The New Official Visual Kei + J-Punk Thread (NOW OPEN!)

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Welcome to the (new) official Visual Kei & J-Punk Thread! The previous one was a little outdated, but you can always browse the pages for inspiration.

✚ First of all, what is visual kei?

Visual kei, contrary to belief, is not a genre of music. Visual kei is often abbreviated as "VK" and literally means "visual style." The term can be used to label a band, but it simply means that the looks are as important as the music. It's a very broad definition, so naturally there's going to be a very broad interpretation making visual kei a very diverse fashion. It could range from pastel rainbow vomit to elegant aristocratic vampire romance to rebellious edgy punk.

✚ A Very Brief History

Visual kei started in the 1980s with a lot of influence from glam rock. The term visual kei is based off of X Japan's slogan: “Psychedelic Violence Crime of Visual Shock.” The original pioneers of vk are credited to be X Japan, Visual Scandal, Sekima II. Later in the 90s, bands such as Luna Sea and Malice Mizer made visual kei more popular.
With the disbandment of X Japan and Luna Sea, the visual scene was quiet for awhile. A new wave of bands started appearing in the mid 2000s and have gotten a label of "neo visual kei."

✚ Rules

Follow Gaia's Terms of Service.
No drama. Harassment of any form will not be tolerated.
Musical discussion is better suited in the International Music forum.
Feel free to come in any time! Most of use don't bite.

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02.11.2012 Thread opening!
02.03.2012 vistlip x SUPER LOVERS collaboration
10.07.2011 h.NAOTO opens his first store in the US.
10.04.2011 SuG's Takeru launches his clothing line MILLION $ ORCHESTRA.

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Since visual kei is a very broad fashion, some subcategories have been defined by the major trends. There are also some common motifs. You don't have to limit yourself to just these though.

✚ Oshare kei
Oshare means "fashion conscience." Oshare is very bright and colorful.

✚ Eroguro kei
Eroguro is a mixture of erotic and grotesque elements. Blood, bandages, and eyepatches are often used.

✚ Angura kei
Angura is short for "underground." It is darker and more formal than eroguro. The use of Japanese traditional clothing such as uniforms and kimono is common.

✚ Elegothic kei
Elegothic is short for "elegant (and/or) Gothic." Pretty self-explanatory; often aristocratic. Sometimes associated with lolita fashion.

✚ J-Punk
Somewhere along the line, J-punk got mixed in with visual kei. It is different from Western punk. J-punk is basically the more wearable and casual form of visual kei.

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✚ Cure
Cure magazine, subtitles "Japaneseque Rock and Visual Styling Magazine," features the latest news in visual kei. It covers bands and often includes a styling tutorial in each volume.

✚ KERA
KERA is a Japanese punk fashion magazine. It includes a variety of styles including punk, gothic, and lolita. There is also an extended version called KERA MANIAX that is published less frequently. It includes bonuses like stickers and patterns.

✚ Gothic & Lolita Bible
This is a KERA spinoff that focuses more specifically on lolita fashion. There are various patterns in every issue.

✚ SHOXX
Shoxx, subtitled "Visual and Hard Shock," is a monthly music based magazine.

✚ FOOL'S MATE
FOOL'S MATE is another music-based magazine. It is specifically for visual kei artists.

✚ Arena 37°C
This music magazine features a mix of visual kei and J-pop artists.

✚ FRUiTS
FRUiTS is a magazine based in Tokyo. Inside are very few ads and tons of street snaps.

✚ zy/[zi:] Stylish Community and Rock Magazine
Features visual kei bands

✚ Men's Knuckle
A men's fashion magazine. Good for hair inspiration.

✚ Men's Spider
A men's fashion magazine. Features more visual kei artists than Knuckle.

✚ Rock & Read
Music magazine that features a lot of visual kei bands.

