Friday, October 21, 2005

Kawaii Las Vegas


The fashion in LV is, perhaps because it thinks it has to be, excentric and huge. Granted there are many Fendi stores, Gucci boutiques, and Chanel a-plenty but some how at the end of the day all you want in a small slutty dress covered in rhinestones.
Every since the Japanese area Harajuku was opened up to traffic in 2002, the expressive form of clothing I've come to adore has quickly and quietly diminished into the sloppu chic of the Olsen twins. Now sites like http://www.style-arena.jp/english/street/harajuku/ show more bag ladies then fairies and punk princesses- a true disgrace.
But how does this all tie back into Las Vegas?
Well all it took was trying on a $4,000 dress (that Paris Hilton also happens to own) to remind me why I loved Harajuku in the first place. Before Gwen attacked it and made 4 Japanese girls into her yorkie dogs, before the street opened up and individual style fell victim to a hit and run- there was the love of clothing. The feeling that putting something obscene on (be it sparkly, short, or 10 feet long) could transform you into the person and world you wished you lived in. All it took was slipping into that dress, tacking in some boob pads and I felt like I could own a room. I seriously contemplated spending 4 grand on a dress- no joke- to the point it made me sick to my stomach. Fashion should do that! It should move your soul till it's breaking point- force the real you out and make everyone deal with it. Perhaps Vegas is the untapped Kawaii capital of the world- the last place an adult can dress however they please and still be held up and cheered.
LV the new Harajuku?
What a thought!