Japanese men and women 'giving up dating and marrying friends'

The Japanese sex problem has become so desperate that its young population are giving up on dating and are just marrying their friends.

A Government survey found 69 per cent of Japanese men and 59 per cent of Japanese women do not have a romantic partner.

One Japanese aggregator website has since been awash with stories of how people have simply got married to life-long friends.

The country has one of the lowest birth rates in the world, with just 8.4 children being born per 1,000 inhabitants over the last five years.

Its population of 127m people is predicted to decrease to 87m by 2060.

The survey, carried out by the country’s National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, also reported that about 80 per cent of unmarried Japanese want to get married.

In recent weeks, people have posted stories to the aggregator website Matome Naver, telling how in one case, a colleague married their friend of 10 years.

The trend has been coined “Kousai zero Nichikon”: roughly translated as “marrying without dating”.

Japanese actress Maki Horikita married co-star Koji Yamamoto in 2015 after just a month of dating.

A column in the Joshi Spa! Magazine last month compared hunting for a marriage partner with suicide.

There is no real evidence that the kousai zero nichikon trend is taking the far eastern islands by storm.

But it draws parallels with Japan’s now mostly defunct omiai arranged marriage tradition, in which parents suggested partners for their adult children.

After the sexual partners survey was released earlier this year, columnist and sociologist Maki Fukasawa criticised the media’s use of his own term to describe the sex problem: “Herbivore men”.

How to get snapped by a street style photographer

Getting spotted by street style photographers is, for fashion obsessives at least, the ultimate pat on the back - but it’s by no means an easy feat.

Street style has established itself as a legitimate event outside most Fashion Week venues around the world, but what exactly are these photographers looking for?

Speaking to GQ, Jonathan Daniel Price - the man behind menswear style and fashion blog GarçonJon and award winning street style photographer – reveals what it is that catches his eye.

Fancy getting papped next Fashion Week? Then take heed of Jon's street style etiquette tips.

Don’t dress to please others

"If I think about what my eyes are naturally drawn to, it’s clearly someone who is dressing for themselves," he said.

He says he is drawn to people who feel confident in what they're wearing, in authentic outfits that they'd usually wear.

"During Fashion Week, people who are obviously dressed in something they wouldn’t usually wear look instantly forced and uncomfortable. It’s obvious in the way you carry yourself."

He said a sure sign of this is whether you're making eye contact with people and look relaxed.

Consider your setting

Either fit in, or really, really stand out.

"Harmonising setting and style can create interesting matches," he said. A classic and simple outfit in a minimalist and clean Copenhagen-style setting will match well.

However, if someone is wearing couture while walking past some rubbish trucks, that's so extreme that he'll be up for shooting it.

Wear in your shoes

"I look for shoes that have been worn in - like boots with paint splattered on them that look like your dad gave them to you and they’ve been put to good use."

Get your trousers tailored

Too many wannabe fashionistas are screwing up when it comes to trousers.

"The most common fashion faux-pas, and the easiest one to correct, is the length of your trousers. I see guys in nice suits, expensive or cheap, and they haven’t had the trousers tailored to the length of their legs."

It costs a few pounds at a local tailor to fix, so there's no excuse.

Size up your jacket

If you can't lift your hands above your head you've got a problem.

"With jackets, everyone buys them too small. It’s like the trend of the last the ten years and it’s awful."

He said rules can be broken, but only if you know how to do it properly.

"For example, the shoulder of the jacket has to come off the edge of your shoulder. You can’t have the seam sitting on the shoulder, as it gives a roundedness to the arm hole."

Don’t follow trends

If you're following the crowds, the street style photographers aren't going to follow you.

"I don’t tend to photograph anyone who looks like they’re following a really obvious trend that shows they’re interested in fashion for fashion’s sake."

Instead, he wants to photograph "a classic piece that will last you".

Wear bold bottoms

"A wider legged pair of trousers or higher waisted trousers look amazing. British men aren’t afraid to try something new. They’re adventurous. And that comes across in the music culture we have here. They love finding new music and that inspires their style."

