CUTE ANIME GIRL DRAWINGS, ALICE & THE CAT. BLACK PEACE NOW & YOSUKE SHOES: OPA OSAKA, EGA ELEGANT GOTHIC LOLITA & ARISTOCRAT BOYS FASHION.
Looky-loo: it’s La Carmina and Sebastiano Serafini!
These cute manga/anime-style drawings are by Alice and the Cat, a talented designer and illustrator — born in Milan and living in Tokyo. Her kawaii illustrations have been exhibited at Tokyo Design Festa, the huge art event I reported on in 2008 and in 2010. (Do check out these posts if you missed them; Yukiro is shirtless in this one.)
Seba and I are quite the team, ne? We’re working hard, and soon we’ll share our wild collaborations with you! And you can look forward to our Hollywood invasion (Dec 28 to Jan 10). (There’s a new Seba in America category for this special series.)
Before we jet to not-so-sunny LA, let’s finish up our dark fashion tour of Osaka, Japan. Shopping for Goth/alt clothing is more difficult in Shinsaibashi than in Harajuku, since the stores are spread out (rather than concentrated in Laforet and Takeshita-doori). In the 2F basement of OPA, there’s a boutique for Yosuke shoes. I love this brand. Inexpensive, stylish, and never falls apart.
Next door: Black Peace Now. One of my favorite brands for men’s Elegant Gothic Aristocrat fashion.
Peace Now is brighter and cuter, while still retaining some dark elements.
The eye-patch wearing teddy bears and bunnies remind me of the Pirate Basil logo that Naomi made for our coolhunting and TV hosting company.
You can locate these shops and more on my Osaka shopping map. I’ll compile my Shinsaibashi Gothic Lolita Punk store reports soon.
What do you think of Alice and the Cat’s illustrations? Don’t they look like me and Seba? Do you have any favorite kawaii manga / anime artists? (My blog’s banner is by reader Angela Che.)
Japanese Word of the Day: Keisei = Formation
Song of the Day: Gamma Ray – It’s a Sin (Heavy metal cover of the Pet Shop Boys tune. SHRED!)
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LA CARMINA
33 Comments
Alice and the Cat’s illustrations are amazing!!!! I really envy people that knows how to make art just like that because I’ve been terrible bad at drawing since I was a little girl. The only “art” I can create are books, stories and I really love it, but my life’d be easier if I’d know how to illustrate my own books.
To me, the characters look like you and Seba. I liked a lot the colours she used and the whole atmosphere.
And what to say about the shops *_* <333333 I love shoes so you can imagine how I loved that part XDDDD
Have a nice day / night
xoxox
The artist is a friend of Seba — very talented! I hope to collaborate with her more!
Hahah I have so many Yosuke shoes… they fit, they last. Happy.
so sweet !
This made my day xD
Awwww. ~ So cute.
Aya Kanno is like. my favorite artist, for Otomen ;__;. and I thought that was vocaloids Kaito and Luka @n@
xoxo
Yer lucky to be born pretty. VV
hey Carmina :33 how are you? and Basil too? hope to see more goth activities coming up for you. :3 take care always!
Very nice art work. :) I wasn’t aware Seba was a vampire. lol
haha everyone on this blog is a vampire.. ;)
Have you been to the Black Peace Now store in San Francisco
Not yet!
What a coincidence, I just started watching Nihonjin no Shiranai Nihongo recently and I’m on the episode that features Sebastian.
The Alice and the Cat drawings are cool. I’m going to checkout more of her work.
I like several manga artists, but most of them aren’t conventionally kawaii. They’re more a mix of kowai and kawaii, examples being Mitsukazu Mihara and Junko Mizuno. My all-time favorite mangaka though are Kaori Yuki (lots of gothic goodness) and Kazuya Minekura (lots of bishounen goodness ^^)..
Episode four, with Kamei Eri! ^__^ Glad you’re enjoying the show.
Ahh Kaori Yuki… I wrote about her eons ago – love her work. http://lacarmina.com/2008/01/gothic-lolita-manga-artist-kaori-yuki/
lol epic!
o: so cute ^w^ also those clothes and shoes >.<
I’m a big fan of Miwa Shirow.
Kouyu Shurei-sama
Do you know?
Where would you recommend to go buy shoes in Shibuya or Harajuku with a large selection? I need new shoes badly and soon.
There’s a whole floor of shoes in Marui One Shinjuku. Also Harajuku Shoes on Takeshita doori, right side of the street. For photos, maps and more – check out the shopping guide on my blog (right sidebar has the link)
wow.. that is an AWESOME art style ! i love it !! it’s so trendy and not moe, we needs more of these artists !!!
She’s fantastic – I hope we’ll be collaborating more in the future!
You’re such an evil genious to mention a shirtless Yukiro. Was that bodypainting really done only by acrylics? Isn’t that kinda hard to wash of?
Oh gosh… Yukiro took a shower in my room later and STAINED the bathtub >___<
Ohw god. As a Dutch I know how terrible orange stains can be T.T”
I *love* the EGA style and have been searching high and low for affordable pieces.
Recently I’ve read several things regarding the EGL/EGA style that insist things are ONLY true EGL/EGA if they are pieces from Moi-Meme-Moitie. This attitude doesn’t quite sit well with me. Thoughts?
Eughhh… that’s the opposite of my attitude. I think one can probably say that Mana coined those terms and popularize the styles. But there are so many other EGL/EGA brands, including older ones (Yellow House for EGA, for example). And I know many people who construct beautiful EGL and EGL outfits from non Japanese or non-brand pieces. I don’t think there should be restrictions like that…
Totally agree ^_^
i love your blog ^^
Thanks darling!
-dies from the cuteness- x.x
I reallyyyyyyyyyyyyy love this Shop! BLACK PEACE NOW!! Woooaw but we have not shop like this in Canada… (T___T)