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Blue-Green mermaid hair in Portlandia! Vegan restaurants, Hawthorne hipster shopping, vintage stores.
It’s official, I want to keep my turquoise and blue hair! I’m having fun trying different outfit colors and makeup combinations, to match the new hues.
In this post, I explore the vintage shops, health food cafes, and hipster districts that Portland is known for. Or dare I say… Portlandia?
What La Carmina wore:
Green-blue hair color and style: Stephanie Hoy, stylist at Avant Garde Hair in Yaletown, Vancouver
Flower clips: made for me by Angelica Brigade
Makeup: from Annabelle Cosmetics
Turquoise Victorian dress: Carina e Arlequin, Tokyo Lolita brand from Closet Child
Laser cut boots: Yosuke Japan, similar to these boots
Faux fur eggplant purple scarf: Holt Renfrew Canada
I posed for these outfit photos in front of the Bagdad, a pub and movie theater. This Portland district, Hawthorne, is filled with quirky-cute boutiques and cafes.
Images taken by Naomi, who is First Mate of our TV fixing and arranging company, and also designed the Art Nouveau WordPress theme of this blog.
The Portland tourism bureau invited us to Harlow for lunch. (3632 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR). The restaurant specializes in casual but delicious vegan, gluten-free and organic meals.
Since it was the day before Halloween, this cut-out H pumpkin stood next to the healthy desserts.
The drink menu changes all the time. At the time, there were haunted concoctions. Instead of blood, the Nosferatu Cocktail is stained red with beet juice.
The staff wore costumes, and prepared all the juices and meals fresh to order. This is a great place for anyone who is gluten-free, vegan, or has food allergies.
Harlow is all about conscious local choices, but without the pretension. Food is simply fresh and flavorful, served in an airy space.
The coffee is by Trailhead Roasters, a bike-powered organic collective that supports female farmers. My pretty juice is a mix of grapefruit, apple, celery and mint.
At Harlow, vegan and gluten-free choices aren’t an afterthought — they are the stars of the show. The photo above shows how tasty and filling our lunch was. (No meat served here, but you can order eggs and dairy products.)
Be adventurous! Try the creative house-made specials at Harlow, such as bourbon BBQ tempeh, jalapeno cashew cheese, and hazelnut milk.
Naomi also took us to Paradox Organic Cafe for vegan brunch. The meatless biscuits and gravy are through the roof.
Again, you can order animal products here. But as the wall clippings show, Paradox takes pride in serving ancient grains and organic produce.
Brunch is a big deal in Portland. On the weekend, popular cafes have 1-2 hour long waits for a table. Paradox isn’t overrun by hipsters yet… I hope it stays that way, lest this blog post bring on a “brunch-pocalypse”!
Vintage shopping is also a major activity. Across the street from the Jupiter Hotel — remember my astronaut costume shoot? — there is a row of concept and secondhand boutiques, including Haunt Studio. (811 E Burnside St #113, Portland, OR)
Nothing beats cut-out Lolita boots, and autumn leaves in the Pacific Northwest. Photography by Naomi Rubin, Melissa Rundle, and me.
As soon as I entered Bombshell Vintage, I saw a puff of tutu skirts, and Courtney Love (or rather, someone dressed as her) at the counter.
Hattie’s Vintage Clothing had a magnificently curated selection from past eras. I simply had to get this 1970s disco winter coat, made from white leather and faux fur. It’s by Alan Cherry, a Toronto upscale boutique that closed in the 90s. (More photos to come.)
I recommend strolling on Hawthorne, Belmont and Mississippi — a huge variety of kooky shops here, including a Third Eye hippie house, and a craft studio for handmade masks.
The Portlandia joke, “Put a bird on it,” rings true. A lot of products were stamped with birds, even this skull jar.
Since it was around Halloween and Day of the Dead, there were spooky skeleton items everywhere.
Portland is a great place to pick up funny gifts, eco-friendly bags, twee jewelry…
… and a Mexican sugar skull or two.
I hope you’re enjoying the photography in these recent posts! Most are taken with my Sony DSLR a700 camera, with a 50mm f/1.8 lens (aka Nifty Fifty). Shallow depth of field FTW.
What do you think of PDX’s hipster culture? Are you fond of vegan food, vintage shops, and the TV show Portlandia?