The Death of The Logo Handbag: How Minimalism Quietly Nudged Out Shouty Branding

The logo 'It' bag is officially dead.

In today’s fashion circles the once-trendy accessory just doesn’t carry the same weight that it used to. The need for loud, shouty branding is flailing in the midst of a sea change.

But don’t just take our word for it, according to a recent report by market research group NPD a third of handbags bought by US customers in the last year have been quiet, discreet, no-logo carryalls.

Unsurprisingly, those over the age of 50 are the most unobtrusive consumers with 40 per cent opting for no-logo bags - but this isn’t a trend reserved solely for the more mature dresser.

Even Generation Z, a cast of consumers in their late teens and early 20s fixated on big branding are on board too, with their no-logo buying increasing by eight per cent.

“Consumers are becoming less focused on image and more focused on individuality – especially the younger generations,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at The NPD Group.

“While the cachet of designer logos is still relevant for many, the days of consumers looking to be a part of a designer or brand movement are waning in favour of their desire to find the style and function unique to their personality and lifestyle.”

In the 90s, logos were just as important, if not more important, than the clothes themselves and you had to decide which brands you were going to commit to. Maximalism reached fever pitch.

So what should we buying instead? Thanks in no small part to the success of indie brand Mansur Gavriel, whose pared-down bucket bag fired up the masses, brands like Michael Kors and Coach have cut back on their logo heavy handbags.

Instead, subtlety and a discreet, modern take on brand classics dominates. For Michael Kors, the Gracie is the most recent celebrity favourite, while the Mercer offers a chic take on the satchel.

Also going big with bags that promise to stand the test of time is Coach, who have just released Coach Icons; an installment of three key styles that have been reimagined from the archives to celebrate their 75th anniversary.

The Duffle, Saddle Bag and Dinky offer functionality and super-subtle details that give them an enduring appeal. What’s more, they tend to come at a relatively attainable price, not bargain bucket of course but they’re in general far cheaper than their heavily embroidered counterparts.

It’s refreshing to see the fashion cycle turn towards a trend that’s less about status and more about personal style. The reign of the logo handbag looks to be ending but these new iterations, while less commercial, look set to be just as popular among the fashion forward.

London’s Regent Street Hosts Series of Fashion Events in September

CONSUMER EVENT: London’s Regent Street, who has dubbed September as Fashion and Design Month will host a series of events to mark the occasion.

Fashion illustrator Clym Evernden will be out and about on Regent Street sketching shoppers on Saturday. Evernden who has worked with Louis Vuitton, Net-a-porter and Moët Hennessy, will be on the hunt for London’s best dressed in stores including Karl Lagerfeld, Anthropologie and Kate Spade and will draw 10-minute sketches that will be sent to shoppers within a month.

Regent Street has partnered up with the Royal Institute of British Architects again for its RIBA Windows Project, which commissions RIBA architects with retailers on store window installations. This edition, the project will include window installations for companies including Liberty, Kiehl’s, Seven For All Mankind and Uniqlo.

Regent Street will also host a range of free talks at Hotel Café Royal from fashion industry names such as Amanda Wakeley, Henry Holland, Zandra Rhodes and Gary Card. Holland and Frieda Gormley will speak on the history of print in fashion while Rhodes discusses her life in fashion. Card and Lee Lapthorne will speak about designing the sets of runway shows and Wakeley and Kathryn Parsons will talk about technology in fashion.

In addition, Regent Street will host a “Do It All Denim” day on Sept. 24, where shoppers can buy a pair of jeans and create a bespoke style from participating stores including Guess and Uniqlo and will receive a consultation with guest designers including Ashley Williams, Lindsay McKean from Cats Brothers, Clio Peppiatt and Phiney Pet.

“London Fashion Week and London Design Week are incredibly important to London, but often offer ‘industry-only’ events,” head of the Regent Street Portfolio David Shaw told WWD. “As Regent Street is home to flagship stores of world-class brands, we want to celebrate all things fashion and design creating experiences for our customers to enjoy, which is why we have curated this unique month of activity. Fashion & Design Month begins with our showpiece RIBA Regent Street Windows Project, now in its seventh year of partnering architects with retailers to create stand-out window displays.”

