Deedeeohho

Liberte - Rouge CoCo Shine Contest for Chanel

2011-05-18T07:22:00.000-07:00

Life has been quite hectic over here. The school term is wrapping up, and I'm happily swamped with final projects. I don't anticipate to sleep much for the next 3 weeks, but it should be fun anyway.

I took a bit of time out of my busy schedule to enter this contest from Chanel's cosmetic line. I picked the lipcolor Liberte, to symbolize myself. Please check out the video I made (warning, its kind of corny!):

(you can vote for me here:
http://www.teenvogue.com/cs/promo/chanel/gallery/video.php?id=129)

As all of you know, I have struggled with self acceptance for a long time - but I am starting to over come it. I've embraced everything that I once saw as a flaw; beginning to love myself from the inside out. I no longer beat myself up over my acne. I no longer fear gaining a few pounds. I no longer stop before I leave the house to change into jeans and a hoodie because I am afraid of what people might think.

Chanel has been a big part of learning that for me. Gabrielle 'CoCo' Chanel was a strong woman, and a revolutionary for fashion and women world wide. Her strength really stood out to me, and I'm afraid we forget about who and what Chanel stood for. Chanel is strong, cool, simple elegance. I may be a little flashy for Chanel's taste, but I embody all of those things.

Let's start a revolution. A fashion revolution! Fashion is a means of self expression, and art form to it's very core. No longer should we hate ourselves for not looking like 'the perfect woman' - whatever that maybe. This industry is slowly changing, and I see that everyday. Let's make this happen!

Vote for me here:
http://www.teenvogue.com/cs/promo/chanel/gallery/video.php?id=129

It would really mean a lot to me- and to my cause! And remember - you can vote once a day!

2011-05-10T22:05:00.000-07:00

The weather was incredible today. It was one of those days that is just hot enough to not need a jacket, but not so hot that wearing one is out of the question. I wish all days were like today, because I feel that being stylish would come much more naturally.

In order to battle the utter sense of apathy I've had toward my fashion sense recently, I've been challenging myself to dress in something nice everyday. So far, so good. I tried to get myself to document the outfits as a part of the challenge as well, but I kind of failed in that sense. However, I was home before 7pm today! Which is especially exciting because I usually get home around 11. I jumped on the opportunity to have Melody take some photos of me. It also gave me a chance to slip into my lovely Betsey Johnson shoes, since they have yet to see the sun (my metalsmithing lab has a strict no open-toed shoes policy, on top of all the rainy days Oregon has seen recently.)

Remember when I talked about how incredible the lighting is in Oregon these days? I tried to document it for you guys:

Bonus outfit shots:

Extra extra bonus 'cute family' shot:

Look how cute my nephew is!

Hi there Dorothy, I have just discovered your blog, sugoi! i'm moving to Tokyo in a couple of weeks from Nagano. Do you have any advice regarding language schools? I want to improve my Japanese but there are many schools its hard to know which one!

2011-05-09T23:22:00.001-07:00

Hi! Sorry for the late response, as I'm sure you have already found your way to Tokyo.
As far as language schools, I am not entirely knowledgeable on them. I studied at a University, so language classes were just a part of the curriculum. However, I had a friend who attended KCP international (http://www.kcpinternational.com/) and really liked it!
Good luck on your endeavor to learn Japanese! The biggest piece of advice I can give on on learning, is to not be afraid of speaking! Go and make a lot of Japanese friends, and more importantly make a lot of mistakes! It really is the best way to learn a language quickly.

Ask me anything!

:[ you never answered super long ago question so sad so sad :[ but understandable, of course, given all that happened.

2011-05-09T23:19:00.001-07:00

I'm so sorry that some of these question have gone unanswered! I've been incredibly busy, on top of all of the crazy events that have happened around me. Some extremely personal issues have come up as well, that I have decided to not make public on my blog. It is because of those things that I have kind of neglected my formspring. I'll try and get to answering these questions soon though! Thanks for the reminder :)

Ask me anything!

Of dogs and spring.

2011-05-05T22:58:00.000-07:00

The weather has been absolutely beautiful recently. There is nothing like an Oregon spring, where the days start off with rain and end in sun. The skies, cool and gray, are perfectly contrasted by the warm yellow green of the tree's leaves as the sun hits them. It is absolutely magical! If you are an artist, I highly suggest coming to Oregon in the spring sometime.

My mood has been improving greatly. I'm finally on top of my school work, and I'm feeling more and more accomplished in my craft. To round this out, my friend invited me to meet some dogs that she had been dog-sitting. To my joy, they were greyhounds! If you did not know, greyhounds are my absolute favorite kind of dog! They are so sweet (and quite lazy despite common belief!) Also, there are some outfit shots in the midst of all the cute dog photos!

I also bought these super sweet wolf earrings! I'm allergic to the metal though, so I can only wear them for a few minutes at a time. Aren't they great? I feel like a super hipster wearing them, haha.

Bonus shots of me super elated with the doggies.

Art School Blues

2011-04-30T12:55:00.000-07:00

These past two weeks have been a whirlwind of crazy! For some crazy reason I decided it was a good idea to take 3 studio art classes this term, and boy have I been kept busy! For the past week I have spent almost every day, from 9am to 11pm, either drawing, metalsmithing, or working in the dark room. Although it can be stressful when you totally destroy something you are working on, or can't seem to get something right, it is actually quite nice to be doing something so productive.

The art of Photobooth, and Tumblr.

2011-04-18T22:29:00.000-07:00

I haven't been keeping up with my resolution to post more - sorry about that guys! Today I finally got off my lazy butt and had my friend, Mikaela, take some photos of me. I'm still waiting on those, so I thought I'd post some snapshots I've taken with photobooth since returning home!

Even though the quality is quite lousy, I'm really digging the instant gratification and low hassle documentation it allows me! But no reason to fret - I promise that my photos will continue to be high quality! Just consider this a lapse.

Let me introduce you to my new babies - A pair of Betsey Johnson shoes! My mom got them for $50, SCORE! I had to pair them with these baby blue corduroy shorts from the 70's. Way far out man!

I also took some photos of my friends and have been doing a lot of art. So hopefully I'll upload some of those really soon!

If you are interested in following my Tumblr, I've been posting things that inspire me, and short entries about my life pretty much everyday. Just click the link below:

DEEDEEOHO @ TUMBLR.COM

Check it out!

Deep Breath - 深呼吸

2011-04-13T22:59:00.000-07:00

Well, every time I seem to be getting back on my feet, I get knocked down. I made a promise to myself that I will be strong and motivated, and I have to stick to that. I have too many dreams to achieve to be kept down when lemons are thrown my way.

The great thing about music is that you can always find that one particular song that touches you so deeply at any moment in time. Knowing that there is someone who understands exactly how you feel and has been able put all of those confused emotions into words is extremely comforting, and really speaks to a universal part of human nature in my opinion. One of those bands that always seems to have a song written just for me is, Remioromen (レミオロメン). At times like these, sometimes I need someone else to say what I can't seem to verbalize.

Shinkokyuu (Deep Breath) by Remioromen
Translated by Megchan

In the midst of monotonous days, in the middle of the night, in this complicated world
New thrills are soon worn down and turned into rubble
Everything will either go well or badly
I know that, but I just don't know what I want to do

I'm tired of competition, still time moves on
The days keep going
Every once in a while I'll try spreading my hands
And if I take a deep breath and open my eyes

I'll jump out of the solar system, loosen up a little
Feel the new wind with my body
Forced out of the path of fate, I'll be a little more free
And become a nameless star in a nameless constellation

On the other side of my memories, in the middle, in a fragile dream
Awakened from a new sleep, I find it's soon dawn
The excitement and calm I remember
Are surely too distant for my life now

I try to rebel against familiar things, still time shrinks down
The days are flat
Every once in a while I'll try spreading my hands
And taking a deep breath and opening my eyes

I'll jump out of the solar system, stand a little prouder
The new wind will blow from there
Forced out of the path of fate, I'll feel a small breath
And become a nameless star in a nameless constellation
Somewhere in a corner of the universe that's almost disappeared
I take a deep breath

There's darkness in my heart
Grass scatters in the shadows
The moon comes out in the night sky
The buildings are closing in

A long stretch of cloudy sky
My short morning preparations
Surrounded by a deeper green than usual
A flower bloomed

I'll jump out of the solar system, loosen up a little
Feel the new wind with my body
Forced out of the path of fate, I'll be a little more free
And become a nameless star in a nameless constellation
Become a nameless star

Angst is soooo last month!

2011-04-06T20:12:00.000-07:00

I'm officially back! No more doom and gloom for me - angst is so last month!

It's been a bit of a struggle getting back in the swing of things, but starting school has helped by getting me into some sort of a routine. My schedule for this term is so dreamy you guys. I'm so seriously happy with it! I'm re-taking an analog photography class, and I am so excited to be developing in the darkroom again! I'm also taking a drawing class and METALSMITHING! I've only finished my first project in metalsmithing; but I LOVE IT! We are going to be making a lot of jewelry, so I'll be sure to take many photos.

I spent the day with my roommate and an old friend a bit ago. We had amazing self-serve frozen yogurt, and saw Tangled for the second time. As sad as leaving Japan is, it is so nice to catch up with the people I missed.

Sorry for looking so out of it in these photos! I need to get used to being in front of the camera again, I guess! But check out my stellar new shoes!

Hey everyone! Back from the abyss.

2011-03-26T02:19:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, sorry for the hiatus. I've returned to America, and I've been trying to cope with the sudden change in my reality. People warn you about culture shock, but let me tell you- reverse culture shock is a bitch.

Adjustment hasn't quite been easy, and a few hard-balls have been thrown my way; I've been working my hardest to make the best of the situation. School starts next week, and I'll be kicking my ass to get my mind off of everything else. Looking on the bright side of it all, I'm really excited to be taking art classes again.

Some people have been asking me if I will continue with my blog, and my answer is: ABSOLUTELY. I just needed break to assess my new situation and to clear my mind. I have some entries that I haven't posted, so I'll be doing that soon. I don't think my blog will change all that much, just no more on the ground photos from Tokyo.

I hope you all choose to continue to follow me in this new chapter of my life. This blog means a lot to me, and I'm hoping to make it into something everyone can still love.

Sorry for the lack of photos today.

Love,
Dorothy

A sad update - I'm leaving Japan

2011-03-16T04:47:00.000-07:00

It's sad, but true.

My study abroad program has decided to suspend the program I am on and evacuate us from Japan, effective immediately. I still have a few days where I will be packing, squaring away unfinished business and hardest of all - saying an untimely and unexpected goodbye to my boyfriend. I know that sounds silly, but we've been living together the past 6 months and I can't imagine what it's going to be like not waking up next to him. We knew this day would come - we just thought we would have a little more time to prepare.

I've tried writing several things about this, but I just can't even comprehend the situation as of right now. It's all come as a total shock, and even though it's for my well being I can't help but feel as my entire life is being ripped out from beneath my feet. Things were going so well, and now the situation has gone through a complete 180. I don't want to leave. It's selfish of me, but I love Nerima, I love Japan and I love my life here.

I'll try to update as soon as possible, but these next few weeks might be a little crazy. My home institution in Oregon starts it's spring semester on the 28th, and I'm going to try and take classes. We'll see how that goes. I'm sorry for any sort of hiatus I may have to take.

Sendai Earthquake and Tsunami Crisis in Japan - PLEASE READ.

2011-03-11T22:53:00.000-08:00

This may be the most serious blog post I ever write.

I’m sure you have all heard about the terrible tragedy that is happening in Japan right now.

The largest earthquake in Japan’s recorded history and the 5th largest since 1900, happened early yesterday. The earthquake hit at a 8.9 on the Richter scale and caused a deadly chain of tsunami's hitting Japan's coast. 1,300 are feared to be dead, tens of thousands are missing and over 51,000 moved from their homes after a nuclear power plant erupted earlier today.

In the time it took for me to write this, I felt at least 3 after-shocks. That is just a tiny fraction of the hundreds of noticeable tremors that have happened along Japan in the past 24 hours.

Here is my story for those who are interested. If you want to skip this, I understand, but please go to the end where you can learn how to help the victims.

Yesterday started out as a beautiful spring day. I had been called into work to do a 7am inventory check and found myself marveling at how warm it was for six in the morning as I waited for the train. After work I met up with Tania, my friend who is visiting from Seattle, and we headed to Akihabara to do some sightseeing.

We hadn't been in the city for more than 30 minutes before the first tremor hit. We had been wandering around and decided to duck down an alley built between two rickety looking buildings. The alley it's self was kind of dank, and there was construction going on next to the shop we went into. We noticed some of the lighting fixtures starting to move and I commented "I'd expect Japan to build their buildings better. This one is being shook by the construction outside." However, in a few seconds it was quite obvious that it was something much larger than construction. We saw several people running down the alley in terror and decided it was probably a good time to leave as well.

When we exited the alley, traffic had stopped and people were being ushered across the road. One sight I remember vividly was a man falling out of his car door and half crawling, half running across the street. The buildings shook violently and windows had been smashed out by falling office supplies. Everyone looked on in terror as police directed everyone away from the danger.

After the tremors stopped, we all stood still for a few seconds until most people wrote it off as nothing, started joking around and going about their business. Most shops were evacuated as staff made sure the rooms were safe, which left the sidewalks crowded with people. Tania and I walked around for awhile still in a bit of shock until we noticed stores starting to open up again. Soon we found ourselves in the same shady alley again - the store had some 'interesting' figurines that we wanted to go poke fun at and hopefully snap some I-can't-believe-they-make-these-eww photos.

It wasn't but seconds after we went into the store when the second wave of tremors started. This time we didn't second guess them and ran out to the same 'safe' spot as before. The buildings shook for longer, and everyone watched as even more windows broke and fabric signs came falling down. The danger that these tremors posed became painfully clear to everyone. The phone lines were too crowded which rendered them unusable. Thousands wandered the street in shock, wondering if and when the next wave of tremors would happen. Helicopters began to circle the city, and men in hard hats were running around yelling things to each other.

After waiting for awhile, we decided to head towards the train station and see what the status for the trains was like. Hundreds were crowded around the station listening to the announcements that proclaimed that all trains had stopped for an undetermined amount of time. A television in the station began broadcasting the live footage of the Tsunami's hitting Sendai, and the fires across the country.

At that time, I experienced the most awful feeling I had ever had. It was a mixture being completely helpless, not being able to understand what was going, and having no idea if Marco was safe. It left me scared and feeling utterly insignificant. The crowd huddled together and watched on as hundreds fell victim to the violent waves of the tsunami. Many held back tears until their faces were bloated and red. Others couldn't grasp the severity of the situation and joked about what tomorrow would hold.

As time went on the temperature began to steadily drop and it became very clear that the trains were not going to be running anytime soon. We decided to do what many others were doing - buy some bread at the convenience store and camp out in the train station. After moving around to a few buildings (about four hours after the second tremor) Marco was finally able to get a hold of me and we decided to try and meet in Shibuya. However my phone died before I was able to contact him again and tell him there were no buses running from Akihabara to Shibuya.

Tania and I decided to find our own way to Shibuya by walking along the JR tracks. Thousands of others took to walking the street in search of somewhere safe and warm, or to find their loved ones. After a few mix-ups, we ended up at Tokyo station- which for everyone's information is the exact opposite direction of Shibuya; we had walked the wrong way down the track. Tokyo station, however, is very large and warm so we decided that was the best place to camp out.

After several hours one of the subway lines started running again and we decided to risk it and try to get home. Everyone was over joyed and despite the looming danger we all knew would come, there were plenty of smiles and light hearts to go around. Just knowing that we were on the way home gave everyone some relief. It’s moment’s like these when the idea of “foreigner” or “gaijin” melt away, and everyone just becomes the same. In the face of tragedy there is no room for the petty things in life.

Today was filled with buying provisions and other things just in case another earthquake hits. Hours ago a radiation leak was confirmed, so tomorrow will tell another story of new tragedy. All we can do is live and prepare in the moment, hoping that whatever we do helps. More importantly, we can only hope that the Japanese government stops trying to make light of the current nuclear crisis in order to save face and boast it's infallible technology. Now is not the time for pride, it's the time for action.

I was lucky enough to get home safe and to be in somewhere like Tokyo that is pretty isolated from the disaster zones. However, please remember that there are so many who have died and have been affected by this quake. Please keep everyone less fortunate than I in your thoughts, and remember there is so much you can do to help - such as donating to the Red Cross.

Here are some things that were posted by The Daily What:

2011 Sendai Earthquake / How To Help: President Obama released a statement earlier announcing that “[t]he United States stands ready to help the Japanese people in this time of great trial.” Below is a list of charities and relief organizations you can donate to in order to help bring aid to those affected by the worst earthquake in Japanese history.

