Resale Chiffon Dress & Floral Tights vs. Maxi Skirt & Vans Sneakers

When we saw these cute girls in Harajuku we notice how each has put together a cute look with clothing from used/resale shops (their favorite places to shop). The girl on the right dressed in pastels and white is Saaya, a 20-year-old college student. Her outfit includes a long cotton skirt with a ruffle at the hem, a lace-trimmed blouse and a pink blouse. Her tan sneakers are from Vans.

Saaya’s accessories include a Lady Gaga “We Pray For Japan” bracelet, a red cross necklace and a crucifix necklace. Her purse is a tote bag from American Apparel with a black bow tie attached to the strap.

The girl on the left is Rei, an 18-year-old who works in the apparel industry. She’s wearing a vintage chiffon dress with a lace collar, ruffled front and pleated skirt over a pair of cut-off denim shorts. Floral print tights and black Mary Jane shoes are a nice complement to her outfit. Her ethnic-print backpack is from a used clothing shop. Accessories include a black velvet headband with a bow, a silver link bracelet, a vintage tone ring and a winged ring from Nadia.

We asked the girls about their favorite music and Rei said she likes JiLL-Decoy association.
Chiffon Dress & Floral Tights vs. Maxi Skirt & Vans Sneakers

Crucifix, red cross & black bow tie accessories

American Apparel tote bag

Necklaces with large cross pendants

Van sneakes, lacy socks & maxi skirt

Vintage chiffon dress w/ lace collar

Resale ethnic print backpack

Vintage stone ring & Nadia winged ring

Floral print tights & resale Mary Jane shoes

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

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  1. Wearing plain crosses I think is fine, but wearing crucifixes or rosaries is going just a tad too far. Not fashionable, just tacky. And a little offensive.

    On a positive note, the girl on the left looks great. Her shoes seem a little roomy, though. With most Japanese girls having such small feet, I don’t understand why I see so many of them wearing shoes that are too big. Can someone explain?

  2. Meghan: Why is wearing crucifixes considered offensive? Millions of people wear them.
    They both look great though :)

  3. I love their outfits! This picture is really pretty! ((:

  4. @Meghan
    Currently living in Japan and one of the first thing I noticed when I moved here was how everyone (guys and girls, but especially girls) wear shoes that seem too big. My theory for this after some time observing is that Japanese have to take their shoes off so frequently that it is incoveniant to wear any shoes you can’t just walk out of. Anything that requires bending down to loosen and pulling off your feet is just too much trouble….and while it seems insane and uncomfortable to wear shoes this big…Japanese seem to be used to it, I’m guessing they’ve been doing it from when they started wearing shoes….though you still see girls occasionaly who just can’t walk in them.

  5. I love the Jesus curcifix necklace, but I love Rei’s outfit better! :D ~ <3
    (im agreeing with Momo, as well)

  6. I forgot to say, I love Saaya’s brown sneakers, too! ~ (i might even try 2 find a pair for my self!) ~ <3

  7. Catherine

    I find the fad of large red crosses and crucifix’s to be a little bothersome as well (and the crosses wrapped in novelty yarn with oogly eyes; tacky!)

    I think my discomfort stems from the fact that the crosses seem to be used strictly as a fashion accessory with no more meaning than skeletan tights or the zombie looking eyeballs I’ve been seeing in a lot of pics.

  8. Bet you wouldn’t care if it was someone else’s religious symbol, Meghan. Let’s try to be a little open-minded, shall we?

  9. I personally wouldn’t wear a crucifix, but to each their own. I don’t find it offensive but it’s more obviously a religious symbol than just a plain cross, so I wouldn’t wear the former but I do wear the latter.

    Both Saaya and Rei wear their outfits well, I like them both (even with the crucifix!)

  10. Meghan, I agree that the rosary & crucifix is tacky! Not by principle, it just looks cheap and doesn’t add to the outfit (which isn’t very nice anyway – too baggy and not detailed enough to be mori. Maybe there wasn’t a polite way to ask her to step away while only her friend was photographed?)

    But as for rosaries, J people have a weird relationship with Christianity – they think it’s quirky and hilarious, and even the converted Christians in J don’t really take it seriously.

    Those shoes are definitely too big. Maybe she bought them online?

