Going from red to blue

If "Harajuku style" means gaggles of gothic-lolitas and 1970s-style punks to you, then it's time to catch up.

It's now the era of ao-moji, literally "blue-letter." Ao-moji is a riff on aka-moji or "red-letter" publications, Japanese fashion magazines such as CanCam and ViVi that tout the sweet and sexy "Shibuya style" that has dominated Tokyo for the past decade.

Ao-moji magazines, such as Zipper and the free MIG, promote the style — a cross between Harajuku's ironic and eclectic looks with Shibuya's cute and sexy — and it is becoming more and more distinctive. Elements of cosplay, forest girl and '80s trends all converge for a look best described as "New Wave in Candyland."