

In addition to the standard wheat straw and other natural materials such as sweet-smelling cypress and raffia, the hats come in a range of styles and fabric. Would you like that in linen, denim and cotton printed with tiny flowers? Even animal prints are prowling the spring streets. The band is endlessly customizable, showing up in sequins, nautical stripes and black and white polka dots. In step with the decofuku (decorated clothing), trend, people are adding bows, flowers or bouquets of buttons.

Singer Miliyah Katou and model Rinka, a frequent cover girl for fashion magazine Sweet, are credited by some with helping to popularize the hat. Styles can be, as one site explains, “girly” or “mens-like.” Natural colored straw or burlap look at home with the cottony forest-nymph style of dreamy Mori Girls. At the other end of the fashion spectrum, for the Shibuya Girls who seem to embrace any color combination as long as it does not occur in nature, a hot pink leopard print might be just the right topper.

Prices are from less than ¥2,000 at stalls on Takeshita Dori in Harajuku to over ¥10,000 on CA4LA.com. Noticed any eye-catching fashions on the street? (Japan Pulse)