“There’s this aspiration to be cute, and they find that to be incredibly empowering and strong," Thomas Card says of the women he photographed for his latest book, Tokyo Adorned, which highlights the kawaii (or "cute") style on the streets of Japan's capital. Dressing to express their individuality, the girls associate themselves with certain thematic fashion categories, ranging from “Fancy Conductor” and "DASAKAWA 80s" (a made-up word that juxtaposes “lame” and “cute”) to Lolita, Decora ("decoration"), Gotchi ("gothic"), Hadeko ("gaudy"), and Harajuku. "For these girls, it’s this process of dressing that allows you to see them for who they are," Card says. "They’re constantly changing themselves...If you were to go tomorrow, they would be different again."
Fashion Category: "Fancy Conductor"
"As a Fancy Conductor," she writes, "I aim for a fashion style that is attractive—like a story teller leading others to the world of dreams—and yet unworldly."
Thomas C. Card
Fashion Category: "Harajuku Kids"
Fashion Category: N/A
Fashion Category: "Party Baby"
"Party Baby [is] my own brand whose motif is kid's clothing for adults. Most of the outfits and accessories I am wearing, I made myself."
Fashion Category: "A girl flying around 'Meve'" (A fictional airport in the film, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.)
Fashion Category: N/A
Fashion Category: "My concept is DASAKAWA 80's!" (A made-up adjective that combine's dasai (lame) and kawaii (cute))
Fashion Category: Decora (Short for decoration)
Fashion Category: N/A