The American Red Cross has set up a special designation for disaster relief efforts in Japan. To donate, click here, or text REDCROSS to 90999 to instantly donate $10.
International Medical Corps says it is putting together relief teams and supplies to aid Japan “and other affected countries.” Donate here.
GlobalGiving’s Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund.
World Vision’s Disaster Response Fund.
Click here to donate to AmeriCares’ emergency relief response.
Save the Children’s Japan Earthquake Tsunami Children in Emergency Fund.
Reminder: Google’s Crisis Response Center / Person Finder.
Earlier: TDW’s Breaking News post on the 2011 Sendai earthquake with live updates.

Also, Lady Gaga released a wrist band for $5.00 of which 100% of the profits go towards the tsunami relief. You can donate as much money as you want when you buy the band.

I'm really proud to be a little monster right now. Thank you Lady Gaga for stepping up so quickly. PURCHASE HERE.

I will keep updating with more information on what is happening, and how you can help!

Asia Girls Explosion - A notice

2011-03-06T20:48:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Sorry for the lack of updates recently!

Photo taken after the show. That's Yoshiki's piano in the background!

Last night I went to Asia Girls Explosion - a fashion show/concert produced by Yoshiki Hayashi, of X-Japan fame! Simply put - it was one of the best nights of my life. Photos weren't allowed, so I'm waiting for more to show up on the internet before I post my review.

Watching X-Japan perform was basically a religious experience. I cried before I even got in the arena, and seeing them perform with all of their heart and soul was just beyond words. I yelled and sang along until my throat was sore and I no sound came out. Sadly, their set was only 4 songs (all new) plus a recorded version of the English version of Tears. Such a short set list left me craving for more!

Full show review coming soon!

Photoshoots from the past - Kill Your T.V.

2011-03-01T07:23:00.000-08:00

Hi all! I've been rather busy, so I thought instead of adbandoing my blog, that I'd post an old photoshoot I did with my lovely friend Ashlee (who I posted photos of previously in the 'Pair Look Photoshoot') These photos were taken almost exactly a year ago! Oh my I can't believe how much better I was back then... Well, proper lighting equipment does help sometimes ;) I guess I gotta just jump back on the horse!

Sorry for always making "scary" sweet-lolita photoshoots. I just -love- juxtaposition in my art. I promise I'll post some 'normal' ones sometime, haha.

KILL YOUR TV.

Two out-takes that I love, but didn't fit in with the series!

Well, I hope you all enjoyed! Just two notes before I leave:

1) My posts might be kind of sporadic because my best friend is here in Japan visiting! Hopefully we will have lots of adventures I can post about here. However, I don't want to ignore her too much when it comes to blog writing time!

2) Thank you everyone who has been submitting formspring questions! I've gotten some really beautiful questions recently that I can't wait to answer. I'll get to it ASAP! As for people who submitted questions a long time ago and haven't gotten an answer - I'm sorry! I'm working on those too.

Jil Sander Fall 2011 - Love at first sight.

2011-02-27T04:27:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd try my hand at trend watching for a moment. I was inspired to do so by the never-fail-to-amaze collection of Jil Sander that showed in Milan Fashion Week.

So what is my favorite trend this season? Red. Red is in. Big, bold, blocked - Red it is. I am personally very happy about this. Red was never out per se, but as color blocking is becoming ever more prominent red too is having it's fifteen minutes of fame. The most fantastic thing about throwing a little red into your wardrobe is that it can instantly glam up a monotone or so-so ensemble.

My favorite color combination of recent has been bright reds, navy and yellow. It's obvious why they are so appealing - PRIMARY COLORS! Duh! Our eyes constantly jump from red to blue to yellow when we see the colors paired with each other, so the combination literally forces people to focus on your clothes! The more you know!

However, I like them because 'they are pretty,' but I am a simpleton like that.

Anyway, I was absolutely thrilled when I saw the aforementioned Jil Sander collection. It is like a dream wardrobe come true! The silhouettes are absolutely fantastic, drawing inspiration from myriad of decades we see a bit of Coco Chanel, a dash of the 1960's, and a pinch of the 80's - all creating an amazing collection that is simultaneously timeless and fashion forward.

This is my favorite outfit from the collection. I love the silhouette, ugh, to die for!

I would kill for these shoes!

If you are interested, check out the collection of the video at the Jil Sander website.
Photos from Fashion Gone Rouge.

Formspring Round 2: My Battle with Acne and My Skin.

2011-02-26T04:54:00.000-08:00

On your Jan 12 post, you said you had a severe case of acne in the past and I'm wondering how did you manage to get your skin to its clear state now? It'll be really cool if you could share your experience in battling it!

Thank you to whoever asked this question! I'm sorry for taking so long to respond.

(Pre-post warning: This is what worked for me personally. EVERYONE'S skin is different, and I really suggest seeing a dermatologist. If you want to use what I suggest, that is great, but please don't be discouraged if it doesn't work for you!)

Ohhhh my battle with acne, where do I even start? I guess I have to begin with a brief history of my skin, starting from childhood.

(1993-2000)
Since I was a child various skin conditions have been a big part of my life. When I was 3 years old, I was in a terrible bicycle accident and lost all of the skin off my face - All that was left was one patch the size of a quarter. I was lucky enough to not need any skin grafts or plastic surgery, but it took me about 1 1/2 years to completely heal. 6 months of which one of my eyes was completely swollen shut and I still have a scar under that eye. The above photo is when I was 5 or 6, and as you can see my face was still healing even when it was taken.

Needless to say, that started my close relationship with dermatologists. I was allergic to most soaps and fragrances so my mom had to buy special laundry detergents, and I could only use oatmeal based cleansers. I got hives and rashes frequently from teachers and strangers' perfume (on top of that my throat also would swell up.) I had reoccurring skin ailments from my dietary problems that meant I often went to school with bandages covering my entire body underneath my clothes. Luckily though, when I was about 10 my allergies and ailments seemed to calm down and my body was on the mend.

(2005-2008)
I was lucky enough to not get acne until my junior year of high school; Dealing with the pressures of being an overweight 'social outcast' was hard enough as is. By my junior year I had dropped most of my angsty teenage ways and had found myself fairly accepted by most people at school. I started getting awful acne around that time, however.

Most of my acne was cystic and centered on my cheeks. I started on Benzaclyn at the time, and was on and off of it for the next two years. After awhile I dropped the medication because it cost around $100 dollars a jar, and I thought my acne was cured. I was becoming an adult after all.

(2008-2009)
My acne was fairly light for the next year or so. Years of acne had left my face scarred, but that too was beginning to fade. You see, I primarily get hyperpigmentation scars, which leave red dots where a pimple or cyst had been. My scars generally last for 6 months to a year. I started on birth control around this time, and was only really concerned with the weight gain that often comes it. However, in the summer of 2009 my acne began to resurface.

(2009-2010)
By October 2009, my acne had become worse than ever. Everyday would see at least 2 new pimples. I had fewer cysts than in high school but I still always had at least one, usually on my hairline or on my cheeks. The number of scars I was accumulating was embarrassing, and I wondered if I would have a scarred face forever.

Even worse than the physical pain the lesions and cysts on my face left, was the emotional mess I was left in. I felt hideous and unworthy. I woke up every morning and scorned the face I saw in the mirror, wondering if I felt good enough to go to school that day. I started dating my current boyfriend, and he didn't seem to mind my acne, but I was embarrassed every time he saw me without makeup.

After trying several high end creams and treatment solutions, which failed to do anything, I finally switched my birth control to Desogen, and went back to a dermatologist. This was in the late spring of 2010.

The "pre-treatment" photo was taken on what I considered a 'good day'.
Click the photo for a higer resolution.

I was started on a combo of Doxycycline (an oral antibiotic) and Epiduo, which is a combintion of a retinoid and benzoyl peroxide. The benzoyl works to fight the germs other things on the surface, while the retinoid RAPIDLY regenerates your skin cells (think of a chemical peel.) The doctor told me it would get worse before it got better, and oh boy did it.

Within a week my skin had become raw and irritated. I had more pimples than ever, which often came and went within a day. Sadly, this meant an increase in scars as well. Imagine the worst blistering, peeling, painful sunburn you have ever had - this is what my skin felt like everyday. On top of this, Doxycycline can give you severe headaches, dizziness, the works. With the help of others on the Acne.org forums, I was somehow able to find the strength to push through the first three months.

By the time I came to Japan, my skin was looking pretty fantastic! I unfortunately had about twice the amount of hyperpigmentation scars, but those were easily covered by makeup. I was given so much confidence by my newly cleared skin!

However, by November of last year I started developing a lot of whiteheads, which I had never had before, and my scars were getting worse! After some sleuthing I found out that sometimes the rapid regeneration of skin cells can leave your comedomes clogged, resulting in white heads. Great. Even better news was that benzoyl peroxide is great for treating acne, but awful for your skin as it aids the progression of scarring and aging. I suspect that since my skin is so sensitive, that I was hit with the worst of the worst of Epiduo side effects. I decided to give the stuff up for awhile and try a more natural approach.

Enter: EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL.

'What?' you may be thinking 'Are you saying you rubbed oil on your skin? OLIVE OIL?'

Yes, that is exactly what I am saying. In an attempt to naturally reduce the appearance of my scars, I stumbled upon this video on youtube:

I decided to give it a go, it couldn't hurt, right? Well, It changed my life. Within doing this 3 times a week for 3 weeks my scars had been reduced dramatically, and my acne was down to just a single pustule a week - if that. The treatment left my skin supple and radiant and I got constant compliments on how great my skin was looking!

Sadly, after a stressful midterm, I had fallen out of routine and stopped using the treatment. It only took a few weeks for my acne to start flaring up again. I started using the treatment again about a week ago, and I'm astonished at how quickly it is working.

I made my own adjustments to her recipe, so please read it below:

Deedeeoho's Olive Oil and Honey Mask:

Ingredients:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 1 tablespoon
Honey - as much as you like.
Lemon Juice - 2 tablespoons (optional)

1) Mix ingredients in a tupperware container. This can be kept in the fridge for about a week.
2) After removing any makeup (which olive oil is great for as well!) Use a cotton facial pad to soak up the mixture, and apply to your face. When using lemon juice, gently massage the areas where you have scars for 30 seconds to minute - BE GENTLE!
3) Leave on for 20-30 minutes.
4) Rinse, and wash with facial soap. I use an AHA based soap, and it works fantastically. Sometimes you have to wash twice.

I'm slightly allergic to citric acid, so I started with using the lemon juice 3 times a week. After 3 weeks I started doing plain honey and olive oil treatments in between the lemon juice ones, keeping two days in the week where I didn't do a treatment at all.

This is what worked for me, and I love it because it is safe, natural and cheap. Often people with acne are afraid to apply oils to their skin, but depending on the oil it can really help (other oils to look up are jojoba oil, emu oil, etc.) The olive oil supplies nutrients to your skin, the honey works as an antibacterial, and the lemon juice is an astringent and skin lightener.

Here is my skin after a month and a half of using the treatment:

I still have scarring, obviously, but it was reduced and lightened dramatically. On top of that, I had no active pimples.

For comparison, here is a photo taken a few days ago - a few weeks after I stopped using the treatment:

You can see that I have around 4 active pimples, but my scars are still dramatically decreased. Since starting the treatment again just a week ago, my skin is already on the mend.

Acne is a very serious issue that I think gets swept under the rug and labeled as a 'teenager's problem.' The truth is that there are people of all ages that suffer from acne, and the mental effect it has on us is STRONG! Somehow, without people even saying anything we create a monster out of ourselves. We are our worst enemies when it comes to belittling and bullying. I found that the hardest step in overcoming acne is actually in the mental process. For some reason it is so hard to just say 'You know what, I have acne - but that's okay. It's not my skin that makes me who I am.'

One of my biggest inspirations in staring a career in the fashion industry was to let people of all shapes, races, genders, ages AND skin types know that they are fabulous just they way they are.

I'd love to answer more questions anyone has on various medications, treatments, my personal story, or motivation for learning to love the skin you are in. Please don't be afraid to contact me for any reason! Even if you just want to vent or talk. My inbox is always open.

Helpful Links:

hypnohead@gmail.com - Deedeeoho's email
Acne.org - A GREAT resource for learning about acne, and being a part of a helpful community
Topic about olive oil treatments on Acne.org
Information on Hyperpigmentation

Click to ask!

Longing for your Memory

2011-02-24T03:53:00.000-08:00

With my newly found out look on life, I discovered a renewed passion in my art. After getting a job taking photos, I realized how much I had lost by taking a break from photography. I suddenly find myself yearning to take photos like I did a few years ago - photos full of passion, mystery and nostalgia. I've ignored my art for so long, it's really such a shame. Well no longer! From today I am going to be the best photographer I possibly can be!

Today's photos are a story of a girl lost in a far forgotten moment. Straddling light and shadow, we stand in the middle and wait for everything to come to us.

Today's outfit was inspired by an AMAZING editorial I saw on Fashion Gone Rouge this morning. It is shot by the legendary Paolo Roversi for Italian Vouge. Model is the fabulous Valerija Kelava.

I was really inspired by the bold graphics and monotone palate. There is so much appeal in the androgony of the wardrobe - the polka dots and tulle are juxtaposed perfectly by oversized blazers and button up shirts. The entire look is timeless, yet eludes a dramatic nostalgia of sort.
I've been quite impressed by a lot of the editorials coming out this year, and Mr. Roversi, you really brought it to the table!

Sugar free, yet still sweet.

2011-02-23T06:16:00.000-08:00

Today, in an attempt to actually leave the house, I decided to go on a bit of a walking adventure. I followed the train tracks for about an hour and a half, and then walked around a beautiful park called "Shakujii koen." Not three minutes into my stroll, I found a cute little wall perfect for using as a tri-pod to take outfit snaps! SCORE!

Sadly, today's blog photos are not from that wall. They are what are generally classified as "mirror shots."

My sincerest of apologies.

Hat- Code
Sweater - Harajuku thrift store
Skirt - American Apparel

I've also been doing a lot of cooking recently. I haven't mentioned it on this blog yet, but I have recently decided to cut most sugar out of my diet. Recently I've been eating a sickening amount of sugar. The day before I decided to make this change I had 4 cookies, a crepe, and many sugary drinks - which was a normal day for me. My mood was awful, and my body felt like crap quite frankly. I really want to get my bad eating habits in control before I go back to the U.S. so I decided now was the time! I'm trying to eat a more balanced diet, especially more hearty foods with lots of good fats and protein, along with more veggies. Food with fats sound scary, but actually they keep you fuller longer and stop cravings for sugary junk while curbing binge eating. I'm not very good at explaining it so please check out Sarah Wilson's "I Quit Sugar" and tumblr's Your Nutrionista, for more info!

Anyway, it's been about 5 days and I feel GREAT! Mind you, I'm not hardcore and cutting everything out. I still have fruit, chocolate, and I use sugar in some of the food I make (because Japanese recipes call for it quite often.) However, my mood has improved dramatically, I'm starting to get a hold on my overeating, and I have noticed some bloating in my stomach go away.

Here are some photos of the meals I have been making! I'm specifically trying to get good at Japanese cuisine, so that I can make all this yummy food back home as well. I try and cook mostly healthy food, but Marco loves him some fatty greasy meals (as do I) so I do indulge one in an often while.

Chicken curry with green peppers, potato, sweet potato, leek and ginger.

Pork cooked in a Japanese style sauce. And a pumpkin dish with ginger steamed in a soy sauce based broth.

And my specialty, a sweet potato tart. However, this one didn't taste as good as they usually do :<>

Asia Girls Explosion - Help me and get something in return!

2011-02-22T18:21:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the cliff hanger in the last post. haha.

Just as a re-cap, I ended up getting free tickets to a fashion show/concert that is produced by one of my idols, Yoshiki Hayashi. Needless to say, I'm kind of worried about what I am going to wear!

There is a high possibility that I could meet said idol, and even though it will probably just be a meet-and-greet I want to look my best. More importantly however, is what this means for my career in the fashion industry; This is the first real fashion show I will go to and cover as a blogger. This isn't any ho-hum event. This is a big shot for me! How do I represent my blog, what I stand for and my aesthetic? Had I a huge wardrobe or any sort of extra income, I feel it would be so much easier. I really only have what I already own to work with though. So here goes nothing!

From now, until probably the day before the show, I'm going to be posting potential outfits. Please let me know what you think! I know this should just be something that I do myself. However, I wouldn't be DEEDEEOHO without my readers. Therefore I'm representing you as well as myself.

So here are my two outfits choices for today:

For this one I'm thinking of graphic tights, and my red Tokyo Bopper shoes.

I hate that strap, but it is very important for my girls to not fall out, so I'm thinking of a way to hide it. For this one, I would probably wear my Gap clogs. Because I really lack any sort of nice heel or wedge besides them :(

Also, I'm thinking about doing a give away! I haven't figured out all the aspects yet, but I want to thank you guys for helping me so much. It's kind of tricky thinking of what to give away right now, because half of my audience is here for Japanese fashion, the other half for just fashion. However, because of the nature of this event, I'm thinking of doing an X-Japan related give away! Would anyone be interested in that?

