for here. that's why i'm saying they are stupid.

This is true. China is where they dump all the stuff that is 1-2 seasons out of date, and they sell to chinese high school/college students for next to nothing. Depending on where you are, you can get gap jeans from $10 to as cheap as $4. None of the stuff is high-end, so you won't be seeing any of the nicer jackets or italian made items.

It's pretty funny, because you can find $70 Gap jeans for 30 RMB, but $30 Levis from JCPenny are always like 300 RMB.

do you have to pay monthly to be a member? if so, how much?

It's a yearly fee. Something like $50-75 I think?

Korean music artists strike me as fake as hell. A lot of girls are cute but I've never been into one single male artist. Maybe because so much of it is hip-hop, which asians just cannot pull off.

What's your guys opinion on the huge amounts of Engrish used in jrock? Sometimes it's cute but othertimes it just annoys the hell out of me. This is the case for a lot of Beat Crusader songs.

I saw Pillows in NYC last winter. Thier live show is f*cking awesome, plus I got the singer/guitarists' pick, which is cool. Sat next to the drummer at the bar but neither of us could understand a word the other guy was saying.

I'm a big nerd so I went to see Yoshiki of X-Japan in Baltimore over the summer. That dude would definitely be scary/busted if not for all the makeup he had on....and the hair extensions.

Love all of Shiina Ringo's stuff.

Isn't Dragon Ash Taiwanese though?

I was looking at it. Mostly didn't buy because I didn't want to order something from a foreign country where I wasn't sure of the fit or the comfort of the material.

fuchimama and corbin... i thought they were decent looks for a highschool dance actually. I remember highschool. I always tried to do something interesting for the dances though. I wore full out tuxs to most, but for junior prom I wore my family's plaid kilt. It was awesome.

Just wondering... is the classic highschool dance an american thing or is that fairly universal? By classic I guess I mean the guys dress up, take dates and everybody grinds on eachother while some shitty dj plays and bad lighting ensues.

I think they look decent as well. It doesn't matter what music movement it looks like they are emulating as long as the fit is good and they don't look like they borrowed everything from dad. I remember at my prom everyone looked like they just came from a job interview...at least this look is somewhat fun.

This version of the dance is pretty distinctly American. I know in Asia we don't really have anything like this.

Can running this kind of streetwear brand even be called designing? How long can it possibly take to come up with this stuff, especially when everything is just a variation on what everybody else is doing?

From what I can see the entire "culture" is a bunch of labels circle jerking each other and throwing parties while giving "mad props" to thier buddies X and Y because "they've been in the game" since whenever.

Anytime I see a pic of any streetwear designers gathering I think this is what a color blind frat party must look like. I know I'm a big hater.

You can't buy those. I think they are meant to be given out at the store director's discretion.

don't sleep on 2nd ave deli, either!

Didn't they close because the rent got too expensive? Last I checked they didn't re-open in a new location yet.

2nd Kenka and Pomme Frites. I'm there all the time. Great late night eats. Right in that area is a bar called Angel's Share, which is hidden upstairs behind a door in a yakitori restaruant. Awesome atmosphere and some of the best drinks in NYC. Note that this is a place to enjoy your cocktail, not to be a rowdy jackass or hit on people. They've a strict no standing, no yelling, no parties larger than 4 policy.

I'm going to recommend Room4Dessert over Chickalicious. Better bang for your buck imho. If you are into tapas goto Tia Pol.

wouldn't be bad if it was just the front and if the heart wasn't there

They just doubled thier market audience to include rappers AND skinny emo kids with that heart.

China is a great place for international travelers right now, and as a foreigner you will be treated MUCH more nicely than say....a Chinese ex-pat. However, keep in mind that literally every stranger you meet will be looking to make a buck off you. Beware overfriendly strangers and avoid buying anything on the street. If you plan on doing any unsupervised traveling I would suggest picking up a Frommers/Lonely Planet guide Shanghai or Hong Kong. Tons of great info and suggestions on sight seeing/eating/getting around.

Authentic items from Japan like Head Porter will be hard to find in mainland China. Your best bet is Hong Kong, although I don't know any places off the top of my head.

I find that most authentic Chinese food isn't really to the taste of foreigners. However, since you are going to be in Shanghai I would definitely seek out some dim sum and soup buns. I would also ask around to find some suggestions for local street food. Typically there will be "night markets" where food carts congregate and you can try a ton of variety for very little money.

Personally, I would avoid buying high-end or name brand items in Asia. China has a heavy import tax on a lot of foreign made items so authentic "luxury" brands from a fancy flagship store will have a higher mark up than most American or European cities. On the flip side, there are a ton of great deals to be found on local items or well made imitation goods, but you need to haggle for them. As a foreigner, whatevere price that the salesperson cites to you for will be RIDICULOUS. Even if you want the item, don't be afriad to walk away because the salesperson will call you back and make you a better offer 95% of the time.

Electronics in China are no cheaper than what you can find here on the internet. There are good deals, but this is again mostly dependent on 1)knowing where to buy, and 2) your bargaining ability. Most Chinese phones are on a different band and won't work in the US. Unless you have a specific phone in mind and know that it is a global tri-band phone, I wouldn't be looking to buy one in Asia.

Tips:

1) Tap water is not drinkable.

2) Bring whatever meds you need with you because they will be hard to find in China. However, most high class hotels and Watsons convenience stores will have common over the counter items.

3) Tipping is not practiced in China.

i'm looking for a black/grey striped hoodie in medium, can anyone pick one up for me and i will pay you?

I live and work around quite a few H&Ms. Almost all the stores have switched out thier merchandise and the striped hoodies are no longer being stocked. I would be very surprised if you can still get these items in stores, at least in the US.

was it the wool or cotton peacoat??

I think it was the cotton one. I'll go check later in the week.

i tried on a banana republic pea coat and it fits perfectly on me...but i dont know if the peacoat from BR is worth the $250 price tag

The one near me has them on sale now for $150. I tried it on yesterday and loved how soft it was compared to most other peacoats I've tried. I'm gonna dig up the 20% off coupon I have and go buy it. Feel/construction is way better than the H&M one for $129.

Um, actually; I think I want this shirt?

The heck? My friend is Chinese and I think that is one of the only two t-shirts he owns. Coincidentially he wore a No Fear one for about 2 years before that.

What would be the standard shipping/EMS from Japan to US? I don't want to buy a $120 peacoat and pay like $70 extra to get it to me.