Category Archive for People + Pets
TOKYO REBEL: GOTHIC LOLITA SHOP IN NEW YORK CITY. NYC LOLITAS SHOPPING, GOTH PUNK STORES, BUYING HARAJUKU CLOTHES IN AMERICA.
Yell it to the rafters: there’s a Gothic Lolita store in New York City — Tokyo Rebel! The lovely husband and wife team behind the new boutique invited my all-girl Visual Kei group to visit. (I believe This Maddening Shroud is our favorite of all the killer band names you suggested for us.)
Jeff (a web designer) and Masayo (a nurse) opened Tokyo Rebel “because we love Japanese street fashion and we wanted to bring it to America.” Tucked away in the Lower East Side, they’re the only retailer in NYC to stock Japanese brand-name Goth Lolita Punk clothing and accessories.
Kanae headed straight to the vintage rack in the back (the store will accept and sell your secondhand Lolita clothing.) I couldn’t resist putting on an old-school Algonquins dress (left). Atelier Pierrot (right) is one of the bestselling brands because it appeals to a broad range of shoppers; a girl looking for an alt prom dress fell in love with the one I’m holding.
The Sweet Lolita dresses from Angelic Pretty (left) are the same ones on the racks at Marui One Shinjuku. Masayo and Jeff source the clothes and accessories directly from the Japanese designers, which include Victorian Maiden, Innocent World, Putumayo and Maxicimam.
All new Lolita clothing is expensive ($150-300 range). But at Tokyo Rebel, the price tags aren’t — or are barely — marked up. Amazing, and well worth saving up for.
I tried on an Evil Tail Frill One-piece by SEX POT ReVeNGe. Regi couldn’t resist buying a two-piece jumper set by Algonquins. We were also tempted by the crucifix/cute accessories under the glass counter, and the display of Kera Magazine. (Need we say the selection is excellent, and ranges from casual rock/punk to lace and bows elegance?)
I ended up with a warm and fuzzy Sex Pot Revenge skull scarf. And if I may reach for a metaphor… that’s the feeling we got from visiting Tokyo Rebel! Masayo tells me she first fell in love with Gothic and Lolita fashion over a decade ago, in Tokyo. She wanted to create a haven where she could be around the elegant clothing and meet others who appreciate the fashion — and the boutique was born.
Jeff says the store aims to stock more items from the current brands, including shoes, and expand to include more lines. If you’re in NYC, even for an afternoon, you’ve got to stop by to say hi and try on a couple of coordinates. Happy face for those who live elsewhere: you can order from Tokyo Rebel’s website as well. (All photos by Shichi.)
Have any of you been to Tokyo Rebel? What are your thoughts on the atmosphere and selection?
Song of the Day #301: The Creatures – Right Now
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HISTORY OF THE DANDY: FLAMBOYANT FLANEUR MALE FASHION, FROM ROCOCO WIGS TO NEW ROMANTIC, STEAMPUNK & NEO-VICTORIANA.
Male flamboyance: a centuries-old tradition that has evolved but never gone out of fashion. Today’s ruffled riff-raff — think Japan’s Goth Aristocrats and New York’s Dances of Vice (above) — are but the modern incarnation of the European dandy. So let’s raise our bowler hats to our foppish forefathers who paved the road to Visual Kei and Harajuku boys.
The male peacock bared his tail-feathers in 18th and 19th century Europe. “Laconically witty clothes-horse” Beau Brummell and “Dandy King” Joachim Murat set the stage for the slightly eccentric but always stylish gentleman. Let’s not forget the infamous Oscar Wilde and Lord Byron. (Come on, fellow contemporary writers — live up to the decadence of your predecessors!)
In mid-18th century Britain and America, the ornate man “stuck a feather in his hat and called it maccaroni.” These caricatures capture the maccaroni’s outlandish tailed jackets and towering powdered wigs.
After suffering through the French Revolution and Reign of Terror, the bourgeoisie just wanted to have fun. The Incroyables and their female counterparts, the Merveilleuses, ornamented themselves in floppy collars and bows. Long hair on men has always been a mark of bad boy hedonism, hasn’t it?
Frilly shirts and powdered visages came back to life in the 1980s New Romantics. The Blitz Kids’ club fashion influenced some of my favorite 80s synth-poppers: Visage, Adam and the Ants, Ultravox, Duran Duran, Human League, Spandau Ballet.
Today, the male dandy lives on in Japanese Gothic Aristocrats, Visual Kei J-rockers, Steampunks and other Neo-Victorian/Goth sartorialists. As for their female counterparts: no matter what era you’re living in, there’s a place for long gloves and ostrich feathers. And ding-a-linging your young boytoy… well, that never gets old!
PS: DJ SiSEN in Malaysia? Nope, it’s a Harajuku Look-Alike contest!
You may also enjoy Funny money in Asia: my new gallery on CNNGo. Which one is the most Monopoly-like?
Song of the Day #279: 12012 – Heart (J-rock dandies carry the flame forward.)
LA CARMINA