Sorry for all the inane rambling in my posts recently! Please comment below and let me know what you think of my outfit and the give away

Asia Girls Explosion - A fashion and music extravaganza!

2011-02-22T04:54:00.000-08:00

Warning: This post will be long. Please bear with me. It is relevant to my next post where I need your help!

Asia Girls Explosion. Name doesn't exactly roll off the tongue does it? But that's not the point.

For you who follow the Japanese music scene (for those of you who don't, please don't stop reading here! I promise it gets relevant!) I'm sure you have heard all of the buzz that record producer/musician/songwriter, Yoshiki (of X-Japan fame), has been making recently. Well, he is now adding another job to his resume: designer.

Photo Source.

Asia Girls Explosion is a collaborative effort between Yoshiki and fashion designer JayFR, to blend Japanese aesthetic with western design - all while keeping music at it's roots. The line focuses on trendy, yet wearable pieces for an international audience.

The launch is planned for March, 6th, where they will have a fashion expo in it's honor. The expo will be part fashion show, part concert and apparently part cirque du soleil. Tickets also start at $100. Ouch. However, you must keep in mind who Yoshiki is. He popularized (and arguably started) the Visual Kei movement, and inspired countless numbers of people with his outrageous and androgynous style. He is already a fashion icon. He has a Hello Kitty line made in his likeness for god's sake! That is fame.

Photo Source.

Well, that's where my broke ass comes in. This is also where you can skip the next paragraph because I make an idiot of myself:

For those who don't know, I'm a huge X-Japan fan. Like rant-about-them-pretend-I'm-in-a-metal-band-cry-everytime-I-hear-one-of-their-ballads-almost-got-a-TATTOO-loved-them-since-the-7th-grade kind of fan. Story short, they changed my life. They made me who I am today. MELLOW DRAMATIC BUT I DON'T JUST LOVE X, I LIVE X.

Okay. Thank god we got that out of the way.

Needless to say I really wanted to go to this. I wanted to go badly. But the truth is that I just don't have $100 dollars to throw around. No matter how much I wanted to, I just couldn't afford it. So I gave up.

THAT VERY SAME DAY:
My friend sends me an email along the lines of "Hey Dorothy, would you like to go to this fashion show thing? Its called Asia Girls Explosion and its run by this guy called Yoshiki. Email me if you are interested!"

Huh-what. Hold the phone.

Yes please I want to go SO BAD. So I email her, and she tells me the tickets are FREE.

And by this point, I've lost all rational thought and an yelling at Marco about how dreams come true and good things happen to good people, etc. It still feels all so unreal. But more importantly; WHAT DO I WEAR!?! I could potentially be meeting a man who I have idolized for almost half of my life. Someone who has been one of my greatest teachers in reaching for the impossible and never giving up hope. TL;DR - All of my middle school dreams could come true. Oh the excitement!

Camera Tricks - The Portrait

2011-02-21T02:12:00.000-08:00

So I recently was able to get my hands on a copy of Aperture 3, a product kind of like iPhoto or Lightroom I guess, and I am having so much fun with it!

For all you other photography geeks, this means that I can now shoot 'tethered' a.k.a I can connect my camera to my computer and be able to see how they look as I shoot. Which means taking photos of myself is so much easier! That and it has a RAW editing program, which none of my previous software had. Now, not only can I send nicely edited photos to my boss, but she can also see them as I'm taking them at a photoshoot! I feel like Nigel Barker or something, haha.

The biggest downfall is that it has really ~~corny~~ awesome photo editing built in. So I went kind of nuts on these photos because they aren't really important. I promise I will scale down the editing in the future, haha.

As you can tell from this photo, I'm having a bit of a breakout right now :( The agony!
To make myself feel better, I played with a new way to to my makeup. I tried a smoky copper eye, the kind that was so popular last fall. It looked pretty good in real life, but didn't pick up too well on camera, oh well!

Next post will be of some real content, and not just vain photos of myself - I promise!

Vantan 2011 - Student Designers: Part 1

2011-02-20T05:07:00.000-08:00

When I modeled for the 3rd year students at Tokyo's Vantan Design institute a few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to have some free time to explore the rest of the fashion festival's events. The 4th year students had displayed their designs in a large room near where I was modeling. I was floored by the innovation and quality of some of the collections!
I was in utter joy when they told me that I was allowed to take photos. I, of course, spent the next 20 minutes happily snapping away before my designer came and whisked me off to into fitting.

The first designer I will be posting is possibly one of the most impressive to me. The textile work was AMAZING. I can't imagine how much time it took for them to create these pieces which are -literally- pieces of art. I drooled over the construction of these for a long time before I could move on to the next designer. I'm so devastated that I wasn't able to get the designers information.

This dress was obviously inspired by Klimt's "The Kiss"

I'm not sure if the others are inspired by other pieces of work (my 2 years of Art History have all flown out the window apparently.) So please feel free to comment and let me know!

Regrettably, I didn't realize there was business cards until I was almost all the way through the room - and some of them were already completely taken. I was able to grab a few, but sadly most of these designs shall go uncredited :(
I'll be showcasing the designs one at a time though. So hopefully someone from Vantan stumbles across this and can give me the names and contact information of said designers!

Cookie Cookie Cookie starts with C!

2011-02-16T19:54:00.000-08:00

I decided to channel my inner child today. When I saw this shirt at American Apparel, I KNEW that I had to have it. My childhood can be summed up pretty simply with a memory I have of myself running around my room for 30minutes singing "C is for Cookie that's good enough for me!" All my friends loved Elmo, but I was like, screw that red freak! Cookie monster is WHERE ITS AT.

Cookie Monster eats his veggies too! Can you believe they changed him into the "Sometimes cookie monster"? How lame. Kids are going to only eat cookies because a blue furry monster on the television does! I didn't even like sweets until I was in my 20's.

Everyone should listen to this song. Sesame Street + will.i.am + love yourself because you are awesome message = amazing. I'm still going strong on my new years resolution to accept and love myself for who I am, and this song makes me feel great! Also I'm totally obsessed with will.i.am, haha.

I'm still getting used to this whole "taking photos of myself" so please excuse the up-the-nose shots! You can also see that I'm having a bit of a breakout right now. It's so frustrating how months of work to get ones skin clear, and then only one day of not doing anything to mess it all up for another 3 months. Sigh. Someone asked me about my skin routine on formspring, and I promise I will answer it soon!

A walk through Harajuku

2011-02-14T06:43:00.000-08:00

For as much time as I spend looking and reading about how to make my blog better, I sure suck at actually updating it! Sorry about that guys.
I've been in constant run-a-round mode for the past week. This means every time I actually go to sit down and write one of the posts I have planned out, I end up web surfing or napping instead. Oops.

I'm trying to take more photos while I'm running around so that I have some content to fill everyone's fashion needs between 'real' content posts. Let me know how you guys are enjoying these 'a glace at such and such' city posts! Are they helpful? Boring? Fun? Leave me comment!

Momo by Wonder Rocket

ManiaQ

SOS Market.

Zona Liberata

I saw the strangest display walking in Omotesando!

Why is this disembodied pair or legs doing unmentionable things to the door? The world may never know...

A few more house cleaning things. Sorry if these are getting annoying:

1) I changed the layout of my blog! Let me know what you think! I'd love some constructive criticism!

2) Don't forget to tell your friends -or enemies- about Deedeeoho! I'd really like to do some give-a-ways and more interactive things, but it would help to have a larger audience. It could mean great things for YOU in the future (details to come!)

3) Want to know what your favorite Japanese brand is doing for Spring 2011? Tell me what store you are interested in, and I'll go review it ASAP!

Shibuya Disney Store!

2011-02-11T05:37:00.000-08:00

Okay, so today's post isn't about fashion... BUT ITS ABOUT DISNEY YOU GUYS. Everyone loves Disney! Disney pertains to fashion! Annie Leibovitz did princess photos, Forever 21 collaborated with Minnie Mouse, DISNEY COUTURE?! I'm not sure what I'm trying to convince you all of... I guess Disney just gets me a little excited sometimes.

As far as Disney Stores go, the Shibuya store isn't really anything special in terms of merchandise or size - let it be noted however, that that Japanese Disney merchandise are CUTE. 'Kawaii' (translated as cute or pretty) culture runs strong over here, and Disney has monopolized on this. I'm not complaning though. I like my daily dose of WTF-IS-THAT-DISNEY-ITS-SO-CUTE. Sadly taking pictures of the merchandise is not allowed, or there would be a good 100 more photos in this post.

What the Shibuya store DOES have is awesome display from different movies. I wasn't able to photograph all of them, but here are a few.

PETER PAN! I totally didn't even see his shadow until Mikaela pointed it out to me.

Also, today it SNOWED! It was beautiful, amazing and finger numbingly cold.

I took about a bajillion photos, so once I'm done processing those I'll make a big post! I'm not sure when that will be though, because I also took a ton of photos of another Vantan fashion exhibit and I'm doing a photoshoot tomorrow. All which must be processed before the photos I take for fun...

Ah well. Busy, but at least it's with doing what I love!

(don't forget to vote for me in Refinery29's contest! I'm on the third line from the bottom!)

Contests and ****ing myself out to the internet!

2011-02-09T02:52:00.000-08:00

Hello lovelies! I'm sorry today's post lacks real content... I just have a few things to announce/remind everyone about.

First off, I entered in Refinery29's "The Next Big Style Blogger" contest! I'd really appreciate it if you could help me out by voting here:

http://styleblogger.refinery29.com/

Once you get to the page, just click on the little heart and vote for me through facebook :)

Also, I started a tumblr for my photography. The concept is to post a picture everyday of Japan, through my eyes (or lens, if you will):

http://japaninphotos.tumblr.com/

Don't forget my regular ol' tumblr as well!

http://deedeeoho.tumblr.com/

I always for get to post these darned things when I do my outfit posts, sorry guys!

A new hair cut for a new life.

2011-02-07T23:55:00.000-08:00

Well, great. I got sick.

I've been coughing up my lungs for the past 2 days, much to the joy of everyone around me. I said goodbye to one of my really good friends who is going back to America yesterday. We walked from Takadanobaba to Shinjuku, then went and ate taiyaki in Ikebukuro. It was quite fun, but I was EXHAUSTED. So I decided to stay home today and do some spring cleaning, since the season has finally come!

I don't know about you guys, but I find the best way to get over the sickness blues is to jazz up my hair. I've been trying to grow out my bangs, but it just doesn't suit me - I regrettably found out. So today I took the scissors to my hair. I intended to go back to my bowl cut, but stopped half way through, because I was kind of fond of the 20's style bob I had inadvertently created.

I think it will take a bit of getting used to, but I'm quite fond of it! What do you guys think?

Hat - Code
Pants - American Apparel
Shirt - Thrifted
Necklace - Forever21

I'm going to have to start taking photos of myself now. My personal photographer (Mikaela) will be out of Tokyo/Japan for most of our spring break. Today was my first attempt. It will take a bit of practice for sure... haha

What do you guys do to feel not so gross when you are sick? My favorite things are long hot showers and styling my hair. That and sleeping.

Yellow Haze - Shibuya Street Snaps

2011-02-07T03:39:00.000-08:00

It's starting to warm up here in Tokyo, at least during the day; the night still chills me to the bone. However, I have made sure taken every moment of this warm weather to bask in the sun and relish in the novelty of not wearing a heavy wool jacket. It's funny how much a change in weather can affect my mood. Maybe it's not just the weather though.

I'm not sure why, but I've started re-falling in love with my life here in Japan. I had slowly come to be disenchanted with Tokyo. I still had my fun, but things seemed to bother me more than normal. It is so physically draining to be pessimistic all the time, so I was so happy the other day when I was able to take a leisurely stroll from Shibuya, to Harajuku, with the lovely Mikaela. Stepping off the main road and exploring new, less populated areas allowed me to clear my head. I don't know why but I really re-fell in love with Japan that day. Everything was so beautiful and warm, I can't even being to explain in words how lovely it was.

I'm finally finding my place in the world and it is great :)

P.s. I'll be posting about the Vantan Graduate Exhibit that I modeled in soon!

Happy Setsubun!

2011-02-03T06:05:00.000-08:00

Here I am sporting the newest in Spring trends - Demon Hats. Crafted by hand from the talented designers at Waseda Kindergarden, who I had the joy of teaching today.

The mask was for the Spring welcoming celebration known as "Setsubun," in which one throws roasted soy beans and yells "ONI WA SOTO, FUKU WA UCHI!" or "Demons are outside, Luck is inside!" The purpose of this is, if you can't tell by the aforementioned catch phrase, to purify the house by driving demons out and bringing luck in. The two little boys I was in charge of playing with made the mask for me, as well as a book mark and an origami box - complete with my name and a drawing of Ultraman. D'awwwww.

Did I ever mention how much I love kids? 'Cause I really do. I worked at a daycare for 2 years before coming to Japan, and it was one of the greatest periods of my life.

Anyway, here is an adorably bitter sweet video (in Japanese, sorry!) about Setsubun.

Get yo' Oni on!

Formspring round 1

2011-02-02T03:40:00.001-08:00

Well, now that I've allowed a good 14 unanswered questions to queue up in my Formspring inbox, I thought it might be time to answer a few! Did I tell you procrastination is my middle name? No?

1) I just wanted to ask you how did you arrange everything so that you can travel to Japan? Is there some kind of cooperation between universities? you know, from practice side:P

I was lucky enough that my school is in partnership with Waseda University, so that 'all I had to do' was save enough money for my rent and living expenses. My boyfriend (a native Tokyoian) tells me that the general rule to living by yourself in Tokyo is to have at least 2 times your rent for living costs per month. Ouch. Even with generous scholarships and grants, plus working all summer, I have hit a few hard patches on the money front... Which may or may not stem from my love of purchasing food/things/clothes I don't need.

Getting an apartment was a different story. I wanted to live on my own instead of with a host family - I have major stranger anxiety and diet issues, so the idea of living in someone else's home scared me to death - so I embarked on searching for an affordable place to live. There are a lot of websites out there for foreigners living in Tokyo, but most of them tend to offer a small variety of rather spendy houses. I went through a Japanese company that speaks English, Global Trust Networks, and they were AWESOME. The customer service was fantastic, and they helped me search for a cheap place for months without any extra fees. I highly recommend them.

It's pretty easy to find somewhere to live in Tokyo without speaking much Japanese, but actually living here independently of a school program is another story. Don't forget about things like banks, paying rent, contacting landlords, figuring out what the hell your bill even says, and other stuff like that. Doing those things is near impossible unless you are pretty fluent in the language. It's because of those things, which are the -most- important things, that I would say MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A JAPANESE FRIEND WHO IS WILLING TO HELP YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. If it weren't for Marco, I wouldn't have made it this far. I swear.

2) I absolutely love your dress from today's (Jan. 19) blog post! May I ask where you got it?

Wonder Rocket in Kichijoji! I think it was from last years spring collection, so I got it for 1000yen! It is quite the steal, and I can't wait to style it for the spring.

3) How is living in an apartment in Japan? Are the residents nice and friendly all the time, or have you had some rough spots? by Renee @ Jellyfish Army

Tiny apartment is tiny. I am pretty much living in a glorified closet, which is well represented by the pile of clothes on my 'living room' floor. However, besides the lack of space to do anything I quite enjoy it. The 15 minute walk to the train station, although I loathe it early in the morning and on cold nights, ensures that I'm getting a fair amount of exercise by walking or in most cases, running to catch my train. I rarely ever even see the other tenants to be honest. I probably see one person every 2 weeks, on a good month. Everyone here is really quiet and keeps to themselves. So I'm sure they hate me, being the loud annoying American I am (jk, I think I fit in pretty well.)

The only things that really irks me is that there is this little old lady who takes care of cleaning the building and sorting the garbage. She does it for a little extra money, and to keep busy - I'm sure. I have nothing against her, but once I came down to the trash area as she was sorting all of the garbage and I realized: This woman goes through all of my trash. Piece by piece. My trash. Whatever I throw away, this woman will see/touch. Unmentionables and gross things are generated by EVERY person - men and women alike - so I hope you can imagine how unnerving it is to have someone going through everything you throw away like that. I mean, I appreciate her helping the environment and stuff... but dang, there has to be a line drawn somewhere!

Okay, thats it for this post. I'm working on the answers to a few of them still - so look forward to an even longer and more rambling post in the future.

Don't forget to ask me more questions! I love answering them! Click the banner below :)

Vantan Design Institue

2011-02-01T05:22:00.000-08:00

If this week has been any indication of what my spring break will be like, then I am in for a busy 2 months! It's not that bad kind of busy that leaves you wondering "Why am I even doing this?" though. Instead, it's the kind of busy that makes you feel like you are actually doing something with your life. I definitely prefer endless train rides and photoshopping tags out of photos, to homework and 3 hour long classes.

