My Goth Swimsuit: skeleton swimwear at infinity pool! Bangkok Gothic Lolita shop Chuchu.
Is there such thing as a Gothic swimsuit? Seems so!
Enjoy the bathing suit shots by Seby, plus a peek inside a Bangkok Lolita boutique called Chuchu.
Online retailer Little Wicked’s Emporium made my day when they sent me this Banned Apparel skeleton swimsuit. The design is cheeky yet chic, with lining and straps that tie around the neck. Such a treat to have swimwear that suits my aesthetic!
My white cat-eye sunglasses are Dolce & Gabbana, and my floppy hat is similar to this one.
Seby and I enjoyed every aspect of Sofitel So, the luxury hotel that hosted us in Bangkok. One of our favorite moments: splashing around the rooftop infinity pool.
The edge of the water appears to stretch on forever. At night, it turns into “The Water Club Bar”, with special cocktails and lounge DJs.
It’s hard to beat a swimming pool that overlooks the Thai skyline.
The Sofitel pool is shallow, which is good for people like me (I hardly made it to the “Maroon” level in the old Canadian Red Cross program).
Guests could play with a selection of inflatable donuts and sharks. Let’s just say, we had a bit too much fun with these toys.
Between playing around, we took in the view of Lumphini Park, an inner-city green space with an artificial lake and boats for rent.
What type of swimsuit do you wear? Would you rock a skeleton one?
While it was tempting to stay in our hotel oasis, we braved the Bangkok traffic to visit Platinum Fashion Mall.
I came here for the new Sweet & Gothic Lolita boutique, Chuchu. (83, Zone1, Soi Ginza 6, Platinum Fashion Mall.) It’s run by two Japanese sisters, Tsubasa and Mamu, who are now based in Thailand.
All items are designed and made locally. The frills and gathers are reminiscent of what you’ll find in Tokyo shops — but for much lower prices. This is Bangkok, after all.
There’s a cute selection of skirts and dresses, in many different pastel colors and styles. The sisters generously gave me a purple floral Lolita dress from their collection. You can see me wearing it during my Seattle trip.
Chuchu also makes cosplay clothing. The store has a loyal customer base, and takes part in local events like anime fairs.
You can see Japanese influence in the fashion styling and flyer design. Many of Chuchu’s garments are reminiscent of classical Lolita cuts.
The stuffed bear and flowers prove their dedication to all things kawaii.
I’m glad to see Lolita fashion in the hands of young, international creatives. In Tokyo, EGL styles feel a bit stagnant to me, and quite a few labels have closed down (like Peace Now and Banana Fish).
Even if Lolita is not growing much in Japan, it’s great that there are strong communities worldwide. Indie designers like Bangkok’s Chuchu are reaching new audiences, and putting their own, local twist on the style.
Platinum Mall contains other small shops that sell original fashion or bulk clothing, like these colorful aprons. This is a good place to pick up inexpensive basics (like Seby’s swim trunks).
However, for forward-thinking street style, the best shopping destination remains Siam Discovery.
We were in Thailand around Halloween, hence the cute ghost, pumpkin and skull chocolates.
Bangkok is famous for its street food. Outside, there was a vegetarian festival. Maybe that’s veggie duck?
Time to get back. We hailed a taxi — they’re very cheap in Bangkok, just be sure to get on with a running meter. Open air tuk tuks are another option, but with our hair and outfits, we prefer to be in an enclosed and air conditioned space.
Give yourself a lot of transit time, since the traffic is notoriously slow here.
At least the funny Bangkok taxi signs help to pass the time. Clients are urged not to gamble, sing karaoke or eat durian. My favorite is the “no water buffalo.” Apparently, a buffalo is a Thai slang word for an idiot.
What do you think of my “all bones” Gothic swimsuit? Are you surprised to see a Lolita boutique in Thailand?
Here are more photos from inside the Sofitel So hotel — I’ve never felt so pampered!
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Corporate Goth party in a Tokyo boardroom! A strange themed club, or office meeting?
