Especially black PLAYBOY sweatshirts were so popular that they were hard to come by!
It was also popular among middle and high school students who were not necessarily "gal."
Around 2005, the trend of "kigurumin", who wore character costumes, began to fade away.
Instead, a new style called "sweatshirt tribe" became popular among many high school and middle school students, including gals.
Two years later, a style called "jersey tribe" also became popular.
In this article, we will explain more about the "sweatshirt tribe" and " jersey tribe."
The casual wear for gals is sweatshirts and jerseys!!
Around 2005, the "sweatshirt tribe" style became popular among many high school and middle school students, including gals.
This style featured sweatshirts from popular brands such as "PLAYBOY" and "Uniqlo" paired with Kitty-chan's health sandals (also known as "Kitty-san") or Crocs.
Then, around 2007, the " jersey tribe" style became popular.
This style featured jersey from popular brands such as Adidas and Nike paired with Kitty-chan's health sandals or Crocs.
How to wear
- Wear as a set
- Wear a long T-shirt on top and sweatpants or jersey on the bottom
- Wear sweatpants or jersey under a school uniform skirt
Sweatshirts and jerseys were the standard style when going out with local friends.
Fashion of sweatshirt and jersey tribes
Here we introduce 3 popular ways to style sweatshirts and jerseys.
PLAYBOY sweatsshirt x Kitty-chan's health sandals
Around 2005, the most popular sweatshirt was the "PLAYBOY", and it was common to wear the set up together with Hello Kitty health sandals (known as "Kitty-San") while going out at night.
Many young people also wore sweatshirts as pajamas, so it was common to see them walking around in sweatshirts when going to the convenience store.
During high school field trips, many girls in the class wore sweatshirts.
Especially, there was a phenomenon that girl wearing PLAYBOY sweatshirts were envied by everyone.
Long T-shirt on top with sweatpants or jerseys on bottom
A popular style among gal and many high school girls was to wear a casual top like a long T-shirt or T-shirt and pair it with sweatpants or jerseys.
This style wasn't just for going out at night but was also worn during the day as a fashionable clothes.
It was common to coordinate matching sweatpants or jerseys with friends when hanging out and take Purikura (photo booth) pictures or chat at a family restaurant.
Grey sweatpants and navy blue jerseys with stripes were popular, and the key was to finish the rough with casual footwear like Hello Kitty health sandals or Crocs.
Sweatshirts from PLAYBOY and Uniqlo and jerseys from PUMA were popular.
PUMA jerseys were sometimes called "Pu-ja" by some people.
Wear a sweatshirt or jersey under your uniform to protect against the cold
Starting in 2005, it became a trend during the winter to wear sweatshirts or jerseys under school uniforms as a way to stay warm.
I remember seeing many students wearing sweatshirts at train station platforms after school.
Looking back now, I think the overall style was pretty tacky... but at the time, we thought it was cool and enjoyed the sweatshirt and jersey fashion trend to the fullest.
Popular items
Kitty Sandals, Toilet Sandals, Crocs
For footwear, Kitty Sandals (health sandals with Hello Kitty design), Bensan (toilet sandals), and Crocs sandals were popular among Sweat and Jersey fashion enthusiasts.
These were not only popular among Gals and Yankii, but also among many high school girls during this time.
Disney leather bracelets
Customized leather bracelets with names on them, which could be made at Disneyland, were popular among Gals and high school girls in the Kanto region.
Couples and friends often made them with each other's names, and some even included the brand name "ALBAROSA," which was very popular at the time.
They were worn not only on the wrist, but also attached to school bags.
Local character straps
Local character straps, such as "Local Kitty-chan" and "Local Kato-chan," were popular among Gals and many high school students.
It was common to buy these as souvenirs for oneself or friends when traveling, and some even collected them as a hobby.
Some people even collected over 100 of them.
There was a time when a shop on Takeshita Street in Harajuku sold local Kitty-chan and Cato-chan products from all over Japan, which was very exciting.
Gajou (Pane art, Poem art, Pair art, etc.)
During this time (around 2005), Gajou (decorated images with heavy edits) became popular among Gals and many young people.
They were mainly used as mobile phone wallpapers.
Examples of Gajou include "Pane-ga", with phrases like " I love you so much" written in white text on a black background, "Poem image" with lyrics or poetry written on them, and "Pair image", which was often used by couples.
Pane-ga
Poem image
Pair image(Divided into two for her and boyfriend)
Many people in their 30s and 40s may have had this wallpaper set on their mobile phones in the past.
Though we don't see them as often now, Sweat and Jersey fashion were popular among not only Gals, but also Yankii and many high school students during this time.
