Japan's Latest Fashion Has Women Playing Princess:
Ms. Yamamoto is a hime gyaru, or princess girl, a growing new tribe of Japanese women who aim to look like sugarcoated, 21st-century versions of old-style European royalty. They idolize Marie Antoinette and Paris Hilton, for her baby-doll looks and princess lifestyle. They speak in soft, chirpy voices and flock to specialized boutiques with names like Jesus Diamante, which looks like a bedroom in a European chateau. There, some hime girls spend more than $1,000 for an outfit including a satin dress, parasol and rhinestone-studded handbag.
It all started simply enough:
Jesus Diamante started the princess boom. Toyotaka Miyamae, 52, who had run an import shop specializing in evening gowns, set up the company in Osaka seven years ago to design feminine dresses tailored to Japanese women, whom he found to be shorter and to have smaller chests than Western women. Inspired by his favorite actress, Brigitte Bardot, he created dresses in quality fabrics that mimicked the feminine and elegant style of her youth.“What I wanted to do wasn’t that unique,” says Mr. Miyamae, who named the company after a Japanese musical. “I just made them to fit Japanese bodies.”
Mr. Miyamae’s knee-length dresses are studded with fake pearls and flowers and have names like Antoine (short for Marie Antoinette). They became popular among women who were looking for a cleaned-up look after the popularity of ripped jeans and layered casual clothing in the late 1990s. The chain’s sales have grown 20% a year, to $13.4 million in the year ended March 2008, even though it has just four stores, including one in Tokyo’s trendy Harajuku neighborhood. It has spurred a slew of rivals with names like Liz Lisa and La Pafait.