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Shinjuku Hello Kitty store: Sanrio clothes & Tokyo cute food! Hong Kong Express Airways magazine cover.
I know you love cute Japanese characters, so I captured tons of photos during my TV shoot in Tokyo earlier this year (hence the pink hair). I’m actually in Japan right now, for yet another TV filming, so there are many more photos on the way…
For now, enjoy these images of Totoro donuts, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu contact lenses and more kawaii — as well as another magazine cover, for a Hong Kong in-flight magazine!
Last spring, I had sakura-colored hair. Before the TV crew arrived, Naomiyaki took some street snaps of me in Shinjuku. The colorful energy of this entertainment district (which holds Christon Cafe, Marui One, host clubs and more) can’t be beat.
Miffy the bunny cape: from the TwoPercent x Miffy store in Hong Kong
White dress: gifted by Gloomth, my dark fashion friends in Toronto
Lolita lace purse: Spider, Hong Kong
My Hello Kitty shoes are ridiculous: red and white, with a big plump bow! They are part of the KiLaRa Hello Kitty fashion collection in Hong Kong.
I’m hugging the iconic giant Hello Kitty statue, who sits in front of Shinjuku’s Sanrio Gift Gate shop. (Address: 1st Floor, Korakuen Ad Hoc Building, 3-15-11 Shinjuku). It’s one of the many Hello Kitty shops you’ll find in Tokyo.
However, probably the largest and scariest source of Sanrio goods is Puroland, the Hello Kitty theme park…
Glam Nail Studio Vancouver decorated me with pastel nail art, ringed with glitter and topped with a Keroppy. As always, I use Bio Sculpture Gel (the polish never chips, but also doesn’t damage the nail as acrylics do).
As you might expect, there are Hello Kitty products all over Tokyo. The products in the official Sanrio shops are often pricier, but you can find little souvenirs (like these My Melody bath balls) in Don Quixote, Tokyu Hands, and even 100 yen stores.
When you walk around the city, you’ll surely encounter cute decorated food! These Totoro pastries, from a Nakano North Exit bakery, were among the most adorable. I also found Anpanman and happy face buns nearby. (Offerings change constantly, so your best bet is to pop your head into bakeries and see what’s currently available.)
Mr. Donut’s Pon de Lion mascot brightens up this snack. They recently released a Halloween Hello Kitty donut, and currently offer Snoopy and Woodstock ones.
Even convenience stores like 7-Eleven have kawaii food. In Cantonese, this cat bun would be called a “maoo baoo”!
In a ramen shop, I spotted this white cat on a bottle of sake. It’s “Nigorin Sake with Lactic Bacterium” — a light, milky sour made from fermented rice alcohol. Even though the bottle is adorable, I didn’t dare try it.
Don Quixote is a “general store” with locations all around Tokyo. (The iconic location is on Yasakuni-doori near the Shinjuku Station east exit.) Here, you can pick up cosmetics, beauty products, homewares and even electronics for excellent prices.
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is the present It Girl, and poster child for a line of circle colored contact lenses.
Even Japanese hair dyes have pretty packaging. The “Fresh Light” brand is modeled by Junie Moon dolls (remember my photos of the Junie Moon doll store in Daikanyama?)
There’s no better place to pick up a French maid or Japanese schoolgirl costume.
Turn into a living doll with the help of colored contacts (like the ones I wore here).
Rilakkuma fans, you may go a bit crazy…
This plush bear is a popular sight all over town. There must be hundreds in this crane game machine.
Who are your favorite Japanese kawaii characters? Have you tried making food in the shape of Hello Kitty and friends?
For recipes and tips on how to “cook cute,” I invite you to check out my book, Cute Yummy Time (Penguin Books USA). Perhaps it might be a good Christmas gift.
PS: In addition to Rebelicious, I’m on another cover this month: the very first issue of UO, the in-flight magazine of Hong Kong Express Airways. This is a newly-launched airline, with routes from Hong Kong to nearby destinations such as Tokyo, Osaka, Phuket, and Penang.
Thanks to this youth-focused, short-haul airline for making me their cover ambassador, and interviewing me about my favorite places in Tokyo. You can read UO Magazine online here, in both English and Chinese. (Photos by Said Karlsson, hair by Kukukachoo, more images from this shoot here.)
I’ll likely be doing more with HK Express soon, so stay tuned for that… and loads of Japan winter coverage!
LA CARMINA
