30: Fashion: CanCam February 2016

Hey guys!

I hope every one has had an amazing week! TGIF, right? ✨

I want to start doing a fashion magazine review once a month or so in lieu of the regular fashion/trend watch post I normally do on Friday. I figure that it would be a great opportunity to take a look at a lot of different trends/brands and maybe introduce Japanese fashion magazines all at once! ❤

This month, I want to introduce you to the ever fashionable, ever girly CanCam!

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What’s CanCam?

CanCam is a monthly fashion magazine aimed at women in the last years of university and the first years of entering a company; so basically early to mid-20s. Okay, so I am none of those things, but still find a lot of the styles and advice columns to be awesome! Also, it is a very brand-driven magazine and most of the things advertised are on the expensive side. That being said, I am a sorority alum and still didn’t know of any university students who dressed like/could afford a lot of the clothes or accessories advertised. ANYWAY- Let’s take a look at the February issue and you can see for yourself what I am talking about!

February 2016 Run-down

 

This month’s cover features one of my favorite bands, Kanjani 8. The theme this month is ‘real’- showing real trends among female office workers (OLs or Office Ladies), the regularly featured models and Kanjani members. (that’s my favorite member on the right, Shingo Murakami ❤)

We start off with one of the most popular coats of the season, a super cute Chester coat from a brand called “INGNI” (pronounced ‘ing‘). I picked one similar to obsess over this winter. This one retails for ¥12,000 (about $120.00 US) and I am really digging the light blue look with the tights and ankle boots and WANT.

Next we start to get into ‘real’ trends from OLs. Starting with the left page, we get casual pants looks. Tailored capri pants are really in style over here (and have been for a few years). Office workers like them because they are easy to take from business casual to after-hours without looking like you’re wearing a suit. Then on the right, we have “this winter’s trend color- both elegant and cute: camel.”

L: “Everyone loves knit! The loose silhouette of a knit dress and knit sweater make this the number one most popular look of the weekend!”  R: How to wear floral patterns and check patterns without looking too childish. (I am NUTS over that black sweater and floral skirt! Like,  I am literally trying to talk myself out of buying both of them 😆)

L: “Zoom in on the pictures (different outfit snapshots) and you’ll see that mostly large pearl accessories are worn.” (totally got in on that trend here) R: “Obviously, pretty, short boots are a necessity.” The bottom of the page suggests wearing loafers with denim and heels with straps.

Really the only reason I scanned this page was to show the “beautiful-type university student” spread. Um. I wore Ugs and my letters a lot? I mean, we did have to dress up on Monday…maybe college in Texas and college in Japan are different? (OBVS) Anyway, this magazine has me questioning my style on a regular basis because (again) I’m not a college student, or in my 20s and I totally dress like the middle shot.

The last section I want to look at is advertising a new(ish) store called Color. You can literally just search for the color of clothing you want. Cool thing is, they’re not over-priced. Down side- it’s net shopping (or app shopping) and from the looks of it, most likely runs super small. They picked 6 popular colors for winter to highlight the different looks from the brand. It’s all very on-trend, of course.

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Keep in mind

I hate to be a bubble-burster, but fashion in Japan is NOT all crazy and wild. There is totally a sub-culture for that and it is a thing, probably in Tokyo, but for the most part everyone is pretty subdued. Personally, I tend to gravitate toward very feminine styles, so that’s mostly what I’ll talk about because those are the styles/brands I’m most familiar with.

As far as translations go, I’m not going to translate every single bubble on every single page. The pictures speak volumes, so I’ll more or less just summarize. (unless I put it in quotations, then it’s probably a direct translation) If you would like to have a page translated, feel free to ask! If I have time (I might or might not) I would be glad to translate it for you.

Last thing, these are my scans. I’m probably not supposed to scan the magazine and post pictures, so I’m not going to get all picky about people taking them. Just don’t say where you got them! 😉

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Next month, I’ll do a review of CanCam’s ‘older sister’ magazine, AneCam!

What do you think? Spot something you liked? Let’s talk about it! ❤

xo,