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Last Blast in Tokyo
Ready to shop like a local ... until I drop
I want to start by saying there is a cultural side to Japan. The country has a rich history, beautiful temples and gardens, and rituals and traditions. But with only 48 hours to spend in Tokyo, it's just unlikely that you'll be exposed to them. On my second and last day, I was ready to do as the locals do: Shop until I dropped. I held back on day one to survey the landscape, and now, I was ready to let loose and do some serious damage with my AMEX. First stop after my coffee from Donatur (Tokyo's answer to Starbucks): Shibuya, where I hit the department stores 109 and PARCO.
109 is a collection of Japanese designers, all obsessed with pop culture and the iconography of sweets (particularly cupcakes, candy, and cherries). My mind boggled at the endless array of goodies aimed at teenagers, and all well-priced in the $50-$300 range. T-shirts with confusing English phrases are still popular: My favorites of the day were "I'm Constipated," "New York Don't Love You" (which I bought to wear around New York), and "I Love Gossip." 109 also has a branch of my favorite Japanese designer, Hysteric Glamour (the name itself evokes something quintessential about the Japanese attitude toward fashion). The current collection was devoted to the Ramones, with a few Bob Dylan and Edie Sedgewick items left over from last season. I fell in love with a black hoodie sweater that had an imprint of a skull on the front and a giant strawberry on the back (symbolic of death and life?), but at $300, I had to pass.
PARCO is a bit more upscale (though it's considered a mid-range department store). I noticed the two dominant trends here were '80s neon and what can only be described as French country ragamuffin: ruffled natural cotton tops, vests, and loose-fitting, tied-waist pants. It's not a flattering look on anyone, but particularly not on Japanese people. The PARCO complex includes the PARCO Museum of Art & Beyond — always worth a look. And Bunkamura: The Museum, run by the Tokyu Department store chain, is close by and houses two art-house cinemas, two theater spaces, and a really cool art bookstore where I dropped a few dollars.
109 is a collection of Japanese designers, all obsessed with pop culture and the iconography of sweets (particularly cupcakes, candy, and cherries). My mind boggled at the endless array of goodies aimed at teenagers, and all well-priced in the $50-$300 range. T-shirts with confusing English phrases are still popular: My favorites of the day were "I'm Constipated," "New York Don't Love You" (which I bought to wear around New York), and "I Love Gossip." 109 also has a branch of my favorite Japanese designer, Hysteric Glamour (the name itself evokes something quintessential about the Japanese attitude toward fashion). The current collection was devoted to the Ramones, with a few Bob Dylan and Edie Sedgewick items left over from last season. I fell in love with a black hoodie sweater that had an imprint of a skull on the front and a giant strawberry on the back (symbolic of death and life?), but at $300, I had to pass.
PARCO is a bit more upscale (though it's considered a mid-range department store). I noticed the two dominant trends here were '80s neon and what can only be described as French country ragamuffin: ruffled natural cotton tops, vests, and loose-fitting, tied-waist pants. It's not a flattering look on anyone, but particularly not on Japanese people. The PARCO complex includes the PARCO Museum of Art & Beyond — always worth a look. And Bunkamura: The Museum, run by the Tokyu Department store chain, is close by and houses two art-house cinemas, two theater spaces, and a really cool art bookstore where I dropped a few dollars.
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17:32 EDT, 21.Mar.08