Harajuku is a district in the Shibuya ward of Tokyo situated next to the Meiji Jingu shrine. A near by bridge over the Yamanote railway line is the hot spot for some of the most imaginative and some very bizarre manifestations of very youthful exuberance found anywhere in Japan.
Every Sunday groups of mostly teenage girls gather in Harajuku to be hip, to be seen and to express themselves through what is wellknown as “kosu-purei” costume play. These young folks whose previous generation was known as the “Takenokozoku” bamboo shoot tribe. The girls spend hours creating their costumes and putting on their faces. Their purpose is to be as different as possible from anything that resembles the ordinary.
Japan began to emulate Western fashion during the middle of the 19th century. By the beginning of the 21st century it had altered into what is known today as 'street fashion'. The term 'street fashion' is used to describe fashion where the wearer customizes outfits by adopting a mixture of current and traditional trends. Such clothes are generally home-made with the use of material purchased at stores. Wikipedia