Last Saturday, I went to the Vantan Design school in Ebisu to get fitted for the outfits I will be modeling at the 2011 Graduate Exibit, and participated in a "Runway walking class."

My designer is AMAZING! I was blown away by the quality and design of her collection. I was at a loss for words. After the fitting we still had some time before the walking class, so she gave me and my friend a tour of the school. Everyone was so friendly, and the atmosphere was very warm and inviting. It kind of felt like a dream being there, but also made me quite sad that I never pursued going to Design School.

This is my favorite dress and I would wear it everyday! I the silhouette is so unique, and I ADORE that shade of red, which I guess most of you can tell by the other clothes I took photos of...

My friend/fellow model, and Eunju the designer!

I'm so very excited to be involved with something like this. Even though I don't think I'll ever make modeling my primary career, I love supporting new and underground designers. I really hope that by participating in these shows I will be able to make friends with some of these talented young designers.

This has, and is going to continue to be, a completely jam packed week. Tomorrow I have the rehearsal for my RUNWAY DEBUT [insert laugh track here] follwed by finishing the paperwork to become an official American Apparel employee. On Thursday I will be doing my next photoshoot for the brand as well as volunteering at an elementary school. Then Saturday I will be modeling for Vantan, as well as on the 10th and 11th. Oh gosh... not to brag or anything... but daaaaaangggggg. My life doesn't even seem real right now. Its almost like I got picked up and placed in someone else's shoes.

I'll try to keep updating the blog recently! I've been awful at it because I still haven't gotten into my new routine. I haven't even answered my formspring questions... So sorry!!

Oh the Joy! Oh the- what? School after finals?

2011-01-28T06:29:00.000-08:00

Ohhhh~~~ My fiinallsss are doooneee~ This isssss my soongggggg~ I siiingggg with joOOOOoooyy~~~ Because I am dooonnn.......
What do you mean I still have class at 9:00am this Saturday? The final is over... I... I... I give up.

Well, here is a celebratory: I'M OUT OF SCHOOL FOR TWO MONTHS! Post anyway.
Tomorrow I have practice for one of the runway shows I am modeling in for Vantan! I've been preparing by eating cake, doughnuts and cookies everyday. Obviously serious modeling is not in my future. I could never be that strict on myself in dieting or exercise...

I also did my first shoot as an official American Apparel photographer yesterday in Shinjuku! I'm so excited to do more photoshoots, and work in the store. I just keep thinking about all the people I will meet, experience I will get and fun I will have... Oh my life is so dreamy~

Now to bake cookies instead of doing something sane, like going to sleep on time.

Deny me and be doomed: A race to finish school before I die of bordem.

2011-01-27T05:33:00.000-08:00

Since I've been disgustingly negligent of my blog this past week, I thought I'd procrastinate studying for my big Japanese final tomorrow by updating.

Recently I've been wearing a lot of school-girl-preppy looking outfits. I find it funny though because I don't think I've ever been more apathetic about school in my life. I guess that's how the world works! I just have to remind myself that I am almost done... that 'almost' kills me a little bit inside though :(

I saw someone wearing a red skirt with a green plaid the other day and it was one of those "AHA!" moments. Why haven't thought of that!? I wondered for a while, until realizing that its because it looks a little Christmas-y most of the time. However, I think that the blazer helps to even it all out.

The lighting was just magical as the sun went down that night. Mikaela was able to capture it perfectly!

We had a lot of fun writing things on the board. This one was especially interesting because the pen started to bleed as I wrote it. I know fashion can be quite scary for some people...

The quote on the board : Deny me and be doomed, comes from one of my favorite movies Hedwig and the Angry Inch. I thought I should mention that here since I didn't want everyone to think I was trying to be angsty -- it's not exactly my style, haha.

My chest tightens and I get goosebumps every time I listen to this song.

Saturday inspiration

2011-01-22T05:53:00.000-08:00

Finals have been kicking my ass this past week! I feel completely dead on the inside - I am no longer Dorothy, but a shell of was once a human being. If I have to read one more Kabuki play... 死ぬ。However, I've managed to finish half of my finals with out much pain, so lets hope next week goes as well.

[insert more melodrama here]

Anyway, have some Saturday night inspiration. Go out, dress up and have fun for me...

EIKO - Sad Feel

Experimental Japan

I want to travel...

ANTS in my scanner > a five years time-lapse!

IRENE HACE EL PINO

I am so ready for spring. So ready.

Although I'm sure everyone and their mother has seen this by now, I shall repost it. Since it is Nicola Formichetti, my idol. And Lady Gaga... do I need to say more?

P.S.
I'm working on the formspring questions now, I'll have a big post of them soon. You guys have asked some GREAT questions! I'm taking my time to answer them as well as possible. Keep asking more! :)

Living in Ghibli

2011-01-19T07:48:00.000-08:00

Sometimes life can find the perfect way to reflect your mood. On a bad day, everything seems so bland and dreary, but on a good day there is that extra pop of color or life breathed into every little detail around you. Recently my life has been kind of magical and I have become quite complacent. Life decided to reflect this for me, by allowing me to stumble onto this adorable alley way by my school that just screams: GHIBLI!

I was expecting Totoro to jump out at any moment. What great moment that would have been -- and not that I think of it, my outfit does look kind of Totoro-ish, doesn't it?!?!

I then teleported to Mount Fuji!

It's the real deal folks.

What I actually look like on a regular basis. This coat never comes off.

Well, I guess while we are on the topic of fantasy lands that we all know and love; here is an Alice in Wonderland drawing I did in class today.

It's been so long since I've drawn something. Recently I've really missed my art classes back in Oregon - I need to not let my creativity sit on the back burner while I'm here!
I know many of you expressed interest in seeing more of my photos, but how do you feel about seeing more of my illustrations as well?

Formspring and American Apparel

2011-01-18T04:37:00.000-08:00

That's right! I gave in and got a Formspring! I figured it would be a good way to make it easier for you to ask me questions about life or fashion here in Japan (or anything else)! It also seems like a good way to keep updating my blog even when I have no interesting ideas of my own.
So please ask me as many questions as you want!
Click the above photo or the link below to be taken to my Formspring page!
Deedeeoho @ Formspring

I also have one more exciting piece of news....

I got hired by American Apparel here in Tokyo!
(please ignore messed up nails -- I am new at this "girl" thing)

I was contacted by the lovely Anais of The Time is Grey who saw my blog and asked me to meet for coffee to discuss collaboration with American Apparel. I was so not expecting to get offered a job - I just thought I would do something small like a blog post. When I met Anais and her partner George, they started asking me questions about working and what not. Needless to say I was BLOWN AWAY and extremely flattered! Little ol' me? Little ol' granola town Dorothy working for a internationally famous company? It solidified everything I have been working towards since starting this blog, not to mention marking the first goal I set for living in Japan (besides learning Japanese): Break into the fashion industry.

Anyway, I met up with the two yesterday to take some photos before Anais moved to LA. I was given some of American Apparels nail polish; and of course I had to try it out right away!

To say that I am "tragically" bad at painting my nails would be a gross understatement. I usually always screw them up somehow. However, this nail lacquer is AMAZING! It only needed 2 coats, and truthfully I could have gotten away with only doing one.

I can't WAIT to try the other colors! That beautiful nude color is calling to me from my makeup corner.... must. resist. one. more. day.

Harajuku fashion ouside of Laforet

2011-01-16T08:07:00.000-08:00

I lost the card of the store which made these clothes, so I've been putting off posting them for a while. I finally gave up and decided that it was impossible to find the card -- I probably threw it away to never be found again! I'm so sorry to the designer, and if I find out who it was I shall let you know~!

When I stepped into the 'store' (it was more like a makeshift tent) I instantly fell in love with the way the designer had mixed the textures of his fabrics. The collection has such a raw yet elegant feel to it; something which is hard to do without feeling contrived. The materials seemed to mostly be secondhand as well. This is really 'eco-fashion' at it's best, if you ask me. I wish I had the money to buy one of the pieces at the time.

I LOVED this jacket. Knit, fur, leather and studs? None of those things should go together, but they do so well.

This dress was divine. I still have dreams about it.

My life has been going really well recently :) I don't want to jinx it, but I finally feel like I'm achieving my dreams! Don't give up, my lovely followers! Keep chasing your dreams, no matter how impossible they seem - the only thing worse than failing is regretting that you never tried.

Photoshoots from the past - Pair Look Lolitas

2011-01-14T07:34:00.000-08:00

As I was cleaning out my hard drive, I stumbled across a slew of photoshoots I had done back in my prime of actively shooting with friends. I never really had much of a place to post my art except deviantart - which isn't the best when your photos are meant to be viewed as a set. So, I decided to give them a new life here!

WAIT A MINUTE! Deedeeoho takes photos too??
Yes, photography is one of my biggest passions in life. I used to do frequent photoshoots with friends, and have quite a collection on my computer! I haven't done any since being in Japan - BUT - there may be one in the near future ;)

Well, most of my photos tended to be of my fabulous friend Ashlee, who was(is?) rather large in the Lolita community. She is just BEAUTIFUL and a joy to work with always. With no fail, every time she stepped in front of my camera, she would instantly light my inspiration flame!

The photos luckily fit into the "Japanese Fashion" branch of my blog. Lolita is an ever expanding style that encompasses so many different looks and genres that I couldn't possibly start trying to explain it here. I'll post some links at the end of the blog though :)

I was able to meet, and work with the wonderful Holly! Holly is a local Oregonian student and seamstress. A natural model too ;)

Although the term "pair look" is rather self explanatory, I'll give you all a little lesson on Japanese fashion terms!

A pair look is basically this : Two people who wear matching, or in somecases the same, outfit. Sounds silly? Its incredibly popular right now. Going to Shinjuku or Harajuku you can spot so many girls sporting the pair look with their best friend or even boyfriend. On several occasions I've even seen boys wear pair look with their friends!

High res photos from the shoot :
Deedeeoho Smugmug

Lolita Links:
Lolita Wikipedia page
Lolita Handbook Livejournal
EGL Livejournal Community
List of Lolita Bloggers

Personal recommendation:
Lolita Charm
Ashlee's Blog - Faux Fawn

Even though I no longer attempt to dress in Lolita (it really didn't suit me, sadly) I still highly admire the fashion. I think the community is full of so many talented and creative people, and the fashion really is something so wonderfully unique!

Do you guys like seeing my photos here? Should I post more photoshoots that I have done? What do you guys think? I'd love to hear!

Simpsons x Couture.

2011-01-13T01:30:00.000-08:00

Going through some old files on my computer, I stumbled across these gems. Somethings just never stop being fabulous; and I think it's been long enough that people have probably forgotten about these amazing illustrations from Hapar Bazzar's August 2007 issue, where super model Linda Evangelista goes shopping in Paris with America's favorite animated family -- The Simpsons:

I do believe I got the images from Notcot.com

My favorites are Chanel, Lanvin, Jean Paul Gaultier and Viktor and Rolf. What about you guys?

I've always been a huge fan of The Simpsons growing up. It was a family tradition to all sit around the TV and eat our dinner while watching back to back episodes of The Simpsons (our local Fox channel played at least 4 episodes of The Simpsons a night!). It wasn't until I was in the 6th grade that I missed a new Sunday night episode. The Simpsons have kind of been struggling in the past years, but I will always love the show to death.
Not to mention that the show is most likely based off of Springfeild, Oregon -- the town right next to mine.

About the skin related post: I'm working on it! It's taking a little longer to write than I expected (read as "I'm lazy") so please bear with me :)

On 80's revival, acne, and loving yourself.

2011-01-12T03:33:00.000-08:00

Sorry for not posting the last couple of days. I've been battling my apathy for school with my love for sleep. Mix it in with a pretty nasty little cold, and bam – no updates from me for awhile.

I don't know about you guys, but as soon as I actually need to get something done I will do everything in my power to put it off until the last minute. This is especially problematic with blogging as I don't have any hard set deadlines, so I usually just end up not posting for a few days...

I got this skirt from my blogging buddy from the UK -Blargle Fargle- who is super fabulous and has GREAT outfits and amazing hair. I will plug her several more times during this post, but really -- check out her blog!!

On my quest to discover and accept myself this year I've made several decisions. One of them is to get back to my roots and remember what inspired me to get into fashion in the first place. Enter the 80's.

This look is obviously part Miami Vice, part Flock of Seaguls and part Boy George. Well, maybe not obvious on the Boy George, but I always have a young Culture Club era Boy George on my mind when I try and so something unique. He was a really big inspiration for me (fashion wise, not drug and law breaking wise) when I was growing up.

Ugh, this is my most absolute favorite photo ever. Mikaela is WONDERFUL. I think we are both getting better at taking photos and modeling, respectively.
Also, you probably can't tell, but that's a Hooters behind me.

The second decision that I've made is an especially hard one, but something that is very important to me:

I WILL NO LONGER PHOTOSHOP OUT MY ACNE AND SCARS.

When I first started out this blog, I really wanted to share something special with the blogosphere. For several years acne has a been a big part of my daily life. Anyone who has suffered from severe acne to even the occasional pimple will know how it can wreck havoc on your self confidence. I had rather mild acne in High School which got progressively worse as I got older. You name a type of pimple, I got it. You name a medicine (except Accutance) I used it. Scars? Oh yeah, got those.

In my quest to get a larger readership, I forgot that one of the reasons I made this blog was to empower myself and others as well. I wanted to share my battle with my skin (which after 5 years I am currently winning! but more on that next post) and teach people that you can still be powerful and attractive no matter what skin you have.

Well, from now on, I will be attempting this again. Tomorrows post will be a "What you wanted to know about ACNE but were too afraid to ask" and my beauty secrets and tips for clearer healthier skin.

Please no "Oh, but your skin is so clear!" or "You don't have acne!" comments. I work very very very hard to maintain my skin as it is, and to keep my acne at bay. Yes, I have doctor diagnosed acne, and yes I do have many scars.
Doing this kind of thing - whether it is meant to be positive or not - can be very hurtful to someone who has suffered because of their problems, whatever they maybe. Denying someone of the an experience which obviously impacted them very deeply is very demeaning.
Sorry to lecture. I promise I'm finished for the night!

To end this blog post on an adorable note:

Me and my beautiful friend Kanako at her coming of age ceremony <3

Photos by Mikaela
Skirt gifted by Blargle Fargle

I lied. Listen to my favorite Culture Club song:

Walkin' on shunshine!

2011-01-08T05:35:00.000-08:00

Let me make this clear: the title of this post relates to my outfit, and not my current state. I made the wise, wise decision to do nothing over my winter break, knowing that a gigantic term paper loomed closer and closer. Thusly, I am currently suffering through trying to cram 2 weeks of writing and studying into 3 days. I do not recommend this to anyone.

As a new years resolution I'm trying to learn how to love and accept myself for who I am, instead of constantly wishing I had what others had, or that I didn't have some of the things which I deal with. So far, so good actually. To me, this outfit embodies that resolution. I decided to just wear something that was 100% me, with no reservations.

Another new years resolution, which kind of fits in with the first one, is to dress in what suits me -- not what I like that suits others. Being in Japan (and trying unsuccessfully to fit into some of the clothes here) has really taught me how to do that. I'll never be someone who I'm not, so I better stop trying now! Embrace my love of colors, men's wear and a little Boy George.

Easily the hardest thing to do in the winter is dress nicely and still stay warm. This is usually my outer uniform:
1. Hat; 2. Hoodie; 3. Bulky Coat; 4. Scarf.
I feel like tights help me still express myself under all of these clothes.

Photos by Mikaela

Dancing with... who are you again?

2011-01-06T04:17:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wanted to feel completely awkward and slightly uncomfortable while standing in a white box that automatically takes your photo and photoshops your eyes to monstrous proportions?

Look no further!

Try taking Purikura プリクラ by yourself sometimes! Its tons of isolated and self alienating fun! Also Japanese couples look at you with the saddest expressions of pity they can muster. Oh do try it sometime.

I kid, I kid. It wasn't all that bad, but was quite awkward. I did however score some sweet false eyelashes and two sheets of picture prints because it assumed two people were using the machine. Sweet.

Why did I subject myself to self ridicule and 400 of my precious yen for this?
Basically the reason was this: I wanted false eyelashes, and the 100yen store was closed.
Not so glamorous, but I remembered this particular machine gives you false eyelashes! My mission was a success.

Why did I want false eyelashes so bad? You see, I went clubbing in Shibuya!
*cue Billy Idol singing Dancing with Myself*

However I, sadly, was not dancing with myself. I was dancing with about 200 Japanese men looking to um, well, get any tail they could at any cost. Luckily I've been trained since my more "hardcore" days as a little punk in a moshpit to dance with my elbows. Someone gets too close, they get an elbow in the chest. I don't condone violence, but I sure don't condone the Japanese method of politely asking "やめて下さい” or "Could you please stop?" Which is what they teach us to say if someone gropes you on the train (and if you couldn't guess, totally doesn't work).

