Category Archive for Tokyo + Japan
INNOCENT WORLD SHOP IN OSAKA. GOTHIC LOLITA STORES & SHOPPING MAP, SHINSAIBASHI JAPAN. SWEET LOLI SHOES.
Slowly but surely, I’ll get my Gothic Lolita Punk store photos up here for you! Let’s start our journey with the Innocent World boutique in Shinsabashi, the Osaka district where most alternative clothing brands are situated. (I have an Osaka shopping map here; I’ll have to update it, but it’ll give you a general idea of the locale.) The shop is on the fifth floor, so look up for the pink-and-brown sign decorated with playing card symbols.
There’s a mirror in the elevator. If you’re anything like Yukiro and me, that means fixing our makeup and mugging for photos, all in the span of the 40-second ride.
When you step in, you’ll find a beautiful display of Lolita clothing on the back wall, lit up as if this were a Rococo fashion museum. On the right, Yukiro is holding up the Classical Lolita dress style I coveted (although I later found a secondhand Metamorphose one at Closet Child; outfit photos here).
Pastels and playing cards are recurring themes in Innocent World’s spring collection. And the sweet shoes! Words fail me… as does the price (around $140 US)…
The hat is the perfect accessory for a picnic or stroll in the park. To make matters more wonderful, you can store it in a round box decorated with kittens and roses.
Downstairs, there is yet another Innocent World shop. Here, the layout and decor are more casual, but the items (and prices) are about the same. Redundant, if you ask me.
I loved examining the frilled parasols, crown-shaped handbags and sweet knee socks up close. You may recognize the white rabbit purse on the right; I bought it the previous week at Marui One Shinjuku.
Which Loli skirt print do you like best: the roses, baby deer or fruit?
Next, I’ll post photos from Atelier Pierrot in Osaka, which has a section for Chantilly. And I haven’t forgotten your Reader Questions; I’ll get on that too…
Quick, what words come to mind when you see the lovely fashion in the Innocent World shop?
Japanese Word of the Day: Mokusei = Jupiter
Song of the Day: Animetal – Zankoku na Tenshi no Teze (Evangelion theme song, so good.)
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JAPANESE DOLL EYELASHES & CHEAP SUSHI IN SHINJUKU. PURIKURA EYE-ENLARGING STICKER BOOTHS IN TOKYO GAME CENTER, ABSINTHE JELLY.
I’m going to let you in on a little secret: our favorite sushi restaurant in Tokyo. Hibari is a cheap but melt-in-your-mouth fresh conveyor belt sushi parlor, located a few steps to the left when you exit Shinjuku Club Marz (map here). Since it’s open all night, we often head here after dancing at monthly Goth event Midnight Mess. Daytime, this is the prime spot to ogle spiky-haired Japanese host boys!
Skull tshirt: Mari’s Rock, from Closet Child Shinjuku
Gothic vest: Gramm, from Closet Child Shinjuku
Lavender casual skirt: Algonquins, from Closet Child Shinjuku
Ashi dashi pencil knee highs: gifted from Sock Dreams
(Count de Sang is wearing a Tokyo Gore Police t-shirt.)
Mihoko is always the picture of elegance. Her clothes are by Moi-meme-Moitie, Mana’s Elegant Gothic Lolita brand.
That night, the sushi restaurant was invaded by spooks and schoolgirls. Everything is 130 yen (about a dollar) a plate, so we ate a lot!
Makeup: Using gifted Sugarpill Cosmetics black eyeshadow, I did a cat eye. Above, I applied lavender eyeshadow to match my skirt, and blue eyeliner below. I put matching pastel heart stickers on my forehead, and Dolly false eyelashes. The effect is dramatic up close, but softer from far away.
Hair: I pinned the top to one side and covered it with dollar store paper flowers.
Shinjuku’s kabuki-cho district is known for scantily-dressed hostesses. This advertising truck drove by and Yukiro ran out to be part of the action.
Look who’s here… I Am Sebastian! V-fingers for joy!
We picked up more spooky spooks and went into a noisy gaming center for purikura (sticker picture “print club” booths). The latest machines feature technology that make your eyes Godzilla-sized.
Sebastian and I did our best imitations of the kawaii gyaru models.
About ten of us piled into the tiny booth and tried to fit our faces onto the screen. See how the machine makes us white as snow, with big and shiny eyes? (I have a guide to taking perfect purikura and decorating the print-out stickers in this post.)
Funny story: great minds think alike, so Yukiro and I both gave Cotton Bale fake eyelashes as a gift. And them the purikura machine spat out yet another free pair… so she’s stocked up for life. On the right, Kana and I did a shoot-em-up zombie video game and got a bit too excited.
The night didn’t end there. Five of us went upstairs for all-night, all-you-can-drink karaoke. The photos aren’t fit to be seen by the public… however, let me sing the praises of Kana, who invented absinthe jelly and brought it for dessert. Aren’t spooky friends the best?
Do you and your friends like to go for sushi, purikura and karaoke? Where are your favorite haunts?
PS: Tokyo friends, come watch Yukiro’s musical debut this Saturday at Midnight Mess! He’ll be singing original songs and a Lady Gaga cover, and performing a one-time-only vulgar act. All details here.
Japanese Word of the Day: Shibafu = Lawn
Song of the Day: Dalida – Besame Mucho (My favorite era of the tragic Egyptian chanteuse.)
LA CARMINA
