The Honolulu Museum of Art is an oasis in busy Honolulu. The institution was founded by Anna Rice Cooke. She and her husband Charles Montegue Cooke collected art. Eventually the collection outgrew their home on Beretania Street and Anna decided to establish an art museum on the site. She wanted it to be multi-cultural to reflect Hawai`i’s people.

Whenever I travel to Honolulu, I hope there will be enough time for me to stop at the museum to view the current exhibitions. Last week I viewed a display on Harajuku – Tokyo Street Fashion. You can see the exhibition poster on the right side of the museum’s entry way above. I can’t help but wonder what Mrs. Cooke would have thought of the doll-like fashions on display.

Harajuku appeared in 1990s Tokyo as a combination of the cuteness of Hello Kitty with a so-called British new wave. The name Harajuku is from the district in Shibuya near the Harajuku Station, an area that has become a center for extreme teen culture. All the fashions include accessories and bold make-up to enhance the look.

There are several variations of Harajuku. The Lolita look channels a Victorian look with flat shoes and lace bonnets as if plucked from Alice in Wonderland. The white collared dress below is called Wonder Queen. Inspired by Alice’s experience at the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, the dress has playing card motifs.

Gothic Lolita is a variation on the theme with its severe black dress. I couldn’t help but wonder if these were the dresses many of us have tried to avoid – constricting and corseted.

Another aspect is the Visual Lolita which has a more androgynous look.

Another display held several manniquens on a revolving platform. The fashions are known as Otome which is also the Japanese word for maiden. These dresses were popular in the 1970s and are a sort of precursor for current Harajuku.

In case you’re wondering if people really wear Harajuku on the street, here are three photographs I located on Wikimedia Commons. Were the subjects posing? I would say yes. But don’t we all pose a bit when we select our clothing for the day?

Once again Japanese teen-agers have created a look that is creative and playful. Maybe we should play more with our own appearance.

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Featured Image: Entrance to the Honolulu Museum of Art. Photo by Author.

Photographs:

Photographs of museum displays by Author, with permission.

The group of Harajuku girls by Peter Van den Bosscha. Creative Commons Attribution. Wikimedia Commons.

Karol and Die of Dir en grey cosplays, the photo featuring the red dress, by Nicholas Wang. Creative Commons Attribution. Wikimedia Commons.

The Gothic Girl is by Carolos Castillo. Creative Commons Attribution. Wikimedia Commons.

Harajuku. Japan-guide.com

Harajuku Exhibition. Honolulu Museum of Art.

The post HARAJUKU: Hello Kitty’s Fashion Successor first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

Some gardens have official gardeners. Lucky plants. These professionals know their herbaceous clients and give them just what they need when they need it. They keep the lawns mowed, the underbrush cleared, the trees in good health. I think they have something magic in their green fingers. Many of these gardeners work in large public and private gardens. They keep the flowers blooming at Oxford University. They keep Mrs. Jennie Butchart’s dream alive at Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia. Butchart Gardens has a lovely image gallery at http://www.butchartgardens.com/the-gardens/image-gallery/image-gallery.html Just looking at the images is relaxing.

Happily, there are beautiful gardens in Hawai`i – one of these is part of the Honolulu Museum of Art.   Spalding House sits in a quiet neighborhood on Makiki Heights. Anna Rice Cooke, founder of the museum, built the house and began the gardens in 1924. The structure is a delightful example of the simple, but elegant, lifestyle of territorial Hawai`i. The gardens are a sanctuary above the city with a view of Diamond Head. The Museum has added outdoor art — a woven horse here, a sculpture there. Peaceful serenity – a place for creative play. More information on Spalding House at the Honolulu Museum of Art website http://honolulumuseum.org/11981-contemporary_museum_spalding_house I took a few pictures – hope they bring a bright note to your day.

The post On Gardens first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.