Spring 2010 Tokyo Fashion Trend – Hats, Hats, Hats

Spring has sprung in Tokyo! The winter weather isn’t completely gone as of yet, but it’s getting warmer every day. The cherry blossoms are in full bloom, and Japan’s famous hanami parties can be seen (and heard) in just about every park in the city. What do warm weather and a bunch of pretty trees have to do with Tokyo fashion? They signal the arrival of the first Spring 2010 fashion trends in Japan’s capital. So far, the biggest spring fashion trend we’re seeing involves hats – lots and lots of hats!

Zara Hats

The single defining fashion trend of Spring 2010 in Tokyo so far is the appearance of girls in hats – and not just any hats. Last summer, we saw a big boom in fedoras for both guys and girls. This Spring, though, the one hat to rule them all is the boater – or, as it’s known in Japanese, the “bota” or “kankanbo”. The boater, according to Wikipedia, “is made of straw and has a stiff or soft flat crown and brim, typically with a ribbon around the crown”. That’s a pretty accurate description of the boaters that are at the heart of the hat trend right now in Tokyo.

There are a few variations, including boater-style hats made of materials other than straw (cloth boaters with a flower pattern is one popular variation we see a lot), and many of the hats have more decorations than just a simple ribbon (for example, ribbons with flowers or bows attached to them). We’ve also seen many girls wearing hats that are similar to the boater, but aren’t quite boaters – including straw fedoras, straw bowler hats, and larger straw beach-type hats covered in flowers. But there can be no doubt that the boater itself is the king of hats in Tokyo today.

To illustrate the extreme speed and force with which a trend like this can explode in Tokyo, we went out to Takeshita Dori and a few other popular shopping streets to take photos of the many Harajuku shops selling similar – if not identical – boaters. There are thirty pictures posted below of boater (and similar style) hats on sale around Harajuku (and maybe a couple of shots from Shibuya as well), but we could have just as easily posted 100 or 200 photos. We also included a few pictures of Japanese girls that we’ve seen on the street recently wearing these hats. We don’t want to overdose you on hats, but we’re sure you’ll be seeing plenty more of them as we continue to post our daily Japanese street fashion updates.

So, please enjoy these pictures of the hottest fashion trend for Japanese girls in Tokyo today – hats, hats, and more hats! All of the photos can be seen in high resolution by clicking on them.

Japanese Girl in Boater Hat

Japanese Girl in Straw Hat

Straw Hat Girl in Tokyo

Japanese Girl in Hat With Flowers

Harajuku Hat Shop

Harajuku Hats and Accessories

Harajuku Hat Trends

Wonder Rocket Harajuku

Hats and Bunnies in Harajuku

Tokyo Hat Trends

Fashion Boutique in Harajuku

Harajuku Hats

Claire's Harajuku Hats

Hat in a Harajuku Shop Window

Hats in Harajuku

Flowery Harajuku Hat

Liz Lisa Spring 2010 Fashion

Harajuku Hats

Japanese Straw Hats

Boater Hat in Harajuku

Hat and Clothing in Harajuku

Hat Shop in Harajuku

Harajuku Shop Selling Hats and Hello Kitty

WEGO Harajuku Hats

Girls Straw Hats in Tokyo

British Flag Bag and Hat in Harajuku

Straw Hat

SM2 Harajuku Hat

Harajuku Hat Sale

How To Wear a Hat in Japan

Girls in Hats in Shop Windows

Nine by Four Harajuku Hat Shop

SHAZBOT Harajuku Hat Shop

Click any of our Japanese hat pictures to enlarge them!

Comments are closed.

  1. holy…crap…thats amazing. i’m pretty sure in the u.s. forever 21 sells tons of those, if not, i can easily see those there in the near future.

  2. tokyo

    No, we haven’t seen too many hats on guys yet this Spring. There are a few guys who wear fedoras or other hats any time of year, but there doesn’t seem to be any current male hat trend in Tokyo.

  3. Whoa! The 9th picture from the last looks really cool. Those hand drawn hats are just popping out at you!

  4. This trend just happened in Australia over summer, everyone was all about the boater hat. However we never had floral ones, I’m so buying one when I’m there in 26 days!

  5. I love the hats, think I might get some to sell here in Australia. I like to straw look too!!

  6. Wow, loving the boater/can-can hat trend so much~

    Um… sorry to be a bother, but any chance that you remember the store names in these two photos?

    http://tokyofashion.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/2010-03-23-Harajuku-Hats-016-P6741.jpg
    and
    http://tokyofashion.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/2010-03-23-Harajuku-Hats-011-P6718.jpg

    Not that I’d expect you to, there are so many pictures xD
    But just on the off chance?
    Haha, either way, thanks for the photos! So much fun to look through~ ^ ^

  7. tokyo

    Hi Ham-Chan –

    Glad you enjoyed the article! :-)

    I can’t remember the shop names in those photos, but after doing some research, I ‘m 90% sure that the first one is the same shop as this photo:
    http://tokyofashion.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/2010-03-23-Harajuku-Hats-014-P6738.jpg
    The name is “Gal Fit” and it’s on Takeshita. This seems to be their website:
    http://www.palemo.jp/style/galfannar.html

    The other one is called SOS Market. I looked at the price tag on the higher resolution version of the photos. :-)

    Hope you can track them down next time you’re in Tokyo!

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  9. I am so not a hat person (I look ridiculous in all shapes and styles) but I love the first two hats. And kind of on a random note, the girl in the first picture has an awesome jacket and I loooooooove her necklace!

  10. does anyone know how to buy these hats for cheap online?? i want a カンカン帽!♥

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  12. PenguinSnuggles

    Whoa :). I was just thinking about buying some fedoras, and the boater hats are really cute too!

  13. Hats have been a big hit in Tokyo since at least 2007 when I lived there.
    There’s so many styles and my friends over there all look so kawaii in them but me, no no!:)

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  15. Wow, thank you so much!
    Actually, I’ve never been to Tokyo. D:
    But I really hope that I can go soon~

  16. Awww this makes me miss Japan so much! I remember all those shops in Takeshita doori!

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  18. wow, they look great. I’ve been noticing this trend. Time to get one, hope it suits me :)