Category Archive for Fashion
BEST PLACES TO EAT IN LOS ANGELES! LA HEALTHY RESTAURANTS, ORGANIC VEGETARIAN FOOD, AROMA, M CAFE, FARMER’S MARKET WEST HOLLYWOOD.
Warning: there’s a lot of food porn in this post! Seba and I had too many yummy meals while in Los Angeles. Our hotel, The Orlando, is right across from Magnolia Bakery. The cupcakes and brownies were a bit too sickly sweet, but we love the foamy cappuccinos.
For his first night in LA, I brought Sebastiano to Marco’s West Hollywood. Italian food for a (mostly?) Italian boy. Pizza, eggplant parmigiana, spaghetti… delizioso.
For dessert, we ordered the special “Italian Christmas cake” (Seba had never heard of this dish). It was a pannetone, or sweet bread loaf, with blueberries on top.
While we waited for our food at Urth Caffe (the celebrity hangout), Seba drew in my notebook gifted from Emily the Strange.
After being in Japan for so long, he’s amazed at American portion sizes!
Adam Richman (host of Travel Channel’s Man vs Food) sent us a gift of red wine and a fruit plate. Why do we know Adam? You’ll see… keep checking the blog to find out! (Here are more photos from our hotel experience.)
We were staying near Whole Foods, and went there almost every day for healthy munchies and cappucinos.
M Cafe on Melrose and La Brea remains one of my favorite places in the world to eat. The Japanese-infused veggie burger with yam fries and “un-ketchup” are out of control.
Yes to the fudge cake and paninis. M Cafe now has vegan cupcakes from Babycakes NYC, the healthy bakery.
One day, we stumbled upon the recently-opened Fit Food on Santa Monica. Everything here is tasty and good for your body. I’d never had anything like the Yam-Tastic sweet potato protein shake.
Seba thought The Grove was “a tacky imitation of Europe.” But we loved Farmer’s Market. You can tell we eat a lot of protein and salad.
Other highlights… spongy bread and African dips from a restaurant in Little Ethiopia, Japanese-Western fusion from Sawtelle Kitchen, Italian cappuccinos with decorated foam from Urth Caffe.
We ate curry, pad thai and papaya salad at Toi on Sunset, the rock and roll Thai restaurant. All the food is freshly-cooked with healthy ingredients. Don’t forget to order the limitless coffee.
Another reason to love The Orlando Hotel – it’s located on the West 3rd “restaurant row.” We adored the Indian cuisine at Electric Karma — it was one of the best we’d experienced. We picked up mac and cheese, asparagus and salmon from Joan’s on Third.
Several of you recommended Aroma Cafe on Sunset, so we went for a sniff. Omelets, salads and grilled sandwiches. So. Good.
What are your favorite LA eateries? Do you like a variety of cuisines? Or try to eat healthy, as we do?
Japanese Word of the Day: Mahoutsukai = Wizard
Song of the Day: Wizard of Oz – If I Only Had a Brain (Or as Seba sings it, If I Were a Host. Hear him sing in our latest video.)
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Lolita fashion is dead: Decline of Sweet and Gothic Lolitas in Japan, Laforet Harajuku shops.
Let’s touch upon a touchy subject. Gothic and Sweet Lolita fashion is undoubtedly on the decline in Japan — in the sense that fewer Japanese are wearing the style, and it’s not as visible in magazines and media. Sad, but true.
Personally, I’ve been feeling indifferent towards Lolita fashion as of late. Metamorphose’s bonnets and prints are as cute as ever. But the silhouettes, styling, materials… not much has changed in the past decade.
I still find Lolita designs beautiful. But I find more variety — and growth over the years — in other alternative street styles such as punk, electro, fairy kei.
One might say that the static styling — the “variations on a set theme” — are part of the EGL appeal. However, to me (and many Tokyo consumers), it’s not enough to motivate continued purchases. My eyes wander to Hellcatpunk’s leopard prints and polka dots.
Anyone have thoughts about why Lolita fashion is lessening in popularity? Perhaps the fuzzy bunny-girl and Mad Hatter aristocrat styles are not as accessible to customers.
I feel that most Lolita brands haven’t made enormous strides in design and presentation. The Metamorphose dress on the mannequin and cluttered store don’t exactly signal “top of the game.”
The catalogs and styling are also same-old.
On the flip side, I remain impressed with h.NAOTO, who designs in a variety of underground styles. In his Frill collection, he isn’t afraid to take risks with unconventional materials and flourishes. I think he pushes the fashion-forward envelope and succeeds.
I can’t wait for the IBI and Sixh runway show at Anime Matsuri in Houston; as you know, I’ll be a special guest at the anime convention! All information about the March 18-20th event is in this post; I hope you and your friends can make it.
What are your thoughts on the controversial subject of Lolita fashion’s lessening hold in Japan? Are you also a little bored with the recent offerings from the brands? I look forward to your comments; be nice to each other.
All these images were taken in Laforet, the Harajuku department store. To see Lolita fashion and how it changed over the past few years, there are photos from almost all the Tokyo stores in my shop guide.
Bonus: Sebastiano Serafini drew us with my fat Scottish Fold cat! There are more photos of Basil Farrow on his blog, and posted on my Twitter.
Japanese Word of the Day: Gentai = Decline
Song of the Day: Onmyouza – Kureha
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