KAWAII HANDMADE CHRISTMAS CARDS! SCOTTISH FOLD KITTEN, PUNK ROCK NURSE HAT. LA CARMINA NEW CLOTHING LINE T-SHIRTS.
The art of the letter is falling by the wayside, especially with rising postal prices. So it was a delight to receive not only a Christmas card in the mail, but a cute hand-drawn one — from Lemon! His kawaii drawing captures Basil Farrow to a T: the fat furry face, folded ears, sideways feet and lightly striped tail. I opened it to find a message full of magic and mystery. (I’m keeping it between us, so you’ll just have to guess at what’s written inside…)
Ako, designer of Japanese punk clothing line Blablahospital, also sent me a nifty handmade card. She glued and glittered plush animals over a pink heart. Inside, she included a nurse’s hat as an “emergency cure for fashion sickness!” You can carry it around with you and pull it out if the moment calls for more stylishness… (See more about the hat on Ako’s blog.)
Inside was a greeting in what she calls “strange English.” I can’t get enough of her punk rock playfulness.
Blablahospital’s latest clothes and accessories are as bright and medical-chic as ever. You can see the latest styles here.
I hope you have been enjoying my CNNGo articles and the Asia travel/lifestyle website in general. My latest one is about Chinese belly dancers and Indian pop n lockers: Asia Dance competitions turn up the heat. CNNGo also did a feature about the fiery-haired woman above. Her name is Dr. Porntip and she is an a) porn star; b) Visual Kei rocker; c) cuts bodies open for a living. What’s your guess? Find out in this piece. What do we think of Porntip’s hair: kawaii or ai-yah?
Thanks for your enthusiasm about my new t-shirts and hoodies. The first printing is almost ready to send out — hurry and pick one up! For full information about the sizes and styles, take a look at this post. If you can think of any local stores that might want to carry the clothing line, please email me. Much thanks in advance.
Finally, I’m writing a CNNGo article about shopping for plus sized clothing in Asia and the skinny mentality in many Asian cities. I was wondering if you had any anecdotes or experiences to share? Thoughts on size discrimination? Can you name or send links to any plus sized clothing lines in Asia? Let me know in the comments or email me. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
More Tokyo party coverage and NYC adventures coming right up…
Song of the Day #287: Serial Number – Attention Please (Happy genki Visual Kei punk.)
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64 Comments
Oh no! My artwork has been set loose upon the world! I’m honored my card made it all the way up to a feature :)
Regarding Dr. Porntip, the correct answer is d) THE badass.
Ding ding ding ding! :)
Yeah, I have to agree about the slow death of handwritten greetings. I miss exchanging letters with my otaku pen pals and receiving drawings from them. Those were the good old days.
I used to have pen pals too… sad that it now costs almost a dollar to send a letter. My penmanship has also gone down the drain. Seeing Tim Burton’s spectacular cursive at the MoMA exhibit made me want to improve it..
his wonderful cursive! Porntip is awesome and blablahospital has really cute and interesting stuff!
Tim Burton should give us penmanship lessons.
Tim Burton should give us penmanship lessons.
I haven’t sent a letter in so long! Not even to my relatives abroad (who, by the way, still send us cards and stuff like that). My handwriting has also gone down the drain. Sometimes I see all the beautiful calligraphy and handwriting some people have and I get the urge to practice. But it ends at the urge. Ugh.
Dr. Porntip is awesome.
I’m SO looking forward to that next CNNGo article!
In my experiences in the Philippines, some department stores actually have a separate section for “plus-size” shoes (size 9 and up). I often find myself shopping next to transvestites, which I assume is more common there because of how cheap the procedure is relative to its expense in America; the stigma is just as strong, though.
