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Here at Penn State we have kids from all over the world who attend. With that comes different culture from all over the world and thus fashion from all over the world. Walking around campus and the streets of State College I have seen the influence of Western clothing on foreign students’ style and every day wear. I would like to focus this week’s topic on Japanese fashion in particular, as one of my favorite streetwear brands, BAPE, originated in Japan.

A Bathing Ape (BAPE) was founded in 1993 by Nigo it’s creative director and designer in the Harajuku area of Shibuya in Tokyo. Bape specializes in urban street wear and is now one of the most major players in the streetwear world with some of their original clothing being sold for thousands of dollars. Bape is known for their iconic camo print which has been plastered on not only clothing but on items so peculiar such as tissue boxes, playing cards, and fishing hooks. Bape is also known for their full zip up shark hoodie which is very prominent in rap culture being worn by artists such as Kanye West and ASAP Rocky.  I continue to buy pieces from Bape and am always eager to check out their new line of clothing. Bape was a major influence in Japan’s evolution toward street fashion and has helped shape the current style that is known in Japan today.

Personally, Japanese Fashion is my favorite foreign fashion. I feel that most European clothing is too flashy and clean cut for my streetwear roots. Although Italy will always be known as the fashion powerhouse as clothing brands such as Prada, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton originated in Italy. However in the recent years Japan has really taken street fashion and made it their own, using skinny jeans and different prints to dress in a bold, stylish manner. One of the most basic outfits you will see around campus from a Japanese student during theses cold winter months will be skinny jeans or joggers, running shoes (usually Asics or New Balance), and a big puffy coat. This makes for a warm stylish outfit and I have seen large groups of Japanese students outside talking all wearing this same exact thing.

I suggest you always look at what people are wearing around you. Not in a judging manner but for influence. Always be open to new ideas and clothing that you can make your own. We are very lucky to have such a wide variety of culture here at Penn State so take advantage of that fact and pay attention to what the people around you have on.

As defined by urban dictionary a sneakerhead is

“One who is in love with but not limited to Jordans, Forces, Dunks, Maxes, etc.
Willing to camp out and face lines that wind around blocks for a pair of once in a lifetime exclusives!
On the verge of bankruptcy because the addiction is THAT serious.
Misunderstood by non sneaker heads as wasting money and are constantly told that they will get over it or that “it’s just a phase.
Likely to kill you if you step on their kicks.
Running out of closet space because the boxes can only stack up so high…
Marks calendar for release dates and hates seeing fakes.
Lives for the first time they open the box and that new sneaker smell just fills up the air. HATES CREASES.”

You may not understand most of the references above but I will be discussing all of them in this week’s topic of sneaker obsession.

Did I used to be a shoe head and obsessed with sneakers? That answer is yes. I am now past that stage but will forever contain the knowledge that I do about all things sneaker related. I got into the “Shoe Game” as people call it, through friends. Going into high school the kids who wore nice shoes around school were known for it. People would stare at their feet every day to see what new kicks they were wearing. There was constantly an unwritten competition going on for who had the best collection. I saw how much recognition and street cred these kids got for merely wearing a pair of shoes and decided to dive into the culture.

Most of my knowledge about sneakers came from Facebook Groups devoted solely to the purpose of buying, selling, and trading shoes. I started to spend a lot of time on these groups, too much time. I would get home after school and head straight for the computer. Staying on Facebook for 2-3 hours at a time I would read through post after post, looking at picture after picture, learning new shoes and random facts about collecting. I was mostly into Nike SB’s (Skateboarding) as well as Air Jordan’s and Nike Air Max’s. I began saving up all my money. Allowance, birthday money, christmas money, all put towards shoes. I started my collection with a few pair that cost around $100 each. As I learned more about the game I learned about how people supported their addiction.

The shoe market like any other market is based on supply and demand. The older shoes, the more rare they are, and therefore cost more money because they are more sought after. With any type of market one is trying to make money in the goal is to buy low and sell high, in the shoe game this is known as flipping shoes. I began this process in order to support my addiction. With the money I currently had I would scour the internet for good deals, looking on sneaker forums, Facebook groups, and Craigslist for shoes being sold for less than they were actually worth. I would then purchase these shoes, clean them up, and put them back up for sale hoping someone would buy them for more than I paid. I have to say this was pretty easy money, a simple process that would only take about a week to complete. I made about $50-$100 on every shoe I flipped. Another way to flip shoes is to buy a limited sneaker at their in-store or online release. This process is even more profitable because right after a shoe goes on sale and sells out is when it is most desirable and most expensive. For example Kanye West’s Air Yeezy II went on sale this past weekend and sold at $250. Immediately after the shoe sold out 11 minutes later, there were listings on eBay where the sneaker was being sold at $1500 and up. The unfortunate aspect of flipping shoes right after the release is that it is tedious work. One must camp out of their local Foot Locker for hours to even days on end, waiting in line for a certain sneaker to go on sale.

