Month Archive for September 2008
VIDEO TOURS OF MARUI SHINJUKU & LAFORET: TOKYO GOTHIC LOLITA DEPT STORES.
I know, I know… I’ve been teasing you for days about Tokyo Lolita coverage. But I’m about to make up for it with visual-kawaii overload! I’ve taken a zillion photos of Lolita stores in Harajuku and Shinjuku; stay tuned for glimpses inside the famous shops. But we’re going to start things off with a squeal. Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time ever on YouTube (to the best of my knowledge)… I present VIDEO footage of Marui Shinjuku and Laforet, aka Gothic Lolita department store disco-paradiso.
In the first video, I walk around Laforet in Harajuku. First, we make the rounds of B1 (Algonquins, Super Lovers, Gothic Lolita Bible & Kera magazines). Then, we walk down the stairs to B1.5 (Metamorphose temps de fille, Alice and the Pirates, Putumayo, Atelier Pierrot, h.NAOTO, Black Peace Now, Black Laboratory by Hiderock, Choice Sexy Dynamite London).
The following day, I attacked Gothic Lolita Mecca 2: MaruiOne, the department store in Shinjuku, Tokyo. (Forgive my finger at the bottom of the screen – I was being stealthy by hiding the camera behind a Hello Kitty pamphlet! ) The video above is a tour of floors 5 (Moi-meme-moitie with the famous coffin changing room, stationery/umbrellas/wallets, Jane Marple, Excentrique, h.NAOTO), 6 (Kera/Arena punk store, Super Lovers, Hiderock, Arthropie, Ozz Croce, Sexy Dynamite London), 7 (Goth and punk shoes, Lolita boots such as Yosuke, Black Peace Now, Sixh by h.NAOTO, Algonquins, Black Peace Now), and 8 (Baby the Stars Shine Bright, Metamorphose Temps de Fille, Heart E, KeraShop Angel, Emily Temple Cute).
Hold on to your petticoats – there’s much more Gothic Lolita Rococo Punk madness on the way!
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TOKYO LOLITA SHOPPING GUIDE: MAP OF GOTHIC LOLI STORES IN HARAJUKU, JAPAN.
Off to Tokyo in a few hours! I’ll be making the rounds at kitschy theme restaurants; I’m shooting photos and writing about my adventures for my upcoming book with Mark Batty Publisher. Naturally, I’ll spend my down-time pressing my nose into Harajuku store windows, like the ones above…
Kokusyoku Sumire’s gosurori-themed café is on my list of places to shoot. I’ll have to hold onto my yen when I visit Atelier Boz and Alice Auaa.
Can you suggest other Gothic Lolita stores that I must visit? What are your favorite Tokyo shops? Let me know in the comments, and I’ll be sure to check them out.
*** Update *** My comprehensive Goth Lolita Punk Tokyo shopping guide is found here.
LA CARMINA