I haven’t had luck shopping for clothes in the Philippines much, though. However, Bayo and herBench do offer larger sizes than most other Filipino brands! There are also a few plus-size chains, but I don’t recall their names ^^;
I hope that helps some :)
Very helpful, thank you! Do you think the stigma is greater/different than in other Asian countries? How does it co-exist with the cultural celebration of food? Such an interesting topic…
Oh no! My artwork has been set loose upon the world! I'm honored my card made it all the way up to a feature :)
Regarding Dr. Porntip, the correct answer is d) THE badass.
Yeah, I have to agree about the slow death of handwritten greetings. I miss exchanging letters with my otaku pen pals and receiving drawings from them. Those were the good old days.
Dr. Porntip is awesome.
I'm SO looking forward to that next CNNGo article!
In my experiences in the Philippines, some department stores actually have a separate section for “plus-size” shoes (size 9 and up). I often find myself shopping next to transvestites, which I assume is more common there because of how cheap the procedure is relative to its expense in America; the stigma is just as strong, though.
I haven't had luck shopping for clothes in the Philippines much, though. However, Bayo and herBench do offer larger sizes than most other Filipino brands! There are also a few plus-size chains, but I don't recall their names ^^;
I hope that helps some :)
Ding ding ding ding! :)
I used to have pen pals too… sad that it now costs almost a dollar to send a letter. My penmanship has also gone down the drain. Seeing Tim Burton's spectacular cursive at the MoMA exhibit made me want to improve it..
Very helpful, thank you! Do you think the stigma is greater/different than in other Asian countries? How does it co-exist with the cultural celebration of food? Such an interesting topic…
Love the T-shirts, and your cat is the cutest.
Love Hawaii Kawaii
Kawaii love to you too!
Basil Farrow is so unbelievably cute. I’ve never heard of Ako, but she seems (and looks) cool.
She’s incredibly cool… it was fun meeting up with her at her instore event! http://lacarmina.com/2009/05/blablahospital-zoestyles-at-kera-shop-new-marui-one-shinjuku-department-store-in-tokyo-japan/
Aw, both of those cards are really adorable! I exchanged Christmas presents with some people through the mail…it was nice making them cards and writing them letters!
I’m motivated to put more of an effort into handmade cards and gifts… and improving my handwriting!
Love the T-shirts, and your cat is the cutest.
Love Hawaii Kawaii
Past frustrations with dealing with Punk Lolita labels that all seem to be around size zero (GLP is an example). Trying to sell this stuff in the U.S. was problematic
Her hair isn’t kawaii or aiyah, it’s just plain awesome hahaha I want to buy one of the T-shirts but I have to wait until my paycheck on Friday D:
You’re amazing!! Thanks so much for the support – and I’d love to see you wearing the shirt. If you want, I can put up a photo on the blog!
Hehe no problem, dear. You’re absolutely a great inspiration so it’s the least I can do ;D
I like her hair but I don’t think it’s kawaii or aiyah either…
& Those cards are so adorable!!!
It’s badass hair, I suppose! :)
Basil Farrow is so unbelievably cute. I've never heard of Ako, but she seems (and looks) cool.
Aw, both of those cards are really adorable! I exchanged Christmas presents with some people through the mail…it was nice making them cards and writing them letters!
The shirts look delightful! <3
I have been working with my mom to earn a bit of extra side money to buy the Alice and Basil in Wonderland inspired one ~^_^~
Porntip's hair is pretty.. epic haha. It puts my plain, dark hair to shame…
Thank you, darling!! You’d look great in the Wonderland tee! ^^
Her hair dares to be ’80s.
his wonderful cursive! Porntip is awesome and blablahospital has really cute and interesting stuff!
Past frustrations with dealing with Punk Lolita labels that all seem to be around size zero (GLP is an example). Trying to sell this stuff in the U.S. was problematic
Her hair isn't kawaii or aiyah, it's just plain awesome hahaha I want to buy one of the T-shirts but I have to wait until my paycheck on Friday D:
I like her hair but I don't think it's kawaii or aiyah either…
& Those cards are so adorable!!!
I'm motivated to put more of an effort into handmade cards and gifts… and improving my handwriting!
Tim Burton should give us penmanship lessons.
