Happy New Years

I found a good site for browsing: http://tokyofashion.com/tag/shop-windows(tokyofashion.com)

Shopping is pastime in Toyko, the high streets shop windows are a retail wonderland and visual treat so a good place to look for inspiration.

Although the sites main purpose is for Japanese fashion / shopping the photographs taken by a girl(?) who is living locally are a good insight into shop retail displays - she collects pics of all the shop windows in mainly in the Harajuku district and anything else that stands out.

One thing that really struck me was the hype generated for the stores, even this is visible through the images. Shop windows are adverts for their promotions and emphasis is taken away from other staple products. The mania deliberately created around getting something individual that no-one else has. Limited editions are especially popular ensuring you stand out in the populated crowd.

Still a massive advertising favourite is the branded bag, and they're not always freebies, 500USD for a Paul Smith bag! Uhmmm, I remember we had a similar phase in the UK a while back.