Ah, a young Japanese women’s boutique we haven’t cracked before! The Egg Store is a gyaru (gal) fashion explosion. I found it while shopping in Studio Alta at Ikebukuro Sunshine City (one of my favorite spots for inexpensive accessories).

The boutique is a spin-off of Egg Magazine, the publication best known for plastering Ganguro / yamanba gals like black-faced Buriteri on the covers.

Today, the gyaru faces in Egg Magazine are less extreme. Still, the look is all about the streets, colors, and crazy eyelashes.

The Egg Store has a well-curated selection of one-offs.

There are lots of summer sales going on right now…

There’s nothing like shopping in Tokyo. I don’t buy a whole lot, but I love to look. Mountains of design inspiration everywhere you turn.

You’ll never find checkered shirts, cut-off jean shorts and baseball caps in my boudoir. But I enjoyed taking a peek into the world of this style tribe.

What are your thoughts on Egg Magazine and gyaru fashion? Have you seen my photos of cute stationery stores and toys in Ikebukuro Sunshine City? Or my new Ikebukuro shopping and eating maps?

Japanese Word of the Day: Tamatsuki = Billiards
Song of the Day: DJ SiSEN’s epic playlist. Industrial/power noise/Goth.

Visiting the Gothic Lolita Punk boutiques in the basement of Laforet department store (on Meiji-doori in Harajuku) feels a bit like trick-or-treat. Each shop is lavishly decorated to match the brand image.

Angelic Pretty is, naturally, an over-the-top pink candyland.

The pastel JSKs aren’t my cup for tea, and I almost never wear pink. I do, however, like the strawberry yukata (summer kimono) on display.

Putumayo is a solid brand with something to please everyone. The clothes range from casual J-rock to Goth to Sweet and Classical Lolita.

The storybook Alice in Wonderland and Cheshire Cat print on this Putumayo Lolita dress is to die for.

Alice and Pirates (left); Metamorphose temps de fille (right). What do you think of the yellow Lolita dress? Too much?

What about this Metamorphose temps de fille coordinate? Sweet meets Gothic.

The shoes and socks at Metamorphose are in a bit of a jumble. I think the store needs a re-design.

Fairy Key shop Nile Perch… it’s like time travelling back to a 1980s girl’s bedroom.

I think my bedroom looked like this when I was a kid.

Which Laforet Lolita shop reflects your personal style the most? For me, it’s Atelier Pierrot and Alice and the Pirates.

Want more photos of these stores? Everything is in my Gothic Lolita Punk shopping guide to Tokyo here.

Japanese Word of the Day: Wazawaza = Intentionally, take the trouble to do
Song of the Day: Secession – Touch (1984. A horrible and fabulous year for music.)