Polaroids by Osami Yabuta from yesterday’s shoot with ViVi here in Tokyo…cannot even convey how excited I was to work with them, I’m such a huge fan…it’s been an amazing experience so far…I fought my mom every step of the way when she made sure to speak Japanese to me and put me in Japanese school every Saturday morning…but I could not possibly be more thankful for everything she did now. Sickening I know. Everyone has been so welcoming/funny/sweet/perfect and I think I’ve learned and spoken more Japanese in the past four days than I thought possible. I’m seriously even starting to prefer the humidity. And the crowds. And the walking everywhere. Ok stopping now before I say anything certifiably crazy.
(vintage faux fur, FCUK dress, Target sheer tights, Topshop boots, Headmistress headdress, OPI polish in Done Out in Deco)
I’ve worn this dress so much that what used to be a full bib of sequins gave way and I just tore them all out. Scissors and razor blades solve a lot of my wardrobe problems.
Obviously these are from Tokyo. There are no magical tunnels of blue light in California. Or are there? Anyway, I love you old ragged dress but I think it’s time for me to buy some new clothes.
The second day in Tokyo I got really sick..I guess it was some kind of flu that I got in the airplane but I wasn’t about to let it interfere with my plans to show Colin the strange land that is Akihabara. So I stocked up on cold medicine, aspirin, and eyedrops (I swear I saw lychee ‘flavored’ eyedrops) at the supermarket by our hotel. The cracked out bear felt my pain.
Taking my shiny new drugs with water and coffee.
Cutting through buildings to avoid getting rained on..I guess you can only barely see here but I tricked out this camera with a Balenciaga strap and a BCBG studded attachment. The other camera has a vintage ’70s strap from eBay..I’m not really into that cheesy black branded one that comes in the box..
Holding two drinks in one hand is one of my few talents.
Going the wrong way is fun.
So is taking pictures of anime girls in the train station.
Yeah…
But then again I also like taking pictures of the ground.
Stepping onto the streets..wearing vintage coat (children’s section = very short sleeves), Forever 21 armwarmers, YSL ring, vintage Chanel backpack, vintage scarves, Topshop Unique suspender skirt, Zara henley, Target socks, and Jeffrey Campbell boots. I really like this skirt but the suspenders/garters are hopeless at staying put. I gave up the 500th time they came undone. Shot by Colin of course.
There’s nothing I hate more than these machines with clumsy groping claws. Not once has one retrieved me a stuffed anything. But I had to look cause these ones were really big and complicated.
We won’t talk about what was down those stairs.
Freezing. Soon soba would help.
View from inside the soba place.
A girl advertising a “maid cafe” in a fetching outfit. These are establishments where nerds can experience varying amounts of attention from females, no strings attached..not such a bad arrangement, right? Yukiko filled me in on the finer details.
Her accomplice across the street. Points for Love A Lot being magically attached to her skirt. She and Swift Heart were my favorites.
It’s easy to feel small here.
Even when you’re taller than all the cops. Undone again. And heading back to the hotel to pile on all my clothes for the next adventure.
(Topshop Unique dress, vintage bag, Topshop boots, OPI nail polish in Done Out in Deco)
I had no idea there was a Topshop in the middle of Harajuku so I was pretty excited to stumble upon it. And having bought and returned a similar Christopher Kane for Topshop grommeted dress because it was too big made it that much better to find this one in the sale section.
There’s all kinds of shiny stuff to obsess over in Tokyo. My favorites are milk tea that comes out of the vending machine hot, green tea Kit Kats, those creepy face mask cloths for 100 yen, and anything that involves a free gift of a flag-bearing horseman.
Some questions from the past week:
Do you speak Japanese? I’m pretty rusty since I have no one to practice with on a regular basis..I can read hiragana, katakana, and some kanji and would approximate my speaking abilities as roughly conversationally fluent..the longer I spend there the more it comes back…
What clothes did you buy there? A couple Topshop Unique dresses and a skirt, gray knee high socks from Uniqlo, some vintage pieces at Hanjiro, a few pairs of polka dot lacy ankle socks from a random train station shop, brown oxford wedges from Zara, and that denim smock dress I posted last week.