“For FDM 2016, we are working with many talented individuals across a variety of events, combining creative talent with our established stores. It is a wonderful opportunity to bring new, intelligent concepts to the street for the enjoyment of all.”

This is the second edition of Fashion and Design Month on Regent Street. The event runs until Sept. 30.

What Is London Fashion Week And Can You Get Tickets

What is London Fashion Week, exactly?

London Fashion Week spring/summer 2017 is fast approaching. One of the most exciting times of the year in the fashion calendar, fashion journalists, buyers, press and bloggers assemble to see the exciting new collections from top brands from Burberry to Alexander McQueen, discover changing trends and scout out brilliant new designer labels. This 5-day showcase kicks off on September 16th and runs until September 20th.

What does London Fashion Week mean for you?

Armed with this information, you’ve panic dry-cleaned your best outfit and learnt your Instagram filters inside out, so now what? If you don’t work in the fashion industry, LFW can seem like an elusive occasion. For some, its bi-annual existence is obvious only by virtue of the curiously clad individuals who flock to London’s Soho in a flurry of fabric.

If you neither move nor shake in the industry, it’s exceptionally tough to get into the shows (unless you have a *fashion blog). Despite the fact that fashion month is becoming increasingly inclusive – last September French fashion house Givenchy offered 820 free tickets to the public to watch its spring/summer 2016 show in New York, while young French designer Simon Porte Jacquemus offered 40 members of the public the opportunity to attend his Paris Fashion Week show, simply by entering their email address into a prize draw on his website – if you don’t work in fashion or have your own blog, there are many other ways to get involved in the shows, activities and celebrity-spotting taking place across the city that don’t involve ever having to use the line ‘Don’t you know who I am?’

You can also watch the shows rooftop-cinema style

Last season the British Fashion Council teamed up with Ocean Outdoor – who specialise in large-format digital billboards – to stream show footage at 60 outdoor locations across the UK including Birmingham, Edinburgh and Manchester. They’ll be doing this again this season but the details are all still hush-hush for now. Check our the official LFW digital schedule too, as some shows can be streamed live from the comfort of your own couch.

Or hit up Regent Street

Regent Street are getting involved in all the fashion month excitement with a range of activities including: the chance to be sketched by a famous fashion illustrator, attend talks from leading voices in the fashion world (including fashion designers Henry Holland and Amanda Wakeley), and have your purchases made bespoke at a ‘customisation station’ by an up-and-coming designer.

What is London Fashion Weekend?

Following London Fashion Week’s 5 days of shows and splashy parties, an open-to-the-public series of events called London Fashion Weekend kicks off and yes, you can buy tickets. What does it entail? As well as trend and career talks from industry experts (this season’s style icons and fashion insiders include chef Laura Jackson, TV presenter George Lamb, stylist Martha Ward and fashion editor Alice Casely-Hayford), intimate Q&A interviews, panel discussions with industry experts, and catwalk shows, you can shop over 150 fashion editor approved brands. So far, the designer catwalk shows you can get a front row seat at include Preen, J. JS Lee and Sibling. Tickets start at £20 for the basic experience package, and reach up to £200 for a ‘premium’ package.

Lisa Loeb loves the revival of '90s music, but not its fashion

(CNN) - The '90s will always hold a special place in Lisa Loeb's heart.

"I'm a very sentimental person," Loeb told CNN. "I love thinking about the past. I have very clear memories, but I also like to keep moving forward."

Loeb's 1995 hit "Stay" was the heartbreak anthem for teens at the time. She returned to the stage to sing that song and more on Tuesday during a throwback concert sponsored by Crystal Pepsi. En Vogue, Biz Markie and Salt N Pepa also headlined the event.

"I didn't feel comfortable doing something lumped in with the '90s," Loeb said. "But I finally do feel comfortable. [The audience] can take a lot away, have their memories, and it's also very current too."