As I started making more money flipping shoes I started spending more money on the sneakers I wanted in my collection. I wanted the coolest, most rare, shoes in my collection. Unfortunately this came at a price. I have spent $500 on a used pair of sneakers before. Most will find this ridiculous, maybe even crazy, my parents sure did. Even though I did end up selling that pair for $600 two years later and making money on the purchase. Consumerism at its finest 🙂

As I grew older I grew out of this obsession, I started to focus on clothes and actual fashion more than the shoes on my feet. I sold most of my collection before leaving for college, only keeping about 10 pairs of my personal favorites. The experiences that I gained from collecting sneakers was priceless. My favorite thing about the culture was that it did not matter what someone’s race or ethnicity was, if they were young or old, male or female. I’ve met all types of people making shoe deals in my local Staples’ parking lot. Everyone was in the game together, supporting each other, teaching each other, all because of a common hobby, something so simple as sneakers.

^^Hulk Hogan and some of his Jordan collection

This week’s fashion topic is raw denim jeans. Most of you probably have never heard of raw denim before, but for those who do wear raw denim they are not just wearing a pair of jeans but a piece of themselves. Raw denim is “denim that is  unwashed, untreated, and virtually untouched to the extent that it remains in its pure form.” Most denim jeans that are sold have been pre-washed so they have a more comfortable feel, raw denim is rough to the touch and feels slightly like you’re wearing sandpaper at first. It takes some getting used to but after a week or so they become the most comfortable jeans one has ever worn. As the jeans are worn the denim rubs off and they physically become lighter and softer. Like almost all other denim jeans, they are made of 100% cotton  and come in different cuts, fits, sizes, and colors. Another advantage of raw denim is the aesthetics of them. The raw denim fades to create a very unique pair of denim with its own personality. Think of a brand new pair of raw denim jeans as a blank canvas and the fading on them is the art or paint that goes on the canvas. In order to create these fades one must wear their jeans every day for 6-8 months without washing. Some might find this gross but there is certain spray you can buy to coat the jeans with a protective material that also keeps them from smelling too bad. After significant fading has occurred the denim owner soaks their jeans in a bathtub full of water for about an hour, this washes away the excess dye and contributes to more intense fading. After the jeans have been taken out from the bathtub the water left is often a blue color due to all the excess dye that has come out of the denim. The fades on the jeans give them character, they make them yours. No two pair of raw denim jeans will ever be exactly alike. The jeans get holes in them , rip, and tear upon being worn a lot. This all contributes to the unique look of the jeans. Many people put different objects in their pockets to create a certain fade. If you carry around a wallet in your back pocket a fade in the shape of a rectangle will eventually appear. The same thing goes for if you carry around a phone or even something as small as a bottle cap. I am currently attempting a fade in the shape of the Batman symbol in one of my pairs. A pair of raw denim jeans is not cheap, depending on the brand they can cost anywhere from $175-$500. This is a lot of money but if you think about it logically this same pair of jeans will last well over a year of wear and be a part of you for that amount of time unlike if one bought three pairs of $50 jeans. I recommend everyone trying out a pair of raw denim jeans, they last a very long time and always come out looking very nice. Raw denim is not just a pair of jeans but a way of life.

This is not just a picture of my crotch but of a pair of A.P.C. raw denim jeans after about 6 months of wear. Notice the fades stemming from the crotch, those are what are known as whiskers (because they look like whiskers from a cat). Also notice on the left side of the jeans there is a rectangle in the shape of an iPhone and on the right side of the jeans two distinct lines where I would carry a lighter and Chapstick.

This is the same pair of jeans another 6 months later. Fading is much more intense and the jeans have lost much of their original color. The fading from my iPhone wore down the denim so much that they created a small hole at one of the corners where the phone was in my pocket.

This is the back of the same pair of raw denim jeans after about a year. Notice the fading on the back righthand pocket due to a wallet and the fading that occurs on the back of the legs often known as honeycombs or stacks in the jeans.

This is a pair of Nudie raw denim jeans on day 3 of wear, practically brand new. Notice that all the color is still in the jeans and no fading has occurred. The jeans are very stiff and have a very defined look to them. Every fold in the jeans is visible where fading will soon occur in a few months

This is the same pair of Nudie Jeans 6 months later. Color has been lost and fading has started to occur

This is my attempt at a Batman fade in my jeans. I took a Batman money clip I had lying around and stuck it in my back pocket and it is still there now. Unfortunately one of the ends was so sharp that it poked a hole in the denim but hopefully you guys can make out half of the Batman symbol

This is a pair of a friend’s raw denim at the end of their life. At this point the jeans are very thin, have lost almost all of their color, and much ripping and tearing have occurred. Noticed the honeycomb pattern on the back of the legs and the bottle cap fade in the back left pocket

I hope you all have enjoyed this post and are inspired to get out there and buy yourselves a pair of raw denim jeans!