A “Look Book” is something that fashion designers carry around with them, that contains all the new “looks” they are working on for the current season. This book focuses on the bizarre and beautiful street fashions seen on young people in Tokyo. It’s absolutely fabulous!

Page after page of color photos are grouped into the different styles, to make it easier for the viewer to understand the fashion reasoning behind the choices of outfits and accessories. Keet also offers some fascinating information about the larger cultural implications of each look, and the difference between what it means to wear this in Tokyo and what it might mean if some young American person chose to wear a particular outfit here in the United States. This book combines the best aspects of fashion, art, and cultural anthropology!

Some “looks” combine traditional Japanese clothing with more modern embellishments. Others are more “goth”, or vampire like choices. There are “looks” that involve using dark makeup to make the wearer’s face resemble that of a panda bear, (with both the girls and boys using the same makeup), and darkly tanned skin. There is a style that reminds me of what a toddler would choose, if given the chance. Lots of plastic barrettes in bright colors and a variety of shapes clipped on both hair and clothing, mixed fabric in random colors, clashing patterns, and small stuffed animals worn as an accessory! The book includes styles that make the wearer look like a little doll, as well as some more “grown up” styles, that business men and women are enjoying. Each section includes a mini interview with a particular designer, and pictures of the clothing or store he or she sells from.

This is a fun book! It even smells good, due to all the ink used in the full page, full color pictures printed inside. Fashionistas and Anthropology majors will both be delighted by this book. If you are a fan of the Japanese fashion magazine “FRUiTs”, this is right up your alley!