My Pirates TV production company has been doing well lately, so it was nigh time to celebrate with rum and wenches!
Naomi, Yukiro and I threw a “Corporate Goth Meeting” — our clever way of hosting a drinking party in a central, inexpensive Tokyo space. Read on for the shenanigans, and tips on how you can plan an alternative event like ours.
After wrapping our latest Tokyo TV job, we wanted to host a get-together for our “spooky friends.” But how to throw an epic Goth party at minimal cost?
In Tokyo, this is a special dilemma. People live in small apartments far away, so we couldn’t have an event at someone’s house. We didn’t want to join an existing club night, or meet at a restaurant or bar (too noisy and expensive, and not good for mingling). Renting a private club space would also be much too costly.
The sneaky and slightly subversive solution… We rented a hotel boardroom for three hours, and held a “work meeting!”
In Shinjuku, you can rent business meeting rooms for under $50 an hour. They’re large enough to hold 20-30 “staff members”, and the location is convenient for everyone.
The hotel didn’t question our motives behind the “Corporate Goth Meeting.” But once the doors closed, the work gathering… turned into a drag queen drinking fest.
Our friends (aka employees) showed up in “Business Casual Gothic work clothes” to fit the theme (aka ruse). We did end up discussing important matters, as you can see on the white board.
Everyone brought a little something to eat or drink. This Barbados “Mount Gay” rum was the hit of the evening.
How sweet that many of my “pirates” brought me yuzu (the tangy Japanese citrus), since they know it’s my favorite fruit flavor.
I’m wearing a Nightmare Before Christmas sweater from Rolick, a women’s boutique in Shinjuku Lumine. I’m not a big fan of the current winter collections in Japan, as the materials tend to be scratchy and the designs uninspired. However, I love the Jack Skellington print in this collaboration.
My fuzzy boots are by Liz Lisa.
There are perks to being Captain of the Pirate Ship. You can engage in a little “harassment” here and there…
Everyone got into the theme of the party. It looks like we’re having an animated panel discussion.
In fact, we are a business: La Carmina and the Pirates does Japan TV fixing, local production arranging, translation, on-camera hosting, consulting and more. We’ve worked with Food Network, Travel Channel, Discovery, National Geographic and other networks.
Three shining examples of how to dress Work Goth. It’s possible to abide by an office dress code, while keeping a dark, alt aesthetic.
Yukiro appears to be delivering a corporate takeover speech.
Kanae raises an objection, Phoenix Wright style. (In fact, our friends do work with us — they’re always willing to lend a hand with projects, and appear on our TV shows.)
Naomi brought portable speakers, and played Gothic MIDI tunes. The boardroom space was perfect: everyone could mingle freely, and chat without being drowned out by music.
We even had a nice view of Kabukicho. The only problem with the room… was that Seby thought the lights were too bright!
Maybe we need to upgrade our employees’ cell phones. (This is Yukiro’s ancient iPhone 3.)
Thankfully, none of the people at the hotel disturbed our meeting. If they walked in unexpectedly, I think they would be very confused.
We munched on Caro’s haunted gingerbread, made by hand.
The cookies go well with mocha and vodka, apparently.
My hair flower clips are handmade by Angelica Brigade. Remember when I wore them in this Ice Queen photoshoot?
Naomi does a presentation about capital gains and losses. Or something like that.
There’s always a lady in the office who gets a bit scandalous after a few drinks..
At our events, someone always ends up being tortured (in this case, stomped on).
The motto of the evening: “Be there or be fired!”
We gave out an Employee of the Month award to David, who was also celebrating his birthday.
In addition to the bloody delicious cake, you can see how much there was to imbibe.
Yukiro and Remiko show how eating should be done.
And this t-shirt says it all. What do you think of our out-of-the-box idea for renting a cheap and central event space? I think we’ve created an alternative to alternative parties!
Cheers to my Japan Pirate crew. My ship would have run aground long ago, without you crazy kids.
Would you throw a “business meeting” like ours? Do you dress Corporate Gothic when you go to work?
LA CARMINA
