Traditional Korean/Japanese Hair Accessories

I've always like asian hair accessories. In western style hairdos, the result mostly depends on the handcraft of the hairdresser in regards to the hair itself, as in the multiple variety of braids and knots that can be done with different lenght of hair. Accessories often end-up being put on top of those to add up to the hairdo, like tying a ribbon, adding a headband or a crown-like ornement why not...

Meanwhile, in Asia, they put a lot of effort in handcrafting the hair accessories themselves, and the hairdo actually seems to be meant to complete the look of the accessories, as a sort of display of various jewels. I must admit I am pretty much ignorant of chinese style hairdos. However, I know a little of japanese and korean ones, japanese; through history books, and movies, korean; mostly because of dramas.

Culture Blend

Just as I like fusion cuisine - modern cuisine inspired by old traditional european recipes - I like 'fusion' traditional hairdos. I mean, let's face it. Most of what we see, believing that it is a display of actual traditional accessories, is in fact just a modernization of what used to be the trend, making it more modern so to please the eyes of unknowing people. Take General Tao Chicken for example, if you like my food comparison: that is absolutely not Chinese. 

So my point is, I like to mix up things from different cultures. When I mix up pieces of clothing, the result is often pretty messed up, and ends up making me look like a total retard: now, me asks friends around me to approve before I do this and go out... 

For hair accessories, I basically just don't care. People with no notion of where I get my stuff from might think it looks weird, but hair, I just do whatever. Especially since I am in a super small town where anything different from douchebag polos and caps or skanky clothing looks out of place. 

So here are a couple of findings I have to show, that I got from different places.

Japanese Hairpin

I got this hairpin in a store selling traditional japanese prom accessories and dresses (seijin-shiki kimonos and hakatas for example). I forgot the name of the material it's made in, shame on me. I know it's not simple plastic, although the simple light look makes it seem so. I chose one of the most traditional looking in a pile of super extravagant accessories they had, because it was one of the first thing I bought in my last trip to Japan: you always feel awkward on the first bit of money spent, as though it really matters...when you know you'll end up stopping to count after a day or two. Whatever, I always do that: old habits die hard. I still regretted not buying another more, since I did not go back to that sort of store in the trip.

Fusion Japanese Pin: Kyoto

Try to open a store of traditional accessories in Kyoto. There are so many of those, and people in Japan often already own their own traditional jewelry, and pass it down to their kids. Thus, appart from already well settled traditional stores with good reputations, opening a new store selling the same thing is bound to be a harsh job, even for hard-working japanese. I found a store on a very touristic place in Gion, Kyoto, where they opened an accessory shop of 'fusion' hair accessories and jewels. While the look of all their stuff has a japanese feel to it, the purpose of their items is to accomodate traditional style to modern life: traditional accessories require more time to settle in the hair, and are harder to match up with modern clothings. That's the challenge the people in the store took: modernize japanese style accessories, add new to the old.

I had a lot of trouble finding THE one to buy (they were not cheap, so I did not want to regret buying it) but settled for one with a strawberry-looking red heart pin, that can actually be worn over 30 different ways (they gave a DVD teaching how to use them) of which I can take the dangling thingy off if I wish. The pin is not that big actually so I don't really take it off.

I bough this hair clip in a random accessory store in Fukuoka and fell in love with it. I remember I always loved those clips when they started being popular in the 90s, but always wondered if they always hat do be this ugly. I really dislike the uneven shape and the whole thingy in the middle, where you see your hair showing. There were attempt at making them look a bit classier (less cheap looking) by putting accessories like pearls and stuff on the big side, but I was never impressed by the look. Well here is the solution. You use those pins to hold on another completely different hair accessory! Yay!

Actually, the reason I bought this one is because It reminded me of one of the traditional Korean hair jewel they put on the top of the head of royalty. While the actual jewel is a bit too big to look nice when wearing anything else than a hanbok, this one seemed it could give a feel of it and I wanted to try.

Trying it on...

I already posted about those before going to Japan. I ordered those Korean hairitems online to use on my hair and really liked what I received but I am not sure I ever posted pictures of what I did with them... This was taken some time in March.

It sucks that I never manages to take a picture that both showed the top of the head and the side braids I made on that hairdo but here is the result of what I did with the clip I bought in Japan - can you see in on top of my head? - with the sidebraids to go with the style. Traditionally they obviously did not have bangs... but I don't like having none so adaptation here... for a weird result that I actually liked TBH.

Since I never found a site I can buy those jade pins used in trad Korean hairdos I used the japanese pin I bought in Kyoto and I really liked the result. Oh I am a sucker for shiny things, wherever they are from. Must have been some weird animal attracted to shiny stuff in another life I am telling you...