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This foxy Tokyo gyaru look from 20 years ago is having a mini revival right now【Photos】

Casey Baseel Jan 20, 2025
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A bit of furry fashion fun returns.

You might not guess it while she’s modeling all sorts of fashionable outfits, but our Japanese-language reporter Ikuna Kamezawa didn’t grow up in the neon neighborhoods of Tokyo. She’s not a native of Yokohama, Osaka, or any of the other largest cities of Japan, either. No, Ikuna hails from rather rural Tottori prefecture.

Because Tottori is so far away from Japan’s youth fashion epicenters, Ikuna sadly and regularly missed out on Japan’s newest fashion trends while living in her hometown, and one of them really stung. Which one? We’ll let J-pop empress Ayumi Hamasaki demonstrate, via the music video for her 2001 hit “Evolution.”

As shown in the video, around 20 years ago fashionable young ladies of Tokyo and other trend-setting towns in Japan took to wearing faux-fur tails, clipped to their waists, belts, or bags. The spunky, playful look was especially popular among gyaru, and Ikuna looked on enviously at photos of street fashion and models in the big cities rocking their tails. Out in the sticks of Tottori, though, no one was fashion-forward enough to sport one, and with Ikuna then too shy to be the first in her community, the fur tail’s hot minute of popularity came and went before Ikuna had a chance to try it for herself.

But then!

On a recent visit to fashion shopping mecca 109 in Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood, Ikuna spotted a store selling fur tails!

Fashion trends tend to be cyclical, and recently in Japan there’s been a revival of looks from the late ‘90s and early 2000s, as a growing number of young people are discovering and resonating with the aesthetics of the mid-Heisei era. The store Spinns, located on the seventh floor of 109, has a number of accessories evocative of that period, now including fur tails!

Determined not to let this unexpected second chance slip through her fingers, Ikuna quickly snapped up two tails, each priced at 880 yen (US$5.60). Again, these aren’t made of actual fur and no animals were harmed in their creation, keeping them both affordable and humane.

Back at SoraNews24 HQ, Ikuna quickly clipped on a tail, and instantly felt a spark of energetic joy. After waiting for so long, she was finally foxy!

Now there was just one thing left to do: take her tail to the streets. Ikuna felt a bit of trepidation as she stepped out of the office, though. SoraNews24 HQ is located in Shinjuku, itself a pretty fashionable part of Tokyo, and Ikuna worried that maybe she’d get weird looks or half-hidden snickers from passersby for wearing something judged to be either too bold or just plain outdated.

But to Ikuna’s pleasant surprise, and continuing happiness, she didn’t get a single negative reaction. Granted, no one stopped and applauded as she walked by, either, but it’s safe to say that if you want to be part of the fur tail revival, random people aren’t going to point, laugh, or otherwise make you feel uncomfortable, confirming that this is once again a viable accessory choice.

▼ The more Ikuna walked with her tail, the more she channeled her inner Ayu power.

After purchasing her tails, Ikuna checked out the other shops in Shibuya and found a few others selling them too, and in the couple weeks since she’s been wearing hers, she’s spotted a handful of fellow fur tail sisters while out and about too, usually wearing other mid-Heisei-inspired fashions. So while fur tails may not necessarily be the hottest look of the season, it’s not a look that’s frozen in time anymore either, so if you missed out on it the first time around like Ikuna did, now’s your chance.

Photos ©SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]

Follow Casey on Twitter, where if anyone knows where his “Evolution” single CD is, he’D appreciate a heads-up.