What were the outstanding fashion trends in Tokyo? The uniform seems to be oversized parka, black tights, and tall brown boots..even one of my aunts arrived wearing an approximation of it. Tons of black. In the more fashion conscious areas I saw a lot of drapey layers, cowboy boots, and denim shorts hahah, my favorite was a pair of extremely furry t-strap flat wooden sandals on a girl in Harajuku. Really wish I had gotten a photo of them. The girls at the Elle offices had some really good outfits..a lot of Alexander Wang.
Best places to shop? I didn’t really get too much time to shop but Yukiko from Elle Girl Japan took me to a bunch of stores as part of a photo shoot I did with the magazine, and they were amazing..including Nine, K3, Grapevine by K3, and Hanjiro. Grapevine by K3 is probably one of the coolest spaces I’ve ever seen work as a store and had everything from Tina Kalivas to Gail Sorronda to GVGV. A lot of really great stores inside Laforet of course but I don’t remember their names…found a store called Royal Flash while wandering around Meiji-dori by myself and wanted everything there, they had some stunning Alexander McQueen pieces and a lot of leather that looked like it was ready for war.
You’ll be on Elle girl Japon,right? Please let us know the detail. I’m in the current issues of Elle Girl Japan and Spur.
How did you fit so many coats/ jackets in your luggage? Determination and the strength to drag two 50 pound suitcases through the subway to Narita at the end of my trip. My arms were burning for days afterward. And I had to leave a pair of boots behind at my grandparent’s place.
What camera are you using? Canon XTI, 5D, and Sony Cybershot.
Are those green tea donuts in the window? YES. LOVE.
Who takes your photos? My boyfriend Colin and I do…the random photos are by me and the ones of me are by him.
Did you feel cold in Tokyo? The weather fluctuated by about 40 degrees while I was there..wasn’t prepared for how cold it was some days, especially the night that it snowed. But it was beautiful.
What nailpolish were you using in the previous post? OPI’s Done Out in Deco
Have you met any of your Tokyo readers? Yes, they are very sweet! And well dressed.
How is the food in Tokyo? So good. The best meals I had – when one of my uncles (who is also a professional chef) cooked pretty much a feast at my grandparent’s house the second night and at a tiny restaurant in Isogo with another aunt and uncle..will post pictures. Also you have to get one of the giant whipped cream and fruit-filled crepes on the street. I was busy stuffing my face with one when a model scout flagged me down outside Laforet..so embarrassing.
Have you done something different to your hair? No, I’m just growing it out..I’m sick of dying it.
Where did you buy the (denim) dress? At Arcakit in Kinshicho.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve eaten while in japan? Raw anago and corn potage flavored chips. Both amazing.
Are Japanese ppl very different from US (way they act etc)? Yes. Very polite and unassuming. They always want to give you something, even people that don’t look like they should have the slightest interest in attaching dangly things to their cell phones attach dangly things to their cell phones, and everything is neatly and perfectly packaged/handed to you in a tray. My mom and I were cracking up when we asked my grandma for the remote control to the TV and she put it in a tray before giving it to us. You should have seen the looks of horror when I was packing up my suitcase at the Elle Girl Japan office and smashing my clothes in without folding them haha. BTW they were the nicest and easiest team to work with, Hi Elle/Elle Girl ♥.
Rumi are you part Japanese? Half Japanese, half white.
Are you wearing fingerless gloves? If so where are they from? Yes, I got them at this gross clubwear store in Pacific Beach. You could easily make some yourself with a pair of opaque tights..I think that’s what they did anyway.
Will you even see this? Just in case you DO: hi. Hi!
I was wondering, what whas the price for the Zara jacket? I think it was a little over $200.
When’s the best time to go to Tokyo? NOT early March. Go during the end of cherry blossom season if you can. Avoid mid-summer, the heat and humidity can get crazy..but to be honest I would go whenever the opportunity came up. I love the city a crazy amount.