Loeb said performing with the other artists who also rose to fame in the '90s has widened her circle of friends. "Like Coolio, he's in my phone and he's my friend. Those are cool friends to have in your phone."

While she's enjoyed the recent revival of '90s music, Loeb said she doesn't want to revisit the fashion trends of that decade.

"I don't want mustard yellow mock turtle necks to come back although, they kind of are," she said. "The oversized leather jacket! Someone just posted a pic of me with it on Facebook. Ugh! And wearing pajamas under them from Army Navy, or a bustier with cut off shorts. No."

But the smart phone free culture of the '90s, Loeb loved. "I miss -- from the earlier '90s -- when there were no cell phones. There was just a little bit of a slower pace and less input. More room for creativity and pondering life. I think we are very distracted in this new world and we want to capture everything."

The crying game: why fashion likes tears

In the moody, luxe noir video for Kanye West’s new single Wolves, he cries. The emotional outpouring is as big as the video, which doubles as a Balmain campaign. As a sweep of models (including Joan Smalls and Alessandra Ambrosio) catwalk around like the beautiful undead, West, dressed in the same bejewelled denim coat he wore at the Met Ball, shoots a perfect double stream of tears from his eyes, as his wife, Kim Kardashian, does the same.

Shot by Steven Klein, the director/photographer known for making Rihanna cry gold tears on the cover of this month’s W magazine and the likes of Colton Hayes and Madonna reach for the tissues, the clip makes crying look beautiful. The trickle of saltwater complements the glistening diamonds on the Balmain clothes and Kanye and Kim look regal in their perfect sorrow.

Balmain is a label driven as much by as the otherworldly luxury of the garments, as it is by creative director Olivier Rousteing’s personal story. He was taken into an orphanage when he was seven days old, and adopted by white parents at five months. He told Vogue last year: “When I was living in the orphanage, I was always crying.” Wolves is an emotionally bruised, paranoid song and in the context of Rousteing’s narrative, tears are the ultimate symbol of unending anguish.

Still, there’s a limit to the how teary a face can go, because fashion’s relationship with tears is an aesthetic one. Think of Lara Stone’s two single, perfect drops on the cover of LOVE magazine. Or the glitter-tear trend, where tiny pieces of glitter are placed below the eye, à la Pierrot clown, and, at the Burberry AW16 menswear show, a bit David Bowie. Jeremy Scott subverted the idea when he gave the models star-shaped tears at his AW womenswear show.

What’s significant is that these artful, prettified versions of tears are at the different end of the spectrum to “ugly crying”. From Carrie on Homeland and Gwyneth Paltrow at the Oscars, to memes such as Magic Johnson crying, that scrunched up, torrent of tears is a little bit too real for the catwalk.

Catch The Wave

If you take your grooming tips from the catwalk, then you’ll have noticed that this season the design houses are professing a love for lived-in waves – with the likes of Prada, Bottega Veneta and Craig Green all opting for fuss-free tresses that typify a casual summer vibe. But while this style requires far less maintenance than a slicked-back Mad Men ‘do’, you can run the risk of looking a mess, so take note.

Beach waves suit most guys, whether your hair is short or long, but to maximise movement and texture you’ll want to ask your barber for layers. Make sure the sides and back are cut using scissors alone for a softer, less utilitarian look. As for the go-to product – well, sea-salt spray is best for creating the texture and volume that marks you as a surfer. But the key here is to go easy on the styling. You want to look slightly dishevelled, not like you’ve been sat in front of a mirror since 5am.

Still, there are a few quick tips. If you have naturally wavy hair, you can enhance what you’ve got by applying a matte mousse to damp hair for extra bounce, then use pomade to finish and separate the ends. Meanwhile, straight hair can require a little more work – and if the texturising sprays don’t cut it, you’ll need go all Geordie Shore and invest in some curling irons. Taking two-inch sections of hair, wrap them in alternate directions around your tong - and deliberately avoid perfection. Because remember - sometimes, to be fashionable, you may need to look a bit rough.

