Before the concert, Yukiro caused scandal and drama in the convenience store. He’s wearing the ridiculously short dress he got at the ridiculous Ridiculous store in Osaka.

The floppy hat is DIY-decorated with flowers and ribbons. Yukiro’s claws are always ready to scratch young boys.

Lolita dress: Moi-meme-Moitie… in my dreams! It’s Metamorphose temps de fille; got it for great price at Closet Child Harajuku. You may recall that this was on my Classical Lolita wishlist.
Jacket with trailing sleeves: Marble, from Marui One Shinjuku
Gyaru “bunny ears” headband: from Odakaya in Shinjuku. You see these “ears” all over Tokyo.
Tights: Vivienne Westwood, from Marui Shinjuku
Epic boots are epic: Alice and the Pirates, from Closet Child Harajuku

Makeup is simple because we had to rush out the door… blue eyeliner, false eyelashes on top, nude lipstick, a gem at the corner of the eye.

But there’s always time to pose for photos! In the next post, we’ll bring you inside the Satanic concert with quality videos and a review.

14-year-old Amy sent me the gorgeous fanart on the right. It’s inspired by the Gothic Lolita outfit I wore on the CNN International shoot. I love the hime hair and kawaii eyes — you’re all so talented! If you’d like to see your Carmina/Basil artwork up here, send me an email.

Reiko Arashi also sent me a personalized trading card for Oshare Curry, her Visual Kei / Jpop social networking community. You can redeem it if you set up a profile on the site.

Have you ever been… Xperienced? (Sorry, couldn’t resist.) JrockRevolution presents a new webpage dedicated to X JAPAN’s performance at Lollapalooza. Come read the latest news, share stories on the forums, and plan meet-ups at the concert. You can also purchase an exclusive fan package with a T-shirt, thundersticks, DVD and more.

Finally, some sad news… Daisuke, vocalist of Visual Kei band The Studs and Kagerou, was laid to rest today. The cause of death has not been released. You may leave condolences on the band’s website.

Stay tuned for videos of Gothic Prince Ken and SaTaN dressed as Alice in Wonderland. Which are your favorite Starwave/Darkest Labyrinth bands?

Japanese Word of the Day: Maou = Satan
Song of the Day: GPKISM – Atheos (you can buy the single on HearJapan)

X Japan has announced a NORTH AMERICAN concert tour! As you may already know, the legendary Visual Kei band will be at Otakon convention in Baltimore (July 30-Aug 1) and Chicago’s Lollapalooza (Aug 6-8). Now, they’ve announced a full tour across the US and Canada, starting in California on October 1. The cities will include Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Vancouver, San Francisco, and Boston. (Source)

X Japan has been around since the dark ages (ok, they formed in 1982). Guitarist Hide (pronounced Hee-deh) tragically passed away in 1998 — thirteen years ago! But the band lives on, and is now finding new fans outside Japan. This spring, Marui One Shinjuku set up a special Lemoned Shop to commemorate Hide.

In addition to selling Hide merchandise, the store displayed the legend’s guitars such as the one played in Endless Rain.

While this was only a month-long special exhibit, you can always visit Hide’s Lemoned Shop in Harajuku, which sells goodies with a slightly worn or malformed aspect (hence the name “lemoned”). The boutique was also once Hide’s headquarters for his radio station, record label and tireless creative enterprises.

The logo — a bright, juicy lemon sliced in half — perfectly reflects Hide’s electric hair and showmanship.

Break out the… yen, if you want one of these rare Hide vinyls.

Fortunately, there are also affordable and cute little goodies for sale. Hoodies, t-shirts, pins, accessories, notebooks and kawaii bears. Perfect souvenirs.

Hide is alive… and on a t-shirt. Pick one up from the Harajuku shop if you find yourself in Tokyo.

We saw Kaya’s manly look… now let’s marvel at Yukiro’s! He was the model for Sembl’s new collection of Japanese deconstructed high-end mens clothing. (You can see the photos here.) The artsy video above was shot at Mt Fuji; poor Yukiro had to stumble around in icy water while chased by a shinigami (death god).

Are you looking forward to X Japan’s first “new” album in 14 years, to be released later this year? Will you be seeing them live?

Japanese Word of the Day: Higeki = Tragedy
Song of the Day: Kanon Wakeshima – Lolitawork Libretto (New PV from Mana’s cello-playing protege. What do you think of the music video and her Lolita clothing?)