Tim Burton should give us penmanship lessons.
You're amazing!! Thanks so much for the support – and I'd love to see you wearing the shirt. If you want, I can put up a photo on the blog!
It's badass hair, I suppose! :)
Kawaii love to you too!
She's incredibly cool… it was fun meeting up with her at her instore event! http://lacarmina.com/2009/05/blablahos…
Hi! i was wondering if you might know some places around the US that offers internships for gothic/gosuloli type fashion?
I know it’s a random question, but I’m looking around and I’m not sure where to go. I’d love to work with you! haha
Hi! Thanks for your sweet note! Augh, I can’t really think of any places that would offer internships since all the major Gothloli brands are in Japan… I’d suggest interning at any alternative fashion company in your city — you’ll learn the ropes, and you can apply your knowledge to any Gothloli fashion line in the future. xoxo
is there any besides ones like tripp and lip service?
I wish I could do some kind of internship in Japan. hehe
unfortunately i live in a dead place.. I’d need to go to ny or ca. XD (i’m a fashion student looking for an internship but it’s hard to find something in the alternative world..)
Oh! Can I send you a handmade card? (^-^) Now I feel like making once since you posted those that you got.
The shirts look delightful! <3
I have been working with my mom to earn a bit of extra side money to buy the Alice and Basil in Wonderland inspired one ~^_^~
Porntip's hair is pretty.. epic haha. It puts my plain, dark hair to shame…
Thank you, darling!! You'd look great in the Wonderland tee! ^^
Her hair dares to be '80s.
wear loads of dark and bright colors like orange goes owsum with blue,grey and purple to have a cozy and safer feeling in the season of hot and cold.i’d like to mention Leigh Lezark’s unique style and Erin Wasson to get a cindy crawford feeling and girl olivia and Nicky Hilton are next to mention.
I haven't sent a letter in so long! Not even to my relatives abroad (who, by the way, still send us cards and stuff like that). My handwriting has also gone down the drain. Sometimes I see all the beautiful calligraphy and handwriting some people have and I get the urge to practice. But it ends at the urge. Ugh.
Hehe no problem, dear. You're absolutely a great inspiration so it's the least I can do ;D
Hi! i was wondering if you might know some places around the US that offers internships for gothic/gosuloli type fashion?
I know it's a random question, but I'm looking around and I'm not sure where to go. I'd love to work with you! haha
Hi! Thanks for your sweet note! Augh, I can't really think of any places that would offer internships since all the major Gothloli brands are in Japan… I'd suggest interning at any alternative fashion company in your city — you'll learn the ropes, and you can apply your knowledge to any Gothloli fashion line in the future. xoxo
Oh my gosh, i want one!!!
is there any besides ones like tripp and lip service?
I wish I could do some kind of internship in Japan. hehe
unfortunately i live in a dead place.. I'd need to go to ny or ca. XD (i'm a fashion student looking for an internship but it's hard to find something in the alternative world..)
Oh! Can I send you a handmade card? (^-^) Now I feel like making once since you posted those that you got.
wear loads of dark and bright colors like orange goes owsum with blue,grey and purple to have a cozy and safer feeling in the season of hot and cold.i'd like to mention Leigh Lezark’s unique style and Erin Wasson to get a cindy crawford feeling and girl olivia and Nicky Hilton are next to mention.
Oh my gosh, i want one!!!
Dr. Porntip is like a real life Abby from NCIS! I totally have a new scientist hero now. ^_^
Also I’m totally stoked that belly dancing is hot in Asia now. My relatives used to think that I was weird for doing it, but now my aunt is taking classes in Taiwan.
Visual Kei mad scientist! Love it!
Dr. Porntip is like a real life Abby from NCIS! I totally have a new scientist hero now. ^_^
Also I'm totally stoked that belly dancing is hot in Asia now. My relatives used to think that I was weird for doing it, but now my aunt is taking classes in Taiwan.
Visual Kei mad scientist! Love it!