7 Facts About Relationships That Everybody Should Know Before Getting Married

Contrary to what fairy tales may tell you, relationships take work.

So we collected some of the best social-science findings about what makes them last:

1). If you wait until you’re 23 to commit, you’re less likely to get divorced

A 2014 University of Pennsylvania study found that Americans who cohabitate or get married at age 18 have a 60 per cent divorce rate, whereas people who waited until the more mature age of 23 have a divorce rate of about 30 per cent

2). The ‘in love’ phases lasts about a year

The honeymoon phases with its “high levels of passionate love” and “intense feelings of attraction and ecstasy, as well as an idealisation of one’s partner”, doesn’t last forever, according to Monmouth University psychologist Gary W. Lewandowski Jr.

3). Eventually you realise that you’re not one person

Once you start living together, you realise that you have different priorities and tolerances – like, for instance, what does or doesn’t constitute a mess.

4). If you get excited for your partner’s good news, you’ll have a better relationship

In multiple studies, couples that actively celebrated good news (rather than actively or passively dismissed it) have a higher rate of relationship wellbeing

5). The happiest marriages are between best friends

A 2014 National Bureau of Economic research study concluded that friendship could help explain the causal relationship between marriage and life satisfaction

6). The closer a couple is in age, the less likely they are to get divorced

An Emory University study found that couples with a five-year age difference were 18 per cent more likely to divorce, and ones with a 10-year difference were 39 per cent more likely

7). Resentment builds quickly in couples that don’t tackle chores together

Over 60 per cent of Americans say that taking care of chores plays a crucial role in having a successful marriage. You’ll save a lot of collective time if each person specialises in the chores they’re best at.

Theresa May: does it matter what the new prime minister wears

Wearing a colour-blocked Amanda Wakeley jacket as you deliver your first speech as prime minister is not a style statement. Style statements are for those who think a printed silk scarf is, you know, a bit “jazzy”. In context, last Wednesday’s airing of neon yellow and black tailoring was the action of a leader who unashamedly enjoys fashion. Theresa May has a subscription to Vogue and the keys to number 10 Downing Street and, unlike any of the post’s previous incumbents, she does not see a conflict in that fact.

This is the woman who famously told Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs that a lifetime subscription to the glossy fashion magazine would be her one luxury item if she were a castaway. Whether you care about clothes or not, you know that May does, and her interest in fashion has not gone unnoticed. Almost as many column inches have been spent discussing the navy Roland Mouret Bitzer dress she wore to the Conservative conference last October as they have to last week’s analysis of the speech she made at that event. Social media has been jumping with chat about what exactly it is we admire about May’s wardrobe (Is it her neckline? Her fearlessness? Wait, is liking a Tory wardrobe even allowed?).

Reliably, the tabloids have taken this to the extreme. The Sun’s front page splashed a picture of May’s signature leopard-print shoes standing on the heads of various male Tory politicians with the headline: “Heel, Boys.” It would be shoes, wouldn’t it? And May’s kitten heels are now forever cemented in Westminster folklore as the natural descendants of Margaret Thatcher’s pussy-bow blouses. International newspapers were unable to resist, either, with the Russian government’s paper falling into the sexist preoccupation of ranking female leaders’ wardrobes against each other. May’s look is apparently “more attractive than the featureless jackets of Angela Merkel”.

However, to rate Theresa May’s style isn’t just patronising and sexist, but it entirely misses the point. As she told the Women in the World summit in October last year: “One of the challenges for women in the workplace is to be ourselves, and I say you can be clever and like clothes. You can have a career and like clothes.” (She didn’t add that you can be clever and like football. Unsurprisingly, male leaders have never felt the need to spell that out.)

Arguably, May is a political leader who actively likes fashion, as opposed to reluctantly trying to manage the semantics of it. Other female leaders have a pragmatic and often difficult relationship with fashion. Hillary Clinton ricochets between diffusing fashion critique by wearing a uniform of what Tina Brown nonetheless derided as “Sgt Pepper trousers suits”, to embracing thousand-dollar Armani pieces. Meanwhile, Angela Merkel has hammered the Pantone jacket approach into not-worth-commenting-upon irrelevance. May, by all evidence, uses fashion to please herself, and her love of clothes allows her to dress boldly. Wearing over-the-knee patent boots to meet Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto, as she did last year, is not the action of a woman who subscribes to the “dress to negate analysis” chatter.

