Back to School Backpack

By Kjeld Duits, Saturday August 29, 2009 - trends

They are called randoseru from the Dutch word ransel (knapsack), and they come basically in red and black, although these days you also find pink and other gradations of red. Because of their classic design and basic colors, they match an almost endless list of looks, from kawaii to gothic to sexy, as well as just about everything else (get one now at eBay).

Street Fashion Randoseru School Backpack
Rendoseru used as a kawaii accessory. Recently shot in Harajuku.

Street Fashion Randoseru
It also goes great with a non-kawaii look. (Design by KA Designs)

Japanese kids use the same randoseru all through elementary school, so you can imagine how incredibly tough these bags are. They will almost certainly outlast you!

Because they are so well-made, these hard-leather or artificial leather backpacks usually retail for between 400 and 600 US dollars in Japan, but a Japanese company (Japanese Culture Store SHO-TEN) now sells them on eBay for between only 100 and 160 US dollars each.

Luckily this company ships abroad at very low shipping rates, so now you can lay your hands on an authentic Japanese randoseru for a unique look. You can be pretty sure that nobody else in your town has the same bag!

Clarino Cowhide Randoseru — Get now at eBay!

Other styles and colors (click on photo to get at eBay):

Clockwise: Clarino Wine Red; Clarino Black; Cowhide Rose-Pink; Cowhide Cherry

You know those square backpacks that Japanese elementary school students lug around? Cool! In Harajuku, you occasionally see somebody who has dug one from the depths of a closet and uses it as a supercool street fashion accessory.

Inspired by the stunningly creative street fashion that exploded on the streets of Tokyo and Osaka in the late 1990’s, photo-journalist Kjeld Duits launched JAPANESE STREETS in 2002. This makes JS one of the first fashion blogs on the net, and the very first to cover Japanese street fashion.