Word: looked
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...dozens of stores crammed into the crowded area. Along Takeshita-dori, a narrow street in the heart of the district, are shops with curious names -- Octopus Army, Short Kiss, Good Day House -- that offer a variety of identities. There are button-down collars and plaid pants for the preppie look, floral prints and batiks for the Third World ethnic look, tennis and soccer equipment for the ultra-fit look. One store sells nothing but Batman gear for the Caped Crusader look...
...many Japanese teenagers, a look often has to suffice for a life-style. Japan may be a wealthy nation, but its young people remain restricted. The demands of a high-pressure educational system allow little time for relaxation and leave few opportunities to make a drastic change in life-style: to spend a summer at the beach or hours learning hang gliding...
Instead, the youngsters move from fad to fad, called bumu (Japanese for boom). Last year it was retro bumu, which elevated the bulky, prosperous look of the 1950s to a new art form. Italian casual, inspired by Benetton, had its moment. So did leather jackets and vests for the Hell's Angels mode. And the prim little-girl look with button-up sweaters...
...better. Still, when the youngsters get confused or the designers founder, the style that always seems to endure and prosper is Amekaji, as the kids call American casual. Says Tomohiro Ando, sales manager of Octopus Army: "American design remains the base. Amekaji is always such a comfortable and functional look." The labels of Octopus Army shirts thoughtfully proclaim those virtues in the fractured English beloved by Japanese teens: "Best in the field of Spangled Stars, Americanized as hell as well as originality." Exactly how that translates is not important; it's the feeling and verve that convince the eager buyer...
...recent years, American designers and manufacturers have rushed to cash in on Amekaji. Designers like Ralph Lauren prospered during the upscale preppie fad, or toraddo-bumu, but interest in the traditional look has recently faltered -- though it will never die out because of the Japanese partiality for neat and tailored clothes. Interest in American sportswear is strong, and the California influence is evident everywhere. Last summer many teens were captivated by the surfer look, with shirts and shorts in neon lime and fluorescent orange. The University of California, Los Angeles, through its own licensees in Japan, sells annually some...