It was also my first, and hopefully only time getting a bruise while fist pumping to a club mix of Avril Lavigne...

Yeah.

Needless to say, it was an interesting experience. I actually had quite the time dancing with my friends and chatting over pancakes and beef soup at 4am in a diner; waiting for the first morning train. I suggest that if you go clubbing here in Japan, make sure:

It is a high class club
You are with friends

Just remember to be safe where ever you are in the world!

Comiket 2010 - The good, the bad, and the ugly

2011-01-05T06:14:00.000-08:00

For those who have only recently started following me, I must start this blog post off with a warning:

Deedeeoho is a gigantic closet nerd.

If nerdy things or people wearing costumes offends you in anyway, please close this post now and check back at a later date for things less unsettling.

Okay, that being said - I went to Comiket!

Julie, myself and Mikaela upon arrival!

The main building is HUGE, and looks suspiciously like something out of Tron.

I was rather excited to attend Comiket. Comiket is the worlds largest convention for self published comic book writers, and attracts a large amount of cosplayers as well. As I love comics, and I used to be quite an avid cosplayer I was itching to know what it was like. However, I was a little underwhelmed.

Unless you are in costume, or self published comics are you thing there isn't much to do besides walking around - which is a task in itself with staff telling you to move along and HORDES of people. There are only two designated places for photo taking, which means unless you are in this HUGE cluster of people crammed into a tiny space, you are shit out of luck for taking a photo of a cosplayer.

The staff all wore Marines uniforms from One Piece. I was pleased.

Captain Harlock... lets pretend like I didn't spend 30 minutes tracking him down.

Blaz Blue - Litchi & Taokaka

Arakawa Under the Bridge - Hoshi

Pirates of the Caribbean - Jack Sparrow x2

Pokemon!

Lupin the 3rd - Jigen <3<3

Saint Young Men - Jesus and Buddha (Highly recommended read!)

One Piece - Cindry, Sanji, Perona
This Sanji was SO legit.

Captian Harlock :3

One Piece - Ivankov and Sadi-chan
Easily my favorite costumes from the day!

This Sanji was also very legit, if for nothing more than the smile and "look" he gave me before I asked for a photo. Lol

One Piece - Silvers Rayleigh
Usually I think its funny when young women Cosplay old men, but this was awesome.

Sadly, these next few photos were a rather common sight. Girls in (usually) shoddily made costumes parading their underwear to hordes of sexually repressed adult men. I made it my duty to photo bomb as much as possible, hence the previous post with the "We Killed Boners Today" purikura.

In Japan one may say "キモイ” or 気持ち悪い lit. disgusting, creepy, sickening, etc.

With love,
Japan.

All of that being said, I'm definitely going to the next one... and I may or may not make a costume for it ;)

Lots of more photos can be viewed at:

DEEDEEOHO'S SMUGMUG!

Ultramarine Sunset in Shinjuku

2011-01-04T06:16:00.000-08:00

Ahhh, the joys of having more than 6GB of free space on your computer. I can freely open photoshop without the scare of my entire computer crashing. Thank you external hard drives.

I went galavanting around Shinjuku with Mikaela the other day. We were hoping to be able to go to Gyoen Park and have a nice relaxing evening, only to find out that it had been closed for the New Years. Oh well. The sunset in Shinjuku was beautiful on its own and we enjoyed ourselves anyway.

Hat - Forever 21
Scarf - Lumine Ikebukuro
Coat - H&M sale rack
Dress - SLY
Boots, tights, shirt - Thrifted

Everytime I'm in Shinjuku, or hear the name, I think of this song:

The song is Gunjou Biyori by Tokyo Jihen. The leader of the band, Shiina Ringo, is one of my favorite musicians, my idol and muse. I love her more than is probably healthy but I really think she is one of the most classy and talented women ever.
Plus me and my boyfriend met through our mutual love of her, so that helps haha.

Tumblr

2011-01-03T13:33:00.000-08:00

I am in between writing posts now, so sorry for the lame excuse for a blog entry!
I hate starting out posts with a block of text so here is a completely irrelevant photo of me looking homeless at a Sanrio restaurant and arcade!

Taken by Mikaela!

The real reason for this post: I want to let everyone know that I started a tumblr account! It is mainly in place to cross post some of my photos, as well as showing my art and sharing some things that inspire me.

So if you are interested, please follow me at:

DEEDEEOHO.TUMBLR

Happy New Years Everyone!~ Shibuya 109

2011-01-01T07:01:00.000-08:00

Happy New Years everyone! I hope you all enjoyed yourself and didn't party too hard.

I spent mine sandwhiched into a room with hundreds of sweaty Japanese people (one of which smelled of something unmentionable...) counting down with the band The Bawdies, who blew my socks off! Countdown Japan 2011 was AMAZING. For those who are wondering, it is a three day long concert New Years celebration; kind of like Coachella in America. I only went on the 31st because it was my birthday.

However, that will be a later post because today's scheduled review is on 109, the Gyaru mecca in Shibuya.

As Shibuya 109 is a huge department store, its kind of hard to do a review on the entire thing. From what I saw the prices were pretty "normal" for department stores in Japan. It was just INSANE when I went because of all the new years stores so I can't really comment on the atmosphere or helpfulness of shop staff, haha.
So have some photos instead!

Is this not the cutest thing ever?

For more photos and info, here are some links:
Deedeeoho's 109 Smugmug Gallery
109's Homepage
109 Net Shopping

Party like its your birthday

2010-12-30T08:59:00.000-08:00

So, it is now my birthday here in Japan.

Commence partying.

This year has brought me so much joy and pain, but it has ended on such a high note. I can't imagine anywhere I'd rather be right now than where I am, both physically and mentally. Of course there are things which I wouldn't mind changing, but I am confident in what this new year will bring.

Next year you can look forward to these posts:

Shibuya 109
Comiket
Countdown Japan

I can't wait to make this blog better in 2011 :) So suggestions are always welcome! So please stay tuned!!

Alexander Wang and Tron

2010-12-28T00:25:00.000-08:00

Guess who went to go see Tron: Legacy... twice.
If you guessed me, then you are right!

The first time I saw it I hadn't slept in two days, and it was a 1am showing. I basically left the theater feeling that:

Tron had changed my life
The dude abides.

The second time seeing it (What? I had a free ticket!) I didn't feel quite like it had changed my life, but I still stick behind the fact that the dude does indeed abide.

This outfit was inspired by this GREAT Alexander Wang dress I got from my mom for Christmas. She also sent me this handmade choker necklace, and so I decided to throw a little bit of 90's goth in for fun. You can blame Tron for the obscene amounts of photoshop.

A detail shot of the dress. It is FABULOUS!

I guess the saddest part about this whole Tron obession is that for 2 nights after I saw the movie I sat alone in my apartment while Marco was at work and watched videos of Jeff Bridges on youtube. I'm pretty sure Jeff Bridges and my dad are long lost twins. He's been one of my favorite actors since I watched The Big Lebowsky as a child, long before it was appropriate for me to do so.

Did I forget to mention DAFT PUNK did the sound track? Yeah, it was mind blowing.

Don't know "The Dude"? Don't know The Big Lebowsky? How are you even ALIVE?

Another link for those who are intrigued (and you should be!)

New York Times: Critics Choice reveiw on "The Big Lebowsky"

Happy Holidays! Christmas version.

2010-12-25T20:07:00.000-08:00

I had to start off this post with the amazingly sexy and wonderful Eartha Kitt. This has been my favorite Christmas song since I was like 7, when didn't understand the meaning of the song at all. This video contains the original song, and a really awesome remix. A lot of people don't like this it because they are all like "Gross shes trying to seduce Santa," but come on guys, shes just doing her thang ;) That's what makes Eartha a sex symbol, how else do you become the first Cat Woman? Right?

Okay, I'll leave my ranting on Eartha for a later time. Let's get to the present post! This is a blog about me being materialistic after all~

First off is the gift from my wonderful boyfriend! It is a gorgeous Anna Sui wallet to replace my janky, old, falling apart wallet which was actually an Anna Sui knock off. I love it SO much!

I got my boyfriend, Marco, a Holga Camera and some film to go with it. He is a wonderful photographer, and likes to work mainly with film. Holga's are a great toy camera. Marco didn't own any toy camera's yet, so I thought I'd pick one up for him.

The second thing I got him was the newly released Japanese translation of L'incal, a comic which inspired Taiyo Matsumoto (Tekkonkinkreet), Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira) and Hayao Miyazaki. All of whom my boyfriend LOVES. Comic books are kind of his life, haha.

I also got a Pashmina scarf from my mommy

Some lovely handmade hippie soap from my friend

And last but not least:

A BEAUTIFUL DRESS BY ALEXANDER WANG FROM MY MOM! I freaked when I opened this! It fits like a glove and is just wonderful. I have no idea how she afforded it, but I love it so. I'll wear it today and try and get pictures of it for you guys :)

The most important thing to remember about the holiday season is that is not about the material things you get, or the delicious food you eat; it's about showing your loved ones how much they mean to you and spending a little quality time with them. If it wasn't for the wonderful people in my life, I don't know how I'd survive.

Ohashi Trio　大橋トリオ

2010-12-23T07:55:00.000-08:00

So, I'm in love.
Its a real love. A big love. A 大 love. A 大好き。A 大橋。A大橋大好き。A love for Ohashi Trio (大橋トリオ）
Okay, please excuse my lameness when trying to be funny, and my inability to speak Japanese.

(not my favorite song, but I love the video!)

I was shopping for Christmas presents today (oh yes, my family will be getting their presents in January...) and by some chance of fate decided to sample a CD that was for sale.
I -hardly- ever do this, but the CD looked interesting enough -- with a charming young man on the cover and a feel of vaudeville I was sure it was something I would enjoy. Oh boy, am I glad that I did. For when I hit that play button what I heard was magic. A soulful, upbeat, piano driven piece of magic. The lead singers breathy yet smooth like butter voice melted the soreness of several hours of high stress shopping, and I felt myself transported to his world. After listening to a few tracks, I went along my way. I noticed however, that I felt rejuvenated for the rest of the day. I was amazed.

I understand that its much more fun to listen to a song with a music video, but my favorite of their songs so far has to be this over of Utada Hikaru's "Traveling"

If you listen to anything you -HAVE- to listen to this track. I beg of you.

Just look at how adorable and delightfully stylish this boy is!
It makes me miss home and all of Eugene's vaudevillian residents :(

Sorry, I can't really give any info on the band because most of is in Japanese and I'm not good enough to translate it yet, haha. Maybe someday!

As is the case for most things, I seem to like the songs not released as singles more. I'd say give some of their live performances, and especially their covers of other songs a try. The more jazzy of their songs are what I really groove on :)

Official Site
Official MySpace

Other songs I suggest:
The Story
Rainy Day

T to the Vogue - Teen Vogue fashion click blogger!

2010-12-20T03:39:00.000-08:00

Hello lovely ladies and gents! Today I have more good news along with my disappointingly belated post (my sincerest apologies). I have been accepted to be an official Teen Vogue fashion click blogger!

OMGWTFBQQ I NO RITE?

I am super excited! I can't wait to welcome some new followers (hopefully) and share my slice of Tokyo with a larger audience! So WELCOME EVERYONE! ようこそ！I hope you enjoy what you find : )

So, these stole/scarves are immensely popular in Japan right now. I finally brought myself to get one - I had been eyeballing this one for about a month. I cannot believe these aren't more popular in the US!
Have you ever had one of those days where you just -don't- want to get out of bed, and you think to yourself "Man, if only I could bring my blanket to school with me...."
Well yeah. This is basically the solution to that. A "Fashion Blanket," if you will. It keeps me so warm and toastyl; I even wear it in the house.

Fence hopping! Only to discover that there was a graveyard on the other side :(

Photos by ~~Patrick Demarchelier~~ Mikaela!

FIller filler filler

2010-12-16T06:35:00.000-08:00

I can't wait for Christmas. I know that it will be the strangest Christmas I've ever had - being away from my family and living in a fairly secular country- but I'm so excited. It really didn't feel like Christmas here until about a week ago, when they started playing different covers of the same three Christmas songs on repeat at every store.

I do have one piece of exciting news! I was asked to model for some design students at Tokyo's well know Vantan Design Institute! It may conflict with my school schedule, but we are trying to work something out! Even if it doesn't happen, I really hope I can make some new friends from it :)

I'm sorry for the lack of a real post today. I've been feeling a bit under the weather so no outfit posts, and I also lost the business card of the store I was going to do a review on - thus loosing their name : ( Hopefully a real post with real content tomorrow!

Maxi dress, maxi hat, maxi strange.

2010-12-12T04:55:00.000-08:00

While shopping with my friend Mikaela the other day, she said to me "Dorothy, sometimes you pick up the strangest things and get excited about them. Things that no one else would even look at twice."

I think this is rather accurate. Also probably one of the reasons why it is so hard for me to set my style into stone.

I would say that this dress is a pretty accurate representation of that statement.
Sure, I may be wearing a giant snuggie but... Well, I guess I can't really justify it.

Dress - Forever 21
Shoes - Tokyo Bopper
Hat - Scala

Panama Boy - Used clothing in Harajuku

2010-12-10T06:11:00.000-08:00

Soooo, sorry about those few days of no posting everyone. I'd like to give an excuse like "I was in the hospital", "I was on the moon" or something cool like that; but the truth is that I became a little too addicted to a few Facebook games... and for that I am truly sorry.

Well, as least I can make it up to everyone with a new store review! This time on a second hand clothing store in Harajuku, for those readers who are on a "budget."

Panama Boy
Or is it "Used Panama Boy"? I have no idea.

The store is two stories tall, and wildly decorated. The thing that drew me to the store, like a fashion blogger to a pile of shoes, was infact that - a pile of shoes. "Pile" not exactly being the word here. More like, neatly organized mountain of rainbow colored hightops, converse, keds and vans. Being the shoe enthusiast that I am, I had to check it out!

The biggest downfall of the store is that on the second floor there is an open roof bathroom. When I went someone had unfortunately used it to go #2...

Panama Boy was located on a side alley off of Takeshita Street. They had a great selection of used and vintage clothing, toys and accesories. The prices were a little steep for what most people might assume of a used clothing store; however it is Harajuku and that tends to be what you can get. If for nothing else, it was super interesting to see all of the cool things that were in the store and to absorb the atmosphere of a locally run business apposed to the highly commercial and consumeristic nature of Tokyo.

GAP X LOOKBOOK - Elephant

2010-12-06T04:57:00.000-08:00

Broke out the 'ol bamboo tablet for the first time since being in Japan.
I think I'll try and incorporate my art more...

So, all of my lovely followers, I have a big big favor to ask!!
I joined the Lookbook x GAP contest : Skinny vs Flares. If I win, my look will be published on the Gap website, which means great things for this blog and my future!
How can you help?:

Please click on the photo above to hype this look on Lookbook!
I'm pretty sure that you don't need an account to hype, but if you do, its free to join! And a great website for fashion lovers like yourself! So please help me out!

As always, photos by Mikaela

10°Cafe - A grand opening

2010-12-04T07:36:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those days where you get drunk before 9:30PM and go to an arcade and spend 5000+ yen on UFO catchers; trying desperately to win things you don't need like key chains of anime characters...

This happens more often in Japan than you think.
Luckily I've only done it once or twice before... damn you One Piece!

I was invited to the grand opening of 10°Cafe, a cafe and bar that my friend is working at. I'm not really much of a bar hopper, but I wanted to check it out for her. In celebration of the grand opening, they were holding an all you can eat, all you can drink party (食べ・飲み放題) for 3000yen. Usually a "Tabe・Nomi Houdai" only lasts for 2 hours, but this one was an all day event. I showed up around 6 with my boyfriend and his bestfriend.

The staff was super friendly, and they kept the drinks coming around all night! It was really nice to see them work with so much energy, and having fun while doing it.

There wasn't a lot of seating, but there were plenty of places to stand around and converse with other people. There was a very pleasant atmosphere throughout the entire bar.

About halfway through the night, they brought alcohol and soda to the tables, so people could tend themselves while they waited for the bartenders to fill all the orders.

Me with my friend, who invited us to the party.

Now for the most important part; THE FOOD.
It was really quite delicious! They had so many things, from matcha roll cake (YUMM) to pesto pizza. There were a lot of people at the party though, so it was kind of hard to get a good amount to eat. However, after a while the staff started to bring platters straight to the tables (like mine) where we obviously weren't getting much of the food.

Fried bread with sugar and chocolate sauce :9

The only really bad part, was that it is a three story bar, and the stairs are kind of steep. Steep stairs+drunk people = bad news bears.

It was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed myself at the bar! If anyone is interested in checking out a nice cafe for lunch, or a quaint bar for a date, I suggest 10°Cafe. It is located in Takadanobaba, which is quite easy to get to from Waseda, or Ikebukuro.

And if any of you were wondering about our sweet drunken One Piece haul at the arcade; here are some of our winnings.