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✚ BRANDS


ALGONQUINS
International retailer(s): Harajuku Hearts

alice auaa*

BLACK PEACE NOW/PEACE NOW

Candy Stripper*

Deorart
International retailer(s): CDJapan, Harajuku Hearts

Double Decker (shoes)

h.NAOTO

HELL CAT PUNKS
International retailer(s): Tokyo Rebel

LISTEN FLAVOR
International retailer(s): CDJapan, Harajuku Hearts

Maxicimam
International retailer(s): Tokyo Rebel, CDJapan

MILLION $ ORCHESTRA
International retailer(s): coolJAPANstore

Moi Meme Moitie
International retailer(s): CDJapan

Ozz On*

Putumayo
International retailer(s): Harajuku Hearts, Tokyo Rebel

Qutie Frash*

Rituals by Kenzo-A*

SEX POT ReVeNGe
International retailer(s): CDJapan, Tokyo Rebel, Harajuku Hearts

SUPER LOVERS
International retailer(s): CDJapan, Tokyo Rebel

Suppurate System* (accessories)

Yosuke (shoes)


✚ OTHER


Bodyline

CDJapan

KERA Shop*
Carries A LOT of different brands

Rakuten
- shop list coming soon



*do not ship internationally; shopping service required

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✚ USA SHOPS


Peace Now USA
The online shop for PEACE NOW, BLACK PEACE NOW, and BLACK PEACE NOW for Men. The physical store is in San Francisco, California.

h.NAOTO
They have a US specific webshop and an international webshop. The European and Japanese sites can be found on the main web page. The physical store is located in San Fransisco, California.

Harajuku Hearts
Harajuku Hearts is an official reseller of some Japanese punk and lolita. They have a physical store in San Fransisco, California.

Kinokuniya Bookstore
You can find publications like KERA here. They have several locations in the US. They will carry clothes sometimes if there is a special event.

Tokyo Rebel
Tokyo Rebel is a official reseller of a mixture of Japanese punk and lolita. There is more punk here than in Harajuku Hearts and they also sell KERA and Gothic & Lolita Bible magazines. Their physical store is based in New York City, New York.



✚ EUROPEAN SHOPS


Atelier P-I-N-K-Y
Atelier P-I-N-K-Y is an indie brand based in Switzerland.

h.NAOTO (Europe)

Neo Tokyo



✚ AUSTRALIAN SHOPS


Electric Alice
Electric Alice is a resale shop of a mix of different street fashions. They focus on "kawaii fashion," but you might be able to find a nice punk piece every once in awhile.



✚ CHINESE SHOPS
These are usually the things on eBay labeled as "visual kei." Sometimes it is cheaper to order through shopping service, and sometimes it is cheaper to order off of eBay.

coming soon

DO NOT BUY FROM MILANOO OR ANY OTHER SITES THAT LOOK LIKE IT. THEY ARE A SCAM. A LIST OF THESE SHOPS CAN BE FOUND HERE.

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✚ JAPANESE BASED


Alice+Fururun

Candyone*

Closet Child

Dolly*

Fairy Angel

Maiden Clothing*

Magnet Holic*

mbok*
mbok is a Japanese mobile auction site. The link above is the alternative fashion category which is separated by brands. Each brand is separated by clothing categories (shirts, pants, jackets, accessories, etc.). You can also use the search bar in case the brand you're looking for isn't listed. Snipe bidding does not work here.

Tokyo Alice

Usagi Youhinten

Yahoo!Japan Auctions*
You can search by brand names in English or Japanese.


✚ INTERNATIONAL


Clothing Drop (USA)
Clothing drop is a consignment shop in the US. They ship internationally.

EGL Community Sales
EGL Comm Sales is based on livejournal for private selling and buying. It is mainly for lolita fashion, but some punk brands are sold there as well.

Garage Sale Japan
GSJ is based on livejournal for private selling and buying. They only allow Japanese clothing to be posted.

Lolitadesu (Europe)
Lolitadesu sells a mix of used and unused clothing. They are based in Denmark.

MFashion (Europe)
mfashion is a consignment shop in The Netherlands. They also have a physical shop.

One Day in Paradise (Australia)
ODIP is a consignment shop. The physical shop is in Melbourne.

Trample Clothing (USA)
Trample Clothing is a consignment shop based in the US. They ship internationally.

Visual Kei & J-Rock Sales
This is a group on facebook for private buying and selling.

VK Sales
VK Sales is based on livejournal for private selling and buying.

*require shopping service

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Have you ever wanted something from a website, but couldn't figure out how to order? Chances are that if that website doesn't have any English information on it, then they don't ship internationally. What you need is a middleman also known as a shopping service. The shopping service, usually located in the same country as the website, will buy the item(s) for you, and ship it to your home. Their services aren't free though and you will have to pay commission and/or any service charges such as Paypal or bank transfer fees.


HOW DOES IT WORK?

coming soon



JAPANESE

FromJapan

Japonica

CHINESE

OTHER

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Now open and welcome to post!
I'm far from finishing this thread, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to share!