Where Fashion Freaks Shop Till They Drop

Fashion is one of the simplest and most expressive ways to demonstrate your values, feelings and thoughts. To some it can be almost a religion, to others it serves as a form of art or identity. Be it gothic, Lolita or hippy style, clothes send a message about who you are or who you want to be.

Here are the best examples of places in the world where fashion goes beyond social correctness to become (in some cases) an object of cult.

5. Bangkok. Thailand.

Over the recent years, Bangkok, the capital of

Thailand

, has become the fashion hub of the Asia mainland. The city boasts the coolest shopping areas filled with hundreds of boutiques, flea markets and shopping centers.

Fashion addicts may truly feel like in a shopping heaven as the prices of funky clothes, hip accessories, shoes, bags etc. are incredibly low in comparison to other countries. Add to it the absolutely unique design, variety of shapes, colors, and sizes, and you will have a perfect shopping destination for innovative and cool clothing.

One of Bangkok's best fashion areas is

Chatuchak Market

with over 10,000 stalls, where you can find superb outfits from hand-painted footwear and clothes to traditional Thai fabrics, second-hand clothing and enormous collection of jewelry. Another shopping destination is

Siam Square

- home to a large number of stores run by young fashion designers.  If you consider yourself a "shop until you drop" kind of person and a day seems not to be long enough, Bangkok gives you an opportunity to shop at night. There is

Suan Lum Night Bazaar

, open during night hours, which also has a great selection of trendy fashions from shoes to hats.

4. Berlin. Germany.

Ordnung

(a German word for order or system) does not apply to Berlin as the city is a lot more easy going in comparison to other places in the country. At the beginning of the 20th century, the city was Europe's center for avant-garde fashion and culture. Then the wars came and Berlin was forced to freeze its hot temper for several decades. Since the fall of the wall Berlin's energy, creativity of its people, and the need for freedom and tolerance have flourished again.

Today, Berlin is Germany's hub of the newest trends expressed in unique fashions that can be found in the numerous stores and boutiques, offering the craziest and funkiest clothing in the entire country.

Street fashion is freed and tolerant. Everything is accepted, be it drag queens' sexy outfits, hippie clothing, gothic wear, or stylish avant-garde clothes and accessories.

The best areas for funky, bizarre and trendy clothing are Prenzlauer Berg, the city's district that has recently became Berlin's most fashionable place to party, dine out and shop. The

Kastanienallee

is one on the district's best street lined with small boutiques and stores run by young fashion designers. Another great destination for fashion fans is Kreuzberg where the youngest population of Berlin lives and parties. The district offers a unique mix of vintage stores, boutiques, and second-hand stores. There is also a famous Kreuzberg flea market, opened during the weekends, where you can browse for the most unusual items for your wardrobe's collection.

3. Amsterdam. The Netherlands.

The city's freedom manifests itself in many
different ways, and one of them is, for sure, fashion. An ideal blend of liberality and laid-back atmosphere makes Amsterdam, the capital of

Netherlands

,
one of Europe's best fashion destinations for those who love to
look different and bizarre.

Amsterdamers
are tolerant and they do not hesitate to break the rules of social
correctness - and in terms of fashion there are actually no rules at
all. Just feel free to be (wear) what you want to be - punk, gothic,
almost naked, or totally normal - nothing goes beyond acceptable norms.

A parade of the most peculiar and craziest clothing can be
seen during Queen's Day, a street party celebration that takes place
on April 30. The whole city goes mad and Amsterdam's streets transform
into one huge party venue. A great thing about the event is also the

Vrijmarket

, a free street market where Amsterdamers sell everything
from home accessories to second-hand clothes, bags, jewelry and other accessories.

Of
course, there are plenty other shopping opportunities in Amsterdam.

Waterlooplein

market is a daily flea market in the center of the city
where you can get the trendiest and most bizarre clothing in the town.
Other great shopping destinations are also

De Negen Straatjes

(the Nine
Little Streets), filled with boutiques and vintage stores, and

De
Jordaan

, a yuppie area full of second-hand stores and specialty
outlets offering funky and absolutely unique clothing.

2. London. Great Britain.

Camden Town is a fashion freak oasis in London,

Great Britain.

Situated in the northern part of the city, it is the most famous alternative fashion destination invaded both by locals and tourists. There are several open-air and indoor markets such as the

Stables Market

,

Camden Lock

and the

Buck Street Market

operating within the district and quite a few shopping streets, such as Inverness Street, dotted with funky stores and boutiques .

Multitudes of stalls and outlets sell the most bizarre and trendy clothing and accessories you can imagine. Camden's offer is unimaginably diverse - you will find hippy and ethnic wear, gothic style clothes, fetish items, psychobilly and rockabilly oriented cloths and accessories, punk clothing and footwear, and lots of cyber stuff from plastic hair to fluorescent wear perfect for London's crazy clubbing.

1. Tokyo. Japan.

Nothing beats Tokyo in terms of crazy fashion.

Harajuku

, an area occupied by young people famed for their most bizarre and insane look, is a place where fashion has no limits. The most phenomenal part of this clothing trend is Lolita style that can be found only in Tokyo, and more precisely Harajuku. Lolita fashion is more a subculture than a trend and it comes in many different variations: Gothic Lolita that mixes girly wear with dark make-up and black clothing, Sweet Lolita, which uses pink colors and child fantasy themes in its clothing's design, Classic Lolita that focuses on Baroque, Regency, and Rockville styles and Punk Lolita, covered with chains, safety pins and piercings.

If this style appeals to you and you want to obtain a few pieces of Lolita clothes, you should head for Takeshita-dori - a shopping street in Harajuku packed with fashion addicts where you will find loads of stores and boutiques filled with Lolita wear and accessories. An unbelievably unique fashion, though a bit less crazy than Lolita's clothes, can also be found in

Omote- sando

, lined with stores run by young fashion designers, and in artistic

Shimokitazawa

, which is one of the trendiest places in Tokyo, with a great selection of funky stores and second-hand outlets.

So are you a fashion freak or is this too crazy for you? Can fashion really express your personality and make a social statement or is it just an infantile form of rebellion?