More photos from the night can be seen at : Deedeeoho's SmugMug
10°Cafe's stylish website, blog, and twitter can be found here: 10°Cafe (Jude Cafe)

One last thing:
I'd really like to thank everyone who has joined me recently from IFB, or anywhere else. I really appreciate having great followers like you, and getting comments and feedback so that I can make a blog which is as interesting and help as can be.

For the new friends from IFB, I'm working on replying to all of your messages, and personally checking out your blogs! I have a lot going on, so please forgive me for going slowly :)

Black and White and Cheap Monday

2010-12-02T07:25:00.001-08:00

I hate to admit it, but black and white photos are often digital photographers code for "Shit, I messed up the colors real bad." Which, forgive me for I was using a kit lens inside a dark building, happens to be the case in these photos :(
I will remember to check my settings next time!

Jacket - Ikebukuro
Jeans - Cheap Monday (stolen from my boyfriend...)
Shoes - Gap
Hat - Code

I promise I will try to go out and do another store review soon! I just finished midterms, so I will actually have time to do my blog again :)
Any suggestions for a store you want to see?

I want new underwear - Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2010

2010-11-30T06:50:00.000-08:00

I would also settle for being a VS Angel...
Yeah, that's asking for a lot isn't it? Ah well, I'll just stick to dreams of underwear not from Walmart.

Chanel Iman ♥

All photos from the CBS website

Sanrioworld - Ginza

2010-11-28T16:13:00.000-08:00

I recently woke up with a bad breakout, so I might not post outfit posts for a few days until it clears up. It's probably one of the most frustrating things ever when you don't have a breakout for weeks, and then suddenly your face is completely inflamed and painful.

To get back on track, today I will be posting a review of Sanrioworld, Ginza!

Isn't just the sound of it magical? Sanrioworld. I imagined something like a mix between Disneyland, and Legoland. A huge department store full to the brim with every piece Hello Kitty merchandise ever known to man. After navigating my way to the store, however, I soon discovered that it was just in a corner on the second floor of a department store. The selection of products wasn't as vast or expansive as the name Sanrioworld might suggest, but it was still quite fun to look around! The store was broke up into 4 or 5 separate little shops.

The Vivitix section was probably my favorite. Vivitix is the fashionable line of Sanrio products geared towards teens and older; especially to GALS and fashions like that.

I wanted everything from the Sanrio x Baby Milo line!! I had no idea they had collaborated. I really really had to refrain from buying one of everything.

This was probably the most terrifying thing I saw at the store. Its so cute when Hello Kitty is wearing a "suit" of another character (see the Hello Kitty wearing a Cookie Monster suit behind the Elmo.) But there is just something so... disturbing, strange, unnerving -気持ち悪い, if you will- about having Elmo's raging maniac face sticking out of a skinned Hello Kitty. It is basically what my nightmares are made of.

Unlike Elmo, the staff was quite adorable in their Hello Kitty bow printed maid dresses. However, the fabric looked incredibly stiff and hot, so I felt bad for them. I had one of the most awkward conversations with one of the staff women, trying to figure out if it was okay for me to take photos

Me: Excuse me, is it okay to take photos here?
Staff: With your camera?
Me: ...Yes
Staff: Of the products, or of the store?
Me: Both...?
Staff: ....
Me: ...?
Staff: You can take photos of that *extremely vauge hand gesture*

However, she really looked and sounded like she didn't want me to take photos... So I basically snuck around until staff turned their back, or hid behind walls/displays. Awful, right? haha

Address:	2nd Floor, Nishi Ginza Department Store, 4-1 Saki, Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Hours:	Mon/Tue/Sat 11:00-20:30 Wed/Thu/Fri 11:00-21:00 Sun/National Holiday 11:00-20:00

And earlier that day, I had eaten the most delicious Naan ever. There is an Indian curry restaurant next to the building of my Japanese class, that offers their menu at 50% off before 11am. My friends and I have started eating there after Japanese class on Saturdays. After 12, they have an "ナン食べ放題” or "All you can eat Naan" which I want to try to champion someday. The current champion at 7.5 pieces of Naan, along with his curry and a large serving or rice... I have to train!

Gap Clogs, Zara Dress, Fist of an angry god.

2010-11-26T08:03:00.000-08:00

So the day finally came. That fateful day we all knew was coming. The day when I finally found a pair of clogs that were 1) reasonably priced 2) comfortable 3) stylish (despite not being Jeffrey Campbells... Yes I have an ~~problem~~ obsession.) One of those days when the gods part the heavens, and you find yourself whirlwinded through the doors of Gap and land smack dab in front of a towering mountain of clogs. 50% off clogs.
So I exaggerate a bit -- but it really was destiny.

Seconds before I was eaten alive by a vicious Japanese mosquito, which apparently are still alive in late November!

Photos by Mikaela

Hat - Code
Dress - Zara
Tights - Betsey Johnson
Shoes - Gap

Here's a detail of the dress's print, taken from the Zara website:

Obviously I had to get it. That is clearly a drawing of me! Big hats, polka dot shirts, grey hound dogs and toothpick legs? It has to be me you guys.

While searching the Zara site I also found this:

Can I has please? Thank you.

Things I am Thankful for

2010-11-25T02:47:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving, there are a lot of things I have to be thankful for. Especially since moving to Japan and not being able to do much of anything by myself. Of course I have to start the list with a few things:

Family, who I miss so much
Friends, who also fall into the missing category.
Scholarships, who give me lots of beautiful money to pay my rent and by my food (from which I can make cookies...)

But there are lots of other things I am thankful for as well:

Ritz crackers and ridiculously ~~expensive~~ delicious cheese.

Kitchens.

Freshly baked fat free ginger snaps (YUM!).

Boyfriends who fix your toilet for you when you don't even know that it's broken.

Leopard print hats, Nikon cameras and duck lips.

Obviously it goes with out saying that I am also thankful for the internet. And last but definitely not least I'm thankful to ALL OF MY FOLLOWERS. Seriously, you guys are awesome.

P.s. These are the two newest objects of my affection. I want them. I need them. Jeffrey Campbell + floral prints + my feet = pure unadulterated bliss. I'm not even kidding.

Available at Solestruck.com

I'm in a bind because of these magnificent angels of shoes. I desperately need a pair of rainboots. Jeffrey Campbell rainboots on Sole Struck. $70 (all demi-fashionable rainboots here are 8000yen+.) Guaranteed to fit my monster foreigner feet. However shipping is steeeeeeeep. -BUT- orders over $200 dollars have free shipping... My heart says YES YES BUY TWO PAIRS OF SHOES. But my mind and wallet sing a very different tune.
Alas, I will probably just suffer through a winter and summer of soggy sad feet :(

Another Sunday in Yoyogi

2010-11-24T04:28:00.000-08:00

Went to Yoyogi again with my friends, and it was more beautiful than the first time. Japan is quite the country of leaf cleaning Nazi's; so I tromped about in the piles of leaves until I could tromp no more. Honestly, there is nothing more satisfying than the sound of a good crunchy leaf breaking under your feet.

And as always, Yoyogi Park is always full of interesting characters.
Naturally I took videos. It's the easiest way to convey it fully to the blogosphere.

So first we have these guys performing the Lupin the 3rd (ルパン三世). I'm a total nerd for Lupin, and I LOVE this song. I totally geeked out on them in broken Japanese when they were done.

And lastly a group of people doing lightsaber-ing. It was really neat to watch after it got dark!

As always, thanks to Mikaela for the photos of myself!

Preppy with a little flare

2010-11-22T05:31:00.000-08:00

Sometimes when the weather is looking down and my spirits are following suit, the only thing that can pull me out of my funk is a nice pop of color. I recently bought this skirt from a store in Takadanobaba that specializes in imports from Thailand. The skirt is charmingly handmade. I'm afraid photos can hardly do it justice, as in reality it is an extremely dark navy with and extraordinary grain to the fabric that almost makes it look printed. The hem is done with several contrasting fabrics including brocades and *gasp* velvet.

Needless to say, I'm quite in love with it. As I've been developing my personal style more, I've grown quite fond of high wasted skirts. This one suits that preppy look with adding just the perfect amount of charm and flair. I feel the best way to pull a little life out of an outfit like this is to add a pop of color, pattern or hardware. Pairing this skirt with a waist belt, I managed to do all three. I finished the look off with a thrifted eyelet button up shirt and a cashmere sweater from Uniqulo (oh boy how do I love me some Uniqlo winter sales!)

I've been trying to up the health factor in my daily living recently and treat my body better. On top of switching to a natural skin care regimen and working out everyday, I've been working on making all of my own food.

Yesterday I made my very own pumpkin puree for the first time, and as a result decided to make some pumpkin bread! Sadly, despite its good looks the bread was a disaster. The only spice I had was cinnamon, and the recipie I used called for vegetable oil - but in an attempt to be healthy (and because it was the only oil I had on hand) I substituted that for olive oil. I ended up with a semi-sweet loaf of olive oil and chocochip flavored bread :(
Better luck next time!

All that being said, I'm off to drink some Kahlua and milk with the boy and relax.

Nerima Animation Carnival - Anime, Cosplay, Roller Coasters - OH MY!

2010-11-21T06:49:00.000-08:00

About two weeks back I was riding the train to my local Daiso (100yen shop) when I noticed a very well designed poster for the Nerima Animation Carnival, held at Toshimaen amusement park. Toshimaen is a mere 15 minute walk from my house, so I was instantly intrigued. My interest was sparked further when I noticed one of the attractions was about Galaxy Express 999, which I have mentioned before my favorite animation of all time. Of course my thoughts went instantly to achieving my dream of being the official Maetel model for Toei Animation; and I knew that I must go.

Nerima Animation Carnival is an annually held festival to celebrate Nerima's rich history of animation. The first ever full length, full color cartoon, The White Snake. It is also the birthplace of Toei animation, and where the father of modern anime, Osamu Tezuka, got his start.

Sadly, I did not become the new Maetel for Toei - however I did have A LOT of fun!
The first thing I saw upon entering, was 車掌さん, which pretty much made my day right then and there.

Which was right across from two electric cars which, according to the website, are the first two cars that the Japanese government has sponsored to get art decals put on them. What can I say? Japan loves its anime, and Nerima loves its Galaxy Express 999 (and I love my Nerima. It's a pretty complicated love triangle)

Giant Stitch :D

They had some booths where you could watch classic and contemporary animations. It was really interesting!

I don't know why, but I was quite surprised to see that the event was FULL of cosplayers! Many of which were fantastic! I was much too nervous to ask people for photos, so I only managed to grab a few.

Of course, it was at an amusement park so there were rides galore! However, both Marco and I are a bit strapped for cash at the moment so we didn't ride anything. I can't wait to go back and get my ride on soon though!

There was also old school carnival and arcade games, and delicious looking amusement park food. Oooooh how I want to go back and blow so much money!

You are allowed to hate me forever for this Marco. But I like this photo :)

You can learn more about the carnival and the Nerima animation society at their website:
Nerima Animation Site

SMILE

2010-11-20T19:17:00.000-08:00

Upcoming posts:
-Nerima Animation Festival
-Sanrio World Ginza

Going to Harajuku and Yoyogi Park today. Hopefully I can go and get a store review done!

Mujirushiryouhin - 無印良品

2010-11-18T02:57:00.000-08:00

So, funny story about my internet.

Last Thursday a man from the internet provider came and -with few words and several grunts which may have been words- set everything up in my apartment. As he began to leave my boyfriend asked about the cords for hooking up our computers (because hardly any internet here is wireless!) It turned out that we needed to buy our own, which left us with out any way of accessing our newly gained internet.
Not to fear though! The next day Marco brings over some cords so that we can finally connect - only to discover that I had somehow, by some freak accident, thrown away the paper which had our password and ID printed on it. Oops.

Long story short, after a week we finally received our new password in the mail and VIOLA! Internet :3

But I digress, lets have a review on one of my favorite stores: Muji Rushi Ryouhin.

Before coming to Japan, I had never heard of Muji. Muji sees a tremendous popularity in Japan, yet it very much works in the background of fashion and interior decorating. The monotone palate of Muji is quite simple and has an air of elegance about it; you will never find loud or superfluous aspects to the design of Muji's products. The idea behind the brand is to create something refined, a brand without a brand; if you will.

MUJI aspires to modesty and plainness, the better to adapt and shape itself to the styles, preferences, and practices of as wide a group of people as possible. This is the single most important reason people embrace MUJI.

- From Muji's english mission statement

Aside from clothes and shoes Muji also sells school supplies, beauty products, furniture, decorations and food.

Upon surfing the official website, I discovered that Muji has locations in 19 different countries, on top of its 24 locations around Japan. Ikebukuro alone has 4 different Muji stores. The one I frequent most is found in Ikebukuro's SEIBU department store on the ground level.
Muji is fairly inexpensive, and aside from their shoes which I have yet to try, is quite good quality.

I find that it really is the best place to find the essentials for outfits. Even their products with fairly unique designs are easily worked into an everyday ensemble. Their designs encompass a variety of silhouettes and sizes; flattering your body and achieving an effortless style.

If you are on a short stay to Japan, Muji would be a great place to pick up toiletries, diaries, or any sort of forgotten essential. I also find the snacks and premixed foods quite delicious. However, if you are only here for a short period of time I suggest checking out some restaurants or buying snacks at a convenience store.

Here I am wearing my favorite hoodie that I got at Muji:

-photo thanks to Mikaela

Galavanting around Ueno Zoo - Outfit post

2010-11-09T23:29:00.000-08:00

I'd like to start this post by thanking everyone for the wonderful reception of the Wonder Rocket review. Seeing everyone enjoy what I'm doing really motivates me to go out and write more.

Well on the same trip to Harajuku, I ended up finally buying myself winter coat. I ended up buying one from Zara, because it is basically the "cheap" love child of the Chloe and ACP coats that I so dearly coveted.

Of course, I promptly wore it the following day despite the fact that it was warm and sunny.

On that day, I ended up going to the Ueno Zoo with a few of my fellow "留学生” or international student friends. Waseda was having its own special school holiday, we decided to to seize the opprotunity to go and stare at strange animals all day long. It was pretty fun.

Mikaela decided to take photos of me on every animal statue in the Zoo. That is what I am here to show you today.

Gettin' fierce

Trying to get my ANTM on, but finding it hard when a crowd of Japanese people are watching.

So basically me and Mikaela are soul sisters. This Sunday we are going to an Onsen after camping, and I not going lie - I'm kinda nervous about showing my tall naked American body to everyone. Luckily (I think...) Mikaela will be there with me!

So I get internet at my apartment tomorrow, and I am SUPER excited. However, I feel kind of sad too. Its been nice having to figure out something to do every night instead of just vegging out in front of my laptop for hours on end. I also think that my back problems have been improving because of not constantly hunching over while I type.... but hey! I get to skype with my family finally! And watch ANTM!!! Only the important things, right?

Thanks to Mikaela for taking all the photos.

Wonder Rocket Review

2010-11-07T21:16:00.000-08:00

I went to Harajuku last week on a shopping trip with my friends. I finally mustered up the energy to bring my camera and do a store reveiw.

It was a national holiday "文化の日" or "Culture Day" so Harajuku was a mad house. It took quite a while to get from one store to another. Finally we decided to duck into the nearest store to escape the crowds for awhile. Much to my delight, it just so happened that we ended up in Wonder Rocket, which I had been wanting to do a review on anyway!

Wonder Rocket is a fairly well known Mori-girl brand, which has several branches and lines in Harajuku and Ikebukuro. Their newest Momo line
store opened recently on Harajuku's Takeshita St. However Momo seems to be more geared towards a hime or gal style. I didn't have time to go in this trip, but I will go again and do a review soon.

Upon stepping into the entrance of the store, you are greeted by a bizarre rabbit-headed women, who sits at the entrance a small staircase which leads into the store. Upon ascending the stair case the highly decorated walls give you a sort of reverse Alice falling down the rabbit hole feeling.

Of course I was instantly drawn to the sale rack (what can I say? I'm cheap!) The sale prices ranged from 500Yen (6USD) to 3000Yen (37USD). Even the 500Yen clothes were ridiculously cute! The picture below shows some of the sale clothes, which were all around 1500Yen (18USD). I was sooooo tempted to buy somethings but I'm trying to focus on building a more comprehensive wardrobe, and nothing really suited my current style.

One of the best parts of the store were the in store displays. Not only do they add to the atmosphere of the shop, but they also give some great ideas for ensembles.

Oh, and their wall paper is cute too.

I was happy to discover that the shop staff are extremely friendly. All of the staff are absolutely adorable; dressed in uniforms of organic flowing ensembles. Most have bleached hair highlighted with pastel colors, and pack on thick blush in circles on their cheeks. One shop attendant, who had drawn perfectly a lined freckles on her cheeks, helped my friend pick out a canvas poncho. After she selected the one she liked, the staff member gave her a high five. I instantly fell in love with them there.

