FAIRY KEI & CUTE GIRLS ACCESSORIES IN TOKYO: LAFORET HARAJUKU DEPARTMENT STORE GUIDE. NEO, CURE VISUAL KEI MAGAZINE.
My controversial post about the decline of Gothic Lolita fashion in Japan got many opinions. You made great comments about how the economy might a factor, as well as the natural cycles of popularity.
Wipe away that sad face. Laforet department store in Harajuku is still one of the best places for cute clothes, such as Nile Perch’s pastel fairy kei fashion.
Visual Kei bands are also disbanding in droves, but the Jrock presence remains strong in the Laforet basement. Bands often hold signings here…
Cure Magazine and Neo are displayed prominently on the walls.
Although many young Visual Kei bands have bitten the dust, the legends remain. Plastic Tree, Alice Nine and The GazettE are still active and strong.
I love browsing in the lesser-known boutiques for adorable accessories.
In the Laforet basement level, which holds all the underground fashion, there’s a relatively new accessories shop.
The furry tails and bright hair decorations are much more reasonably priced.
Or you can be creative, and make DIY eyeball ribbons yourself!
Fairy kei remains popular. Are you a fan of the 1980s pastel Barbie youngster style? What’s catching your eye these days?
I have more photos of all these stores and styles in my Tokyo shopping directory.
Lots of big announcements coming up… stay tuned!
Japanese Word of the Day: Hiritsu = Ratio, proportion
Song of the Day: Killing Miranda – Discotheque Necronomicon (“We got the rictus cheekbones / We got the death row moves / Stuck in a retro nightmare / We do the speed freak groove”)
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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.)
LA CARMINA