What is telling about May’s penchant for fashion is why we care so much – and more so why we criticise it so readily. Would we condemn a similarly frivolous preoccupation in a male leader? It will be interesting to see whether May is allowed to continue to freely enjoy clothes or whether her advisors will judge her fashion to be too loud – was it an advisor who thought May’s necklace was too showy and suggested she remove it on the day she announced her prime ministerial bid, or was it just annoying her? Let’s hope the latter. Because, for many of us, watching May enjoying her own clothes will be a precious form of light relief in the coming months.

Reasons Why Clever People Like Love Island

The only thing that’s bright about Love Island is the constant sunshine. Lunkhead contestants, an infuriating voiceover, a soundtrack that would shame a Now That’s What I Call Music album - smart telly it ain’t.

Yet when the current season finishes tonight, it will be in front of an unexpected following - university graduates, bibliophiles, intellectuals who listen to Radio 4 in the morning and watch Love Island at night. For reasons as yet unexplained, the ITV2 programme has become the guilty pleasure of the literati - and they're not afraid to shout about it.

So what’s made Scandi Noir’s loss, boneheaded reality TV’s gain? Here, we explain all...

Sweet escape

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that Love Island’s hold on the intelligentsia has tightened in the year when everything else went to pot.

“My brain is so tired of dealing with all the drama of Brexit, Tory leadership and all my Master’s work,” says Tanya McKinley, an MA History student at the School of African and Oriental Studies.

Tanya, who is writing her dissertation on the gendered and sexual violence of the 1965 Indonesian massacre, explains: “There's something about tuning into all that petty drama after a long day that's really relaxing.”

Self-awareness

There is no denying that the contestants aren't exactly University Challenge material. But the programme itself, argues Ophelia Stimpson, a 23-year-old Oxford graduate, “operates on a number of levels and is actually quite a clever show because it does sort of create this theatre, which panders to ‘intelligent’ viewers.”

She explains: “Caroline Flack actually refers to the people in it as the 'cast' and 'characters', which is interesting.

“It’s hilarious because the way it's edited makes it look like they can only comprehend the situation in front of them, with zero emotional depth.”

Dumb comedy

That said, there’s clever editing and then there’s the simple relaying of conversations. “What’s the Lake District?”, Adam asked Sophie.

“It’s... a district with lots of lakes,” she started hesitantly. “You’ve got Belfast there…

“What’s the stretch of sea between England and Ireland?” she then asked the contestants across the swimming pool.

“The English Channel?” one of them suggested, making GSCE Geography holders snigger up and down the country.

It’s a bit like university

If you’re a student, you watch Love Island because you have nothing else to do. If you’re a graduate, you watch it to take yourself back to those carefree days of lounging around and falling for classmates.

“Eight weeks is not a very long time, but these guys fall in love and plan their futures with each other and go all crazy for each other in the space of two or three days,” says Tanya. “Kind of reminds me of Oxford actually.”

Caroline Flack talks Love Island and radioPlay!

Masochism

“It’s so brutal it’s anthropologically interesting,” says Rosie Litterick, a 24-year-old University of York graduate. “From a feminist point of view, all the men are awful and treat the women terribly but they still air it.

“Like, Tom telling Sophie she was behaving like a 'slag' is abuse. And it should have been treated like abuse, but it wasn't - it was on air for all to see.”

Ophelia agrees: “It’s slightly masochistic because it's so retrograde.”

And the rest

Let’s not pretend that to enjoy Love Island as a degree holder is to spend a snarky hour wallowing in metatheatre.

King’s College London graduate Simon, 24, says: “You could probably make an argument that it's all about gender/society, but personally I think people like it because it's junk TV and they're sexy.”