Here is Mikaela in her adorable new poncho:

I regret not taking any photos of the staff, but you can find tons of photos of them on their official website : Wonder Rocket and many other places on the internet as well.

Locations of their stores are available in Japanese HERE
The location I went to was on Harajuku's Takeshita street, and there is also a location in Ikebukuro at Sunshine City's ALTA.

P.S. I GET INTERNET AT MY APARTMENT ON THURSDAY! Which means more regular posts! No more one a week bullshit.

A post with a little bit of everything.

2010-10-31T23:32:00.000-07:00

Besides the Typhoon that rolled through this week, its turning out to be quite a lovely fall. The lighting is pretty magical here, it feels like sometimes the golden hour lasts for much longer than that.
In particular, the other day I woke up to a beautiful golden sun. The way it reflected off my boyfriends bike was stunning. Time stood still in that way that warm autumn mornings often do.

I trimmed my hair the other day, and got it a little too short in some parts. I'm trying to get used it it.

Also, happy belated Halloween everyone!!!

Halloween is quite a different holiday here. It basically consists of parties from Friday to Sunday, where you get in costume and go from drinking party to drinking party. To my joy, many of the people in my Club (or "circle" as they call it here) went as One Piece characters. I went as Cindry, and my boyfriend as Trafalgar Law.

This is the only picture I have of us thus far, but hopefully I can do a halloween post soon!

Hana Tajima-Simpson

2010-10-27T21:14:00.000-07:00

I`m currently updating from a school computer, and feeling like a total jerk because I`m on the research only computers. By the looks of it I`m the only one breaking the rule; cultural difference #345675.

Anyway, back on topic, I was recently introduced to this tumblr page: Pictures of Muslims Wearing Things, which I LOVE. It was created in response to ignorant media figures and poloticians who "[Have] an irrational fear of Muslims, and thinks you can identify them based on what they look like."* I think its brilliant, and shows how wrong these sterotypes are.
While following this blog, I was introduced to the British fashion designer, Hana Tajima-Simpson.

I absolutely love Simpson`s designs, and I find her personal style to be inspiring to say the least.
Here are some photos of Simpson, wearing a mixture of her own line Maysaa, and other brands as well. I yanked them from her blogs, so go check out the original source!

This outfit is pure love.

Simpson`s line, Maysaa, is a force in it`s own. The muted palate works perfectly with her simple clean designs. They clothes are constructed impecably, and work to elongate the lines of the female form. Simple and elegant, what more could one ask for?

Photo by Dominic Clarke

Please check out her blog and website. She often posts original sketches of her designs, lending us an insider view into her creative process.

MAYSAA.COM

STYLECOVERED

*Statement from Pictures of Muslims Wearing Things

Yoyogi Park

2010-10-25T02:13:00.000-07:00

Let me start this post by saying that since the beginning of my obsession with Bōsōzoku, Yankee, Greasers - what have you- I have been wanting to go to Yoyogi park, and see the street dancing.

I was so pleased to have been able to see this. On Sunday's rival gangs of "rockabilly" dancers gather and have day long dance battles, of sorts. Each gang has their own signature look, and blast their own music. I wish I could have stuck around longer to see the other gangs dance, but I had to mosey on to the picnic I was scheduled to attend. There was a group of girls in poodle skirts waiting to dance, and I really want to go back and see them perform sometime!

Later on, a woman set up a harp and started playing. The music was beautiful and she quickly gathered a crowd. I tried my hardest to take a video, but my camera only picked up the sound of the fountains. I was pretty bummed about it, but happy in the end that I didn't give her my business card "Oh hi here's my card, I'll post your video on my blog!... just kidding!"

There was a dog park there, and I almost died of cuteness.

OH MY GOOOOOOOOD. This screams "MAKE A MACRO OUT OF ME!"

Kanako, the adorbz.

On my way home, I saw these guys play. Makes me miss my hippies back at home :(!

Located off to the side of Harajuku station, I highly recommend going to Yoyogi park for a walk or a day trip. If its possible, I suggest going on a Sunday. You can go after a long day of Sunday shopping or people watching at Harajuku, and just relax. I'm definitely going back soon! It really gave me a good fix for that nature craving I've had.

Look at what I eat; CAKE

2010-10-21T21:06:00.000-07:00

So, I don't know if I have time to update today; I didn't finish my reading for my literature class (not that it matters when your teacher doesn't believe in tests...) which is in an hour.

So as a place holder, look at these delicious things I ate:

I don't know if you guys knew this, but "the food in Japan is all really good for you."

Next time will be an update on Yogogi Park! Excited?

You should be.

Musume Dojoji - Getting Rude in Tokyo

2010-10-18T21:27:00.000-07:00

Sooooooo, I totally forgot to upload photos from Yoyogi park.
I also forgot to take my camera to the AWESOME matsuri I went to yesterday... I'm batting one in a hundred right now.

This is the outfit I was wearing when I went to Sunshine City in Ikebukuro.

I'm taking a class about Kabuki right now. Despite the amazing costume and appearance of Kabuki, I'm finding that actually watching it is quite dry. The way the plays are formatted, and how they evolved is absolutely intriguing. Yet I find myself falling asleep in almost every class! Yesterday we watched a clip from Musume Dojoji (a play about a woman who gets betrayed by a priest, so she turns into a serpent and burns him alive!) and it was the first thing that really woke me up in the class. Needless to say I'm a little obsessed now, and super inspired to do some art!

I really suggest watching this video. Its long, but beautiful! It also shows some of the cool onstage costume change in Kabuki.

SORRY!

2010-10-17T21:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry everyone. Post are far a few between these days, aren't they?
BUT NO WORRIES! Tomorrow I shall be making a post about my trip to Yoyogi Park, near Harajuku, which I LOVED. I'll definitely be going back quite often.

Anyway, nothing much to update about now, so here's an outfit post.

Halloween is fast approaching, and I have no idea what to do!
I found out that my town is famous for the amazing Leiji Matsumoto (THERE IS A GALAXY EXPRESS TRAIN THAT GOES TO MY STATION!) So I kind of want to do a Leiji character. Someone in my circle did Maetel a few years ago, so I was encouraged not to do her. According to the person I was talking to "You would make the other girl feel bad because your Maetel is better quality" So mean!! haha. But this is my favorite costume ever, so have some photos!

Galaxy Express 999
(My personal FAVORITE. Watch the movie on Youtube if you don't want to see the whole series. The series is on Crunchy Roll for free though!)

Interstella 5555

Captain Harlock.
Love this man.

And now, me being a huge nerd. Now you all know. (All costumes made by myself, by the way)

Of course, my beautiful Amy made it perfect by being the best non-troll faced Tetsuro evvar.

Behbeh.

Maybe I should do Interstella 5555? Blue paint anyone?
Also was considering Leeloo... Or anything Milla.

Ikebukuro: Sunshine City

2010-10-11T02:15:00.000-07:00

I do a lot of my window shopping/time killing at Ikebukuro. There are many reasons for this, however the biggest reason is that it it doesn't cost me any extra on my commuter pass to go there; YES! In and around the Ikebukuro station there are LOTS of places to go and do some good shopping. If you want something cheap; they have it. It you want to go to Vivienne Westwood or Chloe; they have it.

This weekend I made plans to go to a Jazz festival in Yokohama, but because of the rain the plans fell through. I ended up going to Ikebukuro's "Sunshine City" (a skyscraper with a mall, amusement park, and other things inside) to do some shopping and eating. I only went to the first two floors so I don't have much to review.

We started the trip out with taking the wrong train, in the wrong direction. This resulted in being stranded in Nakano for a good 15 minutes. Apparently this is where "all the otaku live so be careful" according to my friend. Good to know? lol

Kanako and Mikaela

Nick making his ever popular イケメン (IKEMEN) face. Ikemen is slang for a really attractive guy. Nick is a hit with the Japanese girls, so we tease him about this a lot.

First thing you see when walking in is Anna Sui.

This is a common window display here in Japan. Muted floral patterns are super popular right now; an affirmation to the TREMENDOUS and every growling popularity of Mori-Girl. You can find these kind of things anywhere, and for any price. Be careful though, cheap clothes and shoes here are cheap for a reason (unlike cheap anything else which is actually pretty good! Reason why all my shit comes from the 100yen store!)

Hello Kitty store! It was right next to the Disney store, and the GHIBLI STORE!! Which shall have its own post

There was actually a lot of cute clothes in the Hello Kitty store! I had to stop myself from getting this Jacket (whose style has been a leading trend in coats here for a long time) or a sweater for my best friend. But they were like 10000yen, so I resisted.

Another big fad here is tails. I'm not exactly sure why, but a lot of people wear these on their belt loops or purses. It's extended from just a Gal trend, to all different styles.

We then went to Toys'R'Us (which was kinda lame, sorry Japan, American Toys'R'Us is better...) Where they had dog wigs. DOG WIGS. Me and Mikaela chipped in to get one for our friend.

The bathroom had free samples of Lush soap, how cool!

We then went to the amusement park, which I wouldn't say is worth the 300yen entrance fee unless you are on a date or have a TON of money to blow inside. The ice cream at "Icecream City" was pretty good though.

There was this really strange Childrens play going on near Icecream City.

We then went and did Purikura, as always, haha.
You can see the bowler hat I got in Harajuku... I love it :3

All in all it was a lot of fun! Sunshine city had a lot of stores that covered everything from Anime to stationary to accessories to clothing. If you are in the area, I suggest going and exploring! There are so many things to do there, that I'm sure you could spend a better half of the day there.

Map from Japan Guide.com

Enoshima, Japan

2010-10-06T01:39:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm kind of tired of posting about my face. I'm not the type who can easily write an interesting blog solely by posting photos of themselves. I'm not nearly fashion forward enough, nor do I have a photographer to follow me around all of the time, lol. Someday though, someday...

Anyway, to save myself from days upon days of inactivity, I'm going to post some photos from my trip to Enoshima (江の島) which is an island near Yokohama. There are tons of cute little shops as you climb a long road up to a Shrine where the goddess of music and entertainment, Benzaiten is in enshrined. I wish I had known this when I went, instead of just learning it on Wikipedia right now... Its so cool!

On the way to the island, this water would splash up onto the bridge and soak people. This lovely, lovely brown water. yum.

This little kitty who live at the shrine crawled right up into my friends lap! Talk about a religious experience if there ever was one!

That was really quite a lovely day!
You can see the rest of the photos HERE at my smugmug!

Loose and relaxed- a weekend trip to Harajuku

2010-10-04T02:05:00.000-07:00

So, this weekend I made my first trip to Harajuku! I didn't bring my camera, because its bulky and my arms have been hurting for some unexplained reason. Possibly from holding train handles, but I like to think I'm not that weak. All I know is that it feels like I've been pumping iron.

Anyway, I went to some really awesome shops, and scouted some places to write reviews on soon (hopefully). I went to Tokyo Bopper, a store that I've loved forever and got a pair of shoes (it was destiny) and a cute bowler hat. It set me back a bit, but was toooootally worth it!

I didn't take pictures of my outfit that day, but here's one from last week instead.

Here you can see where I was too lazy to photoshop out that mysterious bar thing in my apartment. I asked Marco, and he doesn't know either. I hang my clock and various UFO catcher winnings on it!

Before I had to study life got kinda boring in my apartment alone. It resulted in some camera-whoring, lots and lots and lots of it actually...

Um, what else... I went to Shinjuku about a week ago, and saw Jack Sparrow and Mad Hatter cosplayers. They were advertising something, I don't know what.

Mikaela is ADORBZ.

Still don't have a coat. Need to remedy this...

Simple, clean, fashion.

2010-09-30T22:09:00.000-07:00

It was finally not raining one day, so I decided to go for a nice simple look.
However, as I was rushing to make lunch I somehow smeared mayonaise all over the front of my shirt. I didn't notice until I was on the train, so obviously I was thrilled when I discovered it.

Apparently the battle of image hosting site is not over! Smugmug is now down for matinence! Soooo Picasa for now, then Smugmug later... *le sigh* Click the image to make it bigger!

Today I have my modern literature class. I'm super excited for that! All we are going to read is Haruki Murakami and J.D. Salinger. I keep thinking "YAY! LAST CLASS OF THE WEEK!" However, I then immediately remember that I have class on Saturdays. At 9am. Blasphemy!

This weekend I am going to Shinjuku and BUYING A COAT. I must. Fall is approaching fast, and I am far from prepared.

Ohmigod blog traffic + Enoshima photos

2010-09-29T00:46:00.000-07:00

In the scheme of things, I'm still in the infant stage of blogging.
But logging on to my google analytics right now I was elated to see these numbers:

Holy shit. I love you guys. This is like Christmas to me!

Sadly though, I must report two pieces of bad news:

1) I some how misplaced my camera cord. In my tiny, itty bitty, makes hotel rooms look huge of an apartment, I have misplaced my camera cord. Even I'm amazed by myself at times. Hopefully I can find it tonight, and update with some good photos.

2) I set up an appointment with the internet company to get a connection in my apartment! Good news, right? Wrong. It takes about 3 weeks for them to finally get to my apartment and set it up... At least the internet is fast, cheap and has no cancelation fee!

Anyway, I have the day off tomorrow (my Thursdays are freeee!) So I'm thinking about SHOPPING! Or at least WINDOW SHOPPING! Which in Tokyo is totally just as fun as real shopping. That hopefully means a post of a store review on Friday. I'll try and make it a "Fashion Friday" or something.

Because text blocks are boring, have some photos I stole from Mikaela Monogatari.

At Enoshima with Natsuko!

Yaki-tako something or other-kabob. It was pretty good!

Typhoons a comin'

2010-09-27T21:30:00.000-07:00

Today I exclaimed when waking up "Fall, bring it the fuck on!" And then Japan proceeded to Typhoon on me.

I'm sorry Fall, I retract my statement. Not quite that ready yet. Especially because there was a mix up at the 7-11 last night and someone took my umbrella from the umbrella holders they have outside all the stores. Thus I am forced to used a parasol, which does not fair well in typhoon weather.

However, now I am on the great "Fall/Winter Coat Search" raiding every store in sight for a cute, unique, affordable coat. I've found a few, but nothing that really -screams- to me.
I did see the PERFECT one at Chole, but it was 93000Yen ($1000) and I'm not exactly at the point in my life where I can afford that. Le tear.

Photos from Coggles

Pictures can't even describe how elegant, decadent and simple this coat was all at once. The silhouette is wonderful, and I fell in love at first site. One day, when I'm Anna Wintour (lol) I'll own this coat, and wear it everyday.

But I'd also love a Kate Spade coat, it's only 500...

Katespade.com

As of now, I'm getting by with a very not waterproof wool sweater. Its nice and toasty, but I smell like some sort of wet animal all day after getting rained on... lovely.

P.s. I'm working on switching my photos from Photobucket to Smugmug. Hopefully I can complete it by this weekend. SORRY THE BANDWIDTH IS DOWN. But at the same time I'm glad because that means a lot of you are visiting me :)

P.p.s I'm going to try and set up some sort of free give away! Probably just some cute phone charm and a post card or something. Anyone interested?

IM BACK!

2010-09-26T21:03:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh. Real internet for the first time in a week!
Blogger おひさしぶり！！

I found out that I cant use blogger on my phone, so I wasn't able to update you guys. That and I dropped my cellphone into the sea - or more accurately the ocean ATTACKED me and stole my cellphone from my pocket. I have a replacement one for a week until the shop get my model back in stock. : (

But all in all, I've been having a ton of fun! In the past week I went to the Tokyo-Edo history museum, Asakusa, Kamaura (to see the Daibutsu) and Enoshima, which looked (and felt) suprisingly like Hawaii!

Anyway, those will be separate posts. Today I shall "treat" you guys to some photos from Asakusa, and of myself, haha.

Here's what I wore to the Daiso the other day. Only I didn't actually wear the hat out because it was like 8pm, haha. But I thought it went well together.

A "look what I fucking ate" of the day:

Cheese, cream, rice and meat. All topped with an egg. Doria is the best.

Asakusa!

Dai-chan!

I have also become a genius at UFO catcher games. I won these babies, and at least 11 other things! This is probably my biggest success.

Speaking of which. Two of my best friends get to go see X-Japan this weekend. IM SO EXCITED FOR THEM AND SO JEALOUS. X has been one of my favorite bands since the 7th grade. I hope to see them someday!

Now, I will go to my first class at Waseda: KABUKI AND BUNRAKU!!! Oh.my.god. So many many Japanese culture classes. So happy.
Oh, and before I leave, I'll let you know that I'm totally getting the internet soon!
Yay!

No picture post

2010-09-19T23:07:00.000-07:00

Hey gals and guys! Just a quick update since I'm totally mooching the Internet on my boyfriends iPhone. Just have a few things to say:

1) I am blown away by how quickly the number of visitors and followers to my blog is increasing. I can't even express how much it means to me to be supported by you all. I promise that once I get internet setup, I will make super awesome, super frequent posts!

