原宿の空気を吸い尽くす、巨大なシャボン玉ここにあり。カリスマショップBubblesのオーナーCoiちゃんがその人気の秘密を公開！
Street style for men in Tokyo has been getting a fair chunk of the world’s attention lately, and with good reason – a Harajuku boy can rock deconstructed jackets and long skirts like no other. But where are my ladies at? They still know how to innovate, and this is especially apparent in the niche used-clothing styles that are keeping Tokyo’s fashion subcultures on the map. Three of the city’s most popular are “forest girl”, “80s disco”, and “neo vintage mix”, and I set out to find the girls who are making and cultivating these genres into successful new style trends.
世界が注目するストリートスタイルの宝庫といえば、我らが原宿の右に出るものはいない。特に近年、 男の子達のファッションの躍進には目を見張るものがあり、 何でもない日常でもスカートなどのフェミニンな装いを取り入れた スタイルがよく見られるようになった。そんな中、 女の子達のファッションはどうなっているかというと、 もちろんこちらも負けてはいません。 中でもヴィンテージの洋服を取り入れた、 独自のスタイルを提案する女の子のショップオーナーに注目が集ま っている。今回は東京のストリートでも特に人気の”森ガール”、 “80sディスコ”、そして”ネオヴィンテージミックス” の３つのスタイルに着目し、 それぞれのスタイルを牽引するショップオーナー達のインタビュー を交え分析していきます！
This paragraph is the opening to an article I wrote for The Senken Newspaper, a daily fashion and apparel newspaper in Japan but also available in Paris and Tokyo during fashion week. It’s titled “Tokyo’s Girl Trend Setters are Behind the Registers” and I interviewed 3 leading ladies of fashion in Japan for it. Please pop over and read it online (In English only) . Everyone is so busy that it’s hard to sit down with people and hear their stories, so I was glad to have the excuse to get a one-on-one. Since I could only fit a couple hundred words onto the page, here are their interviews more in-depth.
今回この冒頭のイントロダクションで始まる記事を、“Tokyo’s Girl Trend Setters are Behind the Registersと銘打って繊研新聞で書いたのですが、
*Let’s start with my first interviewee, Coi the head honcho and used and new boutique Bubbles in Harajuku. It opened in Feb 2011 and Coi was about 27 when she jumped ship at her previous used-clothing shop position at Kinsella. She took 7 years of experience in that market and decided to open a shop that more suited her tastes….
Coi: I knew about the malls, like 109 and Laforet but to me, I wanted to wear things that were more “free”. I was working at a [famous] place called Kinsella in Harajuku and learned the ropes there. My boss told me one day, “If you want to start your own shop, I`ll help you out.”
まず最初は、
Coi: 古着はずっと好きだったね。もちろん、１０９とか、
*I started to really pay attention to Bubbles last Dec when I heard news they were moving to a new location right off of Meiji Dori. I thought how amazing it was that a new shop was already moving to a better place from popularity! Well…
Coi: I`m super lucky that everyone thinks we moved because of just popularity, but to be honest our new store is a little bit smaller than before. The truth is our past owner was a little bit strange and unfair and wouldn’t renew our lease even though that’s what we were promised. So I had to pack up my shop and move it away! One of the most stressful things I’ve been through!
私がBubblesに注目し始めたのは、
Coi:みんな今の場所に移転したのは、
*Bubbles has a rather unimposing atmosphere, and is decorated kind of like the bedroom of a girl in her 20s who doesn’t want to grow up and still nostalgic for the 70s, 80s and 90s (but also wants some MiuMiu). There’s even a Mac computer on display (is it still there?) like any stylish girl would have. That, and funky bags and backpacks strewn from the ceiling and closets full of mom’s cool vintage clothing. For the interview, Coi herself was wearing flat sneakers (she was on a bicycle), a vintage MiuMiu dress, huge gemstone costume jewelry and an NBA basketball cap. Just try and make THAT fashion cocktail yourselves! Caution! Not for the amateurs….
Coi: I just wanted a store full of stuff that I liked. And I didn’t even really have an idea or concept until 3 months before we opened. I don’t even have a name for my personal style, even though I get asked to tag it as something all the time [oops, sorry for asking!!]. I used to like 70s style a lot but now I`m more into the end of the 70s into the 80s.. a big mix. But now the 80s stuff is starting to run out. It can’t last forever! We’ll have no choice but to move onto the 90s eventually before 80s stuff gets too expensive. I go on buying trips once about every 3 months to the US. Where do you recommend I go, Misha?
*I had no idea, sorry…I`m in Tokyo 11 months of the year for the past 9 years….. but back to Bubbles. I spent one entire afternoon perusing her blog because she puts together some really great outfits that have an air of maturity to them, but still experimental enough to play a leading part of Harajuku culture. This blog helped spur Bubbles to instant buzz…
Coi: I really was surprised that people knew about my shop so quickly. Especially since I was doing everything myself and couldn’t do tons of proper PR. But you know, everyone gets excited about a new shop, the hard part is keeping them interested. So I would put up lots of posts on my blog…. but then something terrible happened. Apparently one of my ideas from my shop was copied by another store. I couldn’t believe it. I felt really hurt…we are all just trying to keep Harajuku exciting and fresh and make our own way and stay in business. So now I don’t know if I should put anything on my blog anymore… even though some customers see something they like there and then come in to buy it. It puts me in a difficult position.
*あんまり分からないかな…東京に出てきて９年、
Coi: 私自身、
*I asked about an online shop then, and she explained she was setting one up as we were speaking….herself. She does her shop’s main website as well, and pretty much everything else. POWER! Gurl keeps the reins on and won’t just relinquish to anybody. Sometimes being a female and trying to grasp so much power is looked down upon in Japan. It’s far too “masculine”. What does Coi do when she has doubts?
Coi: Ari who owns The Virgin Mary is kind of my friend-slash-mentor and she gives me advice or stops by to see me. After six months I realzied how tough running a store was…I wanted to really do everything myself and control it all. I guess it’s like a maternal instinct a woman might have. This shop is my baby. But men are able to delegate and leave work to others which allows the business to get bigger. I have to work on that, I guess.
そうして話はオンラインショップの話題に。
Coi: The Virgin MaryのオーナーのAriちゃんて子がいて、
*It must be really exciting though, to have so much influence and see your concept of fashion being put into practice on the streets of Harajuku with your customers.
Coi: *silence*
*Girl, you are totally influential! You know that, right?
Coi: I try not to acknowledge it…I think it’s better that way now, to not let it go to my head or influence me.
*Ok, but all of your fans love you. I know they’re there…
Coi: *silence*
*I’ve seen them on Twitter. They want to know when you’re working in the store! I KNOW you have fans!
Coi: ….I try not to think about it. It’s a funny thing. Of course I’m happy and thankful. But recently I`m not in the store as much, I`m doing back-end things.
*Cool cat, I see.
Well, since this interview I didn’t see Coi around much, so she must be growing her balls and getting shit done. Good girl!! Your child is growing up and leaving the home…set it free! (she has a lot more employees to help out now). I suggest checking out her instagram and of course her shop’s blog. She also got her Bubbles online store set up as well! And the shop’s Twitter account is @BubblesTokyo (Japanese, but you’re jsut going to click on the photos anyway). Bubble go forth and float, up and away~
ここで言っていたように、