Tokyo girls prefer school uniform-like dresses

For teenage girls in Tokyo these days, a school uniform is not something evoking a spirit of discipline but something that symbolizes their sensitivity to trends in fashion.

An increasing number of female students in high schools and even some in junior high schools in Tokyo prefer going to school wearing uniform-like clothes even if they have not been told to wear a real uniform.

Yasuko Nakamura, president of Tokyo-based marketing company Boom Planning Co, said the trend is believed to have started around 2002, when she found one high school girl wearing different ‘‘uniforms’’ every time she saw her.

Nakamura later realized that what appeared to be school uniforms were in fact just their favorite dresses.‘‘The school uniform (for girls) used to be regarded as a symbol of an education with strict regulations. But today, wearing a uniform should be recognized as a privilege only for high school girls,’’ Nakamura said.

Many magazines for young girls feature topics on school uniform-like dress, approvingly called ‘‘nanchatte seifuku’’ (fake uniform), Nakamura said.Against the backdrop of such a trend, a boutique dealing exclusively with school uniform-like apparel opened in Tokyo’s trendy Harajuku district in February 2008.

Shizuka Fujioka is a TV personality who works at the boutique CONOMi. Fujioka is nicknamed the ‘‘charismatic coordinator’’ due to what her fans describe as her good sense in selecting clothes for potential customers.

The shop has seen the number of customers jump four-fold since its opening and is organizing an event called Brand School Uniform Collection 2009 to exhibit and sell uniform-like dresses in Tokyo which will run through April 6.