On May 29, 2010, the new Forever 21 store in the Shinjuku held its grand opening. The night before, just before the “official opening”, the store hosted a special “Pre-Opening Party” event where fans of the brand were invited – along with Japanese celebrities – to do a bit of early shopping. Plenty of Tokyo girls showed up ready to become the first buyer. Smiling shoppers clutching the famous yellow Forever 21 shopping bags could be seen flooding out of the store and into the streets of Shinjuku.

The new Forever 21 Shinjuku store is located on the corner of Meiji Dori. The store occupies floors 1-3 plus one basement floor. The location is centrally located between the various Marui department stores and Isetan on the East side of Shinjuku Station. Therefore, its location becomes an instant presence in one of the most visited shopping areas of Tokyo – if not one of the most visited shopping areas on the planet!

No matter when, the shortcomings of political leaders have been a depressing litany: corruption in office, sex scandals, verbal gaffes and the like. However, it is such an interesting thing that a politician falls out with fashion sense. Yukio Hatoyama, who is the Japanese Prime Minister, has become one of the politicians.

It is true that the beleaguered leader was already struggling in the polls, but his popularity has taken a nose dive since his appearance in public wearing a shirt that one US blog describes as "an item last seen shown up on the Arsenio Hall show."

Hatoyama wore the multicolored monstrosity to a recent barbecue with voters. voter. His approval raing has dropped 9 points since.

Japanese fashion critic Don Konishi told CNN that the fashion misfire shows that Hatoyama is way out of touch with the lives of everyday citizens. (Konishi also notes this isn't Hatoyama's first fashion offense — he once wore a pink blazer over a shirt emblazoned with hearts. While it's rare for a leader like Hatoyama to catch serious heat over an outfit, it certainly isn't unprecedented. In fact, several leading American politicians have also suffered fallout in the ever-delicate matter of dressing to impress the voting public. We've rounded up some of the more notable cases (and couldn't resist adding Kim Jong-il); the background on the missteps is below.

Abbey Dawn Store in Japan

Good News!

The Abbey Dawn store is now in Japan. Avril Lavigne’s clothing line has hit the world No.1 fashion line-Japan. The punkish gothic style coupled with a bit of lolita-ness would bode well with Japan’s street fashion. Also, the pink and black are the basic colors for her designs.


Abbey Dawn is a clothing line designed by musician Avril Lavigne, exclusively for Kohl's in the US. The name recalls Lavigne's childhood that her father and her school mate used to call her Abbey Dawn. The line is described as a 'Juniors' lifestyle brand', and the clothes are inspired by her own personal style. The clothes are mostly 24$-48$ per item.

Tokyo street snap of the Day

Black&White style can always make girls look more formal.

A suitable scarf can always make you look more fashionable.

A big tiger face = WILD

Kawayi is the best we can say to a Loli style.

The British style is the most comfortable style for men.

The black jacket gives her a feel of mystery.

Street snap is a style that Japanese people show themselves in a fashionable way.

Yokouchi, a 19 years old student, is a fan of Harajuku’s Banal Chic Bizarre (BCB). She bought her cartoon print dress from BCB and her black and white shirt from ADD. She’s also wearing lavender thigh-high stockings with black Dr. Martens boots from a resale store.

Her accessories include a Vivienne Westwood ashtray necklace. Her large bag from Lad Musician features a Fender logo and is adorned with stuffed animals and white headphones that she has decorated with several small toys.

The Japanese fashion brand World Wide Love has announced a new series of tote bags featuring artwork from the popular Japanese manga ONE PIECE - one of the most famous manga in Japan. The new totes are going on sale for one month after the release of World Wide Love’s t-shirt collaboration featuring Chopper from ONE PIECE. The limited edition t-shirts were sold out immediately in March.The t-shirts featured an illustration of the One Piece character Chopper (whose cuteness makes him extremely popular with Japanese girls) wearing a “World Wide Love” t-shirt.

The new tote bags come out with three different colors – black, pink leopard-print and gray-leopard print. All items are combined with a One Piece pirate pattern and a distressed smiley face logo of World Wide Love. The tote bags are priced about US$40 each.

The Japan Fashion Week 2010 in Tokyo was a big success. There were 50 brands on the list. This year a total of 30,332 people attended the events.