    And I love the left girl’s outfit, especially the tights. And I wish I could go around with a mask on, just do the eye makeup nicely and you don’t have to worry about anything else. But people would probably think I escaped from quarantine or something ;) only in J!

  11. B. Brandt

    I’m getting the feeling that there is some, however slight connection with the wearing of a crucifix and oversized shoes. Just a feeling however.

  12. I think there are much tacker and more offensive things to wear than a cross. I’ll admit, hers are rather large but I don’t see any harm in it. I love Saaya’s smile, she seems like a really friendly girl.

  13. @Momo: I think it would be offensive to some people in that it is being used as a fashion piece. While wearing a plain cross is very common (and for lots of people, a cross doesn’t have any connection to Christianity or religious beliefs), wearing a crucifix would be offensive to many people who would feel that using an image of Christ as a fashion accessory is inappropriate. I don’t know about millions of people wearing crucifixes (crosses, yes, but not crucifixes. Maybe just in Japan! lol).

    Of course, people can wear what they want, I just feel that a plain, understated cross is a much nicer touch to an outfit than a giant cross with a dying Jesus hanging on it. :/

    @coreil10 Ohh that makes sense! I never thought of it that way…I’m always stuck in the genkan spending 5 minutes trying to get out of my shoes. Too bad I can’t get oversized shoes; at a 25.5 I am considered HUGE.

    @aishoka Wow, sorry that you somehow got that impression out of what little I wrote. Don’t know why you would think that I wouldn’t care if it was another religion’s symbol. I think you are jumping to conclusions. How can you tell that I am not open-minded from reading a couple of sentences? I would appreciate it if you gave me a chance. You bring up an interesting point about other religion’s symbols, but I have to say that I can’t think of any other religious symbols that people frequently wear as an fashion accessory.

  14. Have you ever seen a japanese person with a barbie doll head or wearing dolls and the like? Here is something interesting you should know: In the Japanese culture wearing dolls symbolize that you are carrying another human soul. It is believed that after death, human souls that are still on earth can attatch themselves into barbie dolls.

    Now, while you think that may have nothing to do with the “crucifix” situation, think about it…..Wearing a crucifix necklace can have a very similiar meaning, like the person may want Christ with them in soul. Or maybe the girl is just a very devoute christion…who knows, but I would like to think that its nothing that should be worried over. I myself am a Catholic and find nothing wrong with wearing a crucifix. There a certainly many other ways that are far worse that would offend me, this just isn’t one of them. /:

  15. @Bunny.. wow.. .. her outfit is awesome.. myself.. i don’t like god.. or jesus.. they are annoying to hear about.. and who really cares about what she wears.. if you don’t like itt. don’t talk about it.. i really like both there outfits.. those two girls are super cute. so if you don’t like them. you can just go. .and what the heck.. that was really rude to say about to ask her to step away.. what the heck was wrong with her outfit?. nothing.. and if you can do better.. i’d like to see that. .. th

  16. The only thing in these outfits I find offensive is Lady Gaga’s “charity” bracelet.

  17. I also find the crucifix disturbing, and I don’t even consider myself that religious. I feel like if, as Meghan brought up, it was just a plain cross and didn’t have Jesus dying on it, it wouldn’t be an issue. As it is, I feel a little offended as a Christian having his image flaunted around as an accessory. Only a very small percentage of Japan is Christian, so the odds of her having a sincere purpose in wearing the crucifix are rather slim.

  18. mask girl is very cute; crucifix girl should leave the crosses at home

  19. @Meghan, They ARE Japanese. There’s this thing called cultural differences. So they don’t really think wearing one around their neck is offensive. To them, It isn’t a thing that symbolizes faith, it’s just an accessory for them. So lighten up a little bit. I’m catholic also and I don’t even find this offensive. AT ALL.

    The huge crucifix necklace just doesn’t seem to fit the whole feel of the outfit though. But, Hey! They’re in Japan. People have different sense of style out there. Nothing is considered tacky in Japan. It’s one stylish hombre for himself

    Loving the girl on the Left’s outfit. I don’t know if the face mask is even intentional but it works~! :D

  20. I like the chiffon dress, ethnic backpack, tights and shoes, basically Rei’s outfit.