2) Which brings me to my next point; I'm setting up my computer with the Internet system at my school tomorrow, so I'll be able to post more after that! It's only a 30ish minute commute to school... Haha

3) I GET A CELLPHONE TOMORROW! Which means I'm thinking of setting up a twitter for this blog for easier quick updates. Let me know if you would be interested in that!

4) The bandwith on my photobucket account seems to be busted, so I will fix that ASAP! Sorry guys! (and thanks for creating so much traffic that it exceeds the bandwidth! Lol )

Well, I better go because the internet on his phone isnt free, buy I'll be back with a real deal update tomorrow!

Dasio Outfit

2010-09-17T05:58:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post before I have to jet out of here!

Just an outfit I wore the other day when I went to craft park and daiso!

Well, I'm heading back to my apartment now after a long, fun day! I did a lot of walking and made a lot of friends! It was great. Japan is awesome.

Photos thanks to Mikaela!

P.s. I made another friend from Oregon, who wants to do some modeling here. I'm so excited to take photos for her!

Craft Park

2010-09-16T16:49:00.000-07:00

WOW! Thanks everyone who has started joining me recently!! I'm so excited to know that people are interested in my journey, haha. Now I have to work extra hard to make entertaining posts!

I promised a few communities on LiveJournal that I would review a store today, and so I shall.

The store I went to was called CraftPark （クラフトパーク）and I think it's part of a bigger chain of stores called Crafttown (but I may be wrong!)
The store was 1/3 crafts, 1/3 sewing, and 1/3 adorable accessories. I should say that it is right up the Mori-girl aesthetic.

"Why is your mouse so big?"

After a few photos, I found out that photography wasn't allowed... oops! I can't exactly take stealth photos with my camera either, so thats all for photos of the actual store. They had things like do-it-yourself decoden kits, sewing little felt sweets kits, adorable fabric, umbrellas, hats, scarves, anything cute and natural, they had it.

Of course, me and Mikaela walked out with a few treasures:

The backpack and alpaca are Mikaela's, along with the red bag in the corner. I got the red coin purse with the black cat (I strongly recommend a coin purse in Japan!)

We actually got the Alpaca at a discount store while buying my futon.

I bought the blue socks, Mikaela the pink.

The staff were really nice, and asked us questions in very simple Japanese. I guess you can get a member card, which is awesome! It was a little spendy, but sooo worth it. I'm definitely going back!

The store was located right outside the A5 exit at the HikariGaoka station. From Ikebukuro, you can take the Seibu-Ikebukuro line to Nerima, switch to the Oedo line, and HikariGaoka will be the last stop.

Japan, take II

2010-09-15T07:03:00.000-07:00

I just drank a tall glass of Tokyo water, so my stomach is a little queasy, however my internet withdrawls are pushing me to post post post!

First off, internet situation is not looking good thus far. I basically have two options: get internet through my real estate agency and shell out 6000yen a month (roughly $65), or wait until I get my cell phone sometime at the end of the month, and get a wireless router through them which will run slower, but only cost 4000yen. Decisions, decisions. Either way, I don't think I'll have internet at my apartment for at least two more weeks. : (

Although the internet situation looks grim, the daily life/shopping/eating frontier is strong and I am blasting forward. I even (attempted) to have a conversation in Japanese today. I only failed moderately. Job at Numero Tokyo here I come! (in jest obviously) This internet-less life has led to me being backed up with blog posts, so expect at least two a day for the next two days. They will be good, trust me. Throwing chronology to the wind, I shall start with today, and go backwards in time. I find it helpful to confuse my audience as I write.

Despite the heat, I am still attempting in vain to stay semi stylish. This outfit proved disastrous as I helped Mikaela lug her suitcases through the train system today, and became a ball of sweat.

Please note, however, that I found these shoes in a 古物屋(I don't know if that is correct) or a "used items store" that had more things that I wanted then it rightfully should have. These were 800yen, AND THEY FIT ME. Love.

Basically my neighborhood is adorable, and pretty green which reminds me of home. Today a little girl came up to Mikaela and I and asked us if we were foreigners. She was seven and lives in an apartment building by my house. We had a short and confusing conversation, in which she didn't believe me when I said すみません、分かりません。I'm sorry, I don't understand. It is now my goal to befriend her.

After arriving at orientation we went to do Purikura (photobooth), this one caught our eye immediately.

Then to dinner.

Now for a segment I like to call: FOOD I ATE SINCE I GOT HERE.

More aloe yogurt, and tsubuanpan (bread filled with red bean paste). The selling point of the yogurt is that if you eat it, you will become beautiful. So obviously I am eating it everyday.

Pumpkin curry. Words can't even explain. <3

This ramen may look disgusting, but it was amazing.

いい事あるぞ。。。MISTER DOUGHNUTS. I'm going to become the new spokes woman, videos on that later.

Bread from a bakery by my house. I want to work there someday. I'll be the Julia Childs of Japan.

With blackberry jam that I made.

Then I made curry.

It's amazing how much better life gets when you have a refrigerator and an oven.

Caramel ice cream.

Scrambled eggs I made this morning.

All in all, life has been fantastic since I've arrived. Only time will tell if this elation continues once school starts.

Day 1 in Japan

2010-09-10T00:59:00.000-07:00

So, I`M IN JAPAN!

I arrived yesterday after a long long flight, in which I may have been the first person to successfully lose my iPod IN the body of the plane, never to be recovered again. Dear American Airlines, please don`t leave giant gaping holes where vents should be. Either that or buy me a new iPod, k thanx.

But I digress. I got to Japan where my boyfriend and his dad were waiting for Mikaela and I. We went straight into my first adventure in Japan: Signing paperwork and getting the key for my apartment. It was quite the ordeal, which was accented by crazy Tokyo driving (I`m so glad I can`t convert kilometers in to miles, because I don`t want to know how fast we were driving down those tiny roads); Tiny elevators leading to abandoned office spaces the size of a port-a-potty; and completely disrespecting every custom in Japan ever. Woo! But after much struggling on my part to stay awake during the whole thing, I finally got to my apartment and fell asleep.
I can`t even put into words how grateful I am to Marco and his dad, they are amazing and there is NO way I could have done it without them!

I can`t form many sentences correctly right now, so have some photos!

Clouds over the ocean, my favorite sight.

Japan!

Breakfast this morning! Curry filled bread and Yogurt with aloe in it. YUM. Oh thank heaven for 7-11.

Again, nom.

Marco eating onigiri.

If you wanna see pictures of my apartment, and more of the adventures, check out Mikaela`s blog at Mikaera Monogatari where she has already posted a lot of photos.

So, I get internet in a week, after that, expect more frequent blog posts!

Double Rainbow Alllll the Way to Japan

2010-09-07T21:56:00.000-07:00

I'm in Portland right now, waiting in my hotel room until I go to the airport at 4am. So fun.
It was sad saying goodbye to my family and friends in Eugene, and I imagine it will be really hard at the airport in the morning.

However, one of the best things ever happened to me today:

I think it's impossible to be upset after seeing that happen :)

JAPAN HERE I COME!

Anhtropologie and a bad score

2010-09-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

So, the placement test went okay, but my score was less than desirable.
After peeling my miserable self off of the ground after feeling like my mind had been hit by a train, I spent the rest of the day celebrating MelodyHana's birthday! We went and saw Inception, which was... AMAZING. But that will be another post, once I can get screen caps of all the beaauuutiful mens wear.

Even though fall hasn't come yet, and I have been warned that when I arrive in Japan the humidity might kill me, I have been ogling fall collections all week. One of my favorite collection's I've looked at is from Anthropologie's catalog. I'm secretly an Anthropologie junky, despite the fact that I can't afford anything from them. Le tear :(

I love love love this skirt. I want it on my butt.

Shooooooeeesss

I've gotten quite interested in Interior Design since I've realized I'll have to decorate my apartment. Luckily for me, Anthropologie does interior design. Joy!

I want this cape. I neeeed this cape. But this cape would 1) not be warm enough for me 2) would kill my bank account.

I also need these shoes. I need material things. I'm an awful awful consumer.

On a side note, I've started packing. Shit just got real.

Hey Now, HEY NOW! Girls just want to have fun.

2010-08-31T11:14:00.000-07:00

I take my Japanese placement test today.

Along with 40 other high stress activities! Woo! Killed two hours already just reading blogs, so I should -probably- get on with the show. I feel like these two songs pretty much sum up my mood today:

My favorite Cyndi Lauper MV, she is just SO cute in it. And I love this remix.

がんばれ!!ロボコン (Do Your Best!! Robocon) Because when it comes to studying Japanese, I am also a Robot that is kinda... not good at doing things. But I try. I ganbaru. I ganbaru all day long.

Vintage feel

2010-08-28T01:17:00.000-07:00

Marty by Dorothy Siemens

Karolina Kurkova by Dusan Reljin - Vogue Spain September 2010

Edita Vilkeviciute by Camilla Akrans for Numéro #116

Guinevere van Seenus by Amanda de Cadenet

Foux De Fa Fa by The Flight of the Conchords

I'm really excited for fall to come. In every way.

Tomorrow I make the payment on my apartment. I will officially have an apartment in Tokyo. Le excitement.

A Jeffrey Campbell Haiku

2010-08-25T02:57:00.000-07:00

It's 3 in the morning, and I find my self unable to sleep. Whenever this happens, I always find myself looking at things I can't afford. Oh the sad sad life I lead. Well, tonight instead of wallowing I decided instead to be proactive and write a haiku. It might just be work of literary genius, just sayin':

Jeffrey Campbell Shoes
Why are you not on my feet?
OH YEAH, 'cause I'm cheap.

I want those brown wedge sandals more than I really should. The devil on my shoulder keeps telling me BUY BUY; but the practical "angel" on the other side says "Bitch, you best be saving that money for food."

Being an adult sucks : (

Satoshi Kon dies at age 47

2010-08-24T13:13:00.001-07:00

I found out that legendary director and writer Satoshi Kon died today at the young age of 47.

The first of Kon's movies that I watch was Tokyo Godfathers; a movie whose animation was so beautiful, and story so provoking that it moved me to the core. That movie influenced my art style, and love for animation unlike anything else had in a long time.

It comes as such a shock, and saddens me deeply thinking of what genius we had not seen from him yet. Instead of mourning, however, I'm going to spend my day honoring the gems he left us by watching some of his amazing movies.

Polyvore Mini Editor Contest!

2010-08-24T05:16:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to announce that I have entered Polyvore's mini editor contest! Basically it's a contest to win $1000 dollars for a new fall wardrobe. Which is awesome. I'm not really in high hopes about winning, but the contest is super interactive and fun! So I thought I'd get you all involved and create some fun outfits!

Basically all -you- have to do is look through the fall clothes I have chosen in the box below, drag the items you think would look cute together into the blank space, and create some outfits! Thats it. You can save it if you want as well, and give it some lame title like mine below "Fall leaves." Its fun, and good time killer, so have at! Tell your friends about it, and have fun with it! Here is an example that I created:

Hope you enjoy the clothes I have selected!

Powered by Polyvore

If you wish to enter yourself, even if you aren't a blogger, go here! POLYVORE MINI EDITOR CONTEST.

Kate Spade launces new fragrance

2010-08-23T13:48:00.000-07:00

In celebration of their new fragrance Twirl Kate Spade, my all time favorite brand, is launching a new collection. The Twirl Capsule Collection is the perfect cocktail party collection, and reminds me of a New Year's celebration.

The collection is currently on pre-sale for facebook fans of Kate Spade until September 3rd, when it goes on sale to the general public. I wish that I could get my hands on some of the products, but all odds seem to be working against me as I am not only broke, but also highly allergic to perfume. Oh well, Kate Spade, you will always be my eye candy.

I'm almost willing to forget that if I sprayed this on myself I'd get hives. I'm so close to forgetting that if this was sprayed around my my throat would swell up. I'm so close to forgetting these things until I see that this adorable little bottle of Dorothy's death costs $80; and then I remember.

The bow comes in this sweet green box.

How cute is this? Just, too cute.

At first I really disliked these shoes, as I'm not a big fan of shiny things, but I've grown quite fond of these. I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't die to have these on my feet during my birthday (which so happens to be new years eve!).

Check out the collection here!

Blog Lovin

2010-08-22T15:19:00.000-07:00

Follow my blog with bloglovin

HEY EVERYONE! Now you can follow my blog with blog lovin'! If you have an account over there click the link above ^

Okay, annoying plug aside, let's have a real update! An amazing thrifting find I made last week. It's a long story but bear with me:

It all started when my super stylish niece came to visit from out of town. She had a few laundry baskets full of clothes that she was trying to sell, rejects from the exchange run she had done in her area. I decided to tag a long with her as she hit up the local Buffalo Exchange. I put my pride aside -Buffalo Exchange never wants my clothes unless they are hand-me-down's of my mothers size 0 clothes from the 80's- and I gathered up what -I- thought was the cutest clothes from my "get rid of" pile. I even lint rolled the cat hair off of them!

But to no prevail, Buffalo Exchange once again only took the vintage bowling bag that was my mothers when she was my age. Note to self: study photos mom when she was a teen.

My niece was only able to sell a handful of things as well (which made me feel a little bit better) and we left with our reject clothes. However, instead of giving up completely we decided to hit up one more exchange store; a cute little store on the local college campus. It's called The Clothes Horse, and the ladies over there have great taste!

As they looked through our stuff I browsed their selection, and ran across the most beautiful, dusty pink, %100 wool, BeBe jacket. LE GASP. It was being sold for $16, which was about... oh... $16 dollars over my budget. I decided to try it on to tell myself that "It really doesnt look as good on" but that back fired as it fit me like a glove.
With my heart in my butt I paced around the store waiting to hear what they would give me in store credit, my hopes were not high because of my "success" with Buffalo earlier.
When they called my name I shrunk back a little, fearful of my fate, worried that I might have to make the choice between shelling out the whole $16, or worse, putting the jacket back.

However, fate was on my side and I was given more than enough to cover the jacket. HUZZAH. The universe loves me, obviously.

And thus concludes the saga of my new jacket.

P.s. I changed the layout of my blog. I am much more pleased with the way it looks! I want to add more to the banner. Suggestions?

Photoshoot with Allihalla and Melody Hana

2010-08-21T14:14:00.000-07:00

A few days ago Melody Hana was invited by a friend to do a very impromptu photoshoot for a local designer's swimwear collection. I invited myself to tag along as a lighting assistant, as I couldn't miss the opportunity to meet some local designers! We showed up at Dawn Baby Salon where the models were getting their hair and makeup done by the owner of the salon and Miss Amelia Hart, who is a fantastic makeup/hair artist, blogger, and if she's not a model, she should be.
We then met the designer, Allihalla, who turned out to be the daughter of one of my favorite teachers from Highschool! What a small small town this is, haha.
Sadly, this was the only photo we got of these two gorgeous ladies. Maybe next time we can get them to model for Melody too!

Allihalla's swimwear was so so fabulous! I had such a fun time watching Melody Hana take photos, and blinding the models with my reflector (sorry guys!). Eventually everyone got pretty tired and dehydrated from standing on a bright white roof for around 2 hours, so we took a break.

After the break, me and Melody decided to split up the work and make the shoot go a little quicker. This turned out to be a good idea for several reasons:

No more standing on a hot roof
I got to take some photos
The models I got to shoot had a great sense of humor
I got to take some photos....

I'll make a post showing off all of Allihalla's fabulous designs once Melody edits all of them. But here are the photos I snagged!

I'm seriously thinking about purchasing one of her swimsuits. I bet people in Japan would think I was nuts, but I want some local flare to represent my roots! Here is her Etsy : Allihalla

Also, you may have noticed, but I have a new watermark! I designed the image for my business card a few days ago. It was made from a woodblock print I made, transferred digitally, and made a brush out of! It was tons of fun. If any one wants me to make graphics for them... I'm totally down :D

Mutual of Omaha - AHA!

2010-08-19T18:25:00.000-07:00

I was contacted a few weeks ago by a representative of Mutual of Omaha's "Life's aha moments" campaign. I almost deleted the email without looking at it, assuming it was junk mail. Oh boy would that have been a mistake! I was asked to come down to a giant silver traveling recording studio, and have a short interview about my blog. MY blog?? I thought to myself. Like a mom watching her child graduate from preschool I beamed with pride. My baby grabbed the eye of someone. *tear*

When I got there I realized it was much more relaxed than what I had imagined. I'm pretty sure it was a sort of "Come one, come all!" type of thing. However, I was still happy that I had been personally invited.

Basically the campaign asks people around the country about a moment that changed their life, a moment that made them follow their dreams. I talked about the moment that I decided to pursue a career in fashion, which in reality has been a 7 year long "aha" moment. Once I mentioned Japan, they mainly stuck to asking me questions about Japanese fashion. It was fun, but I was hoping to discuss some other things as well. In the end I completely forgot to mention my blog, or do any sort of plug. Haha. The video will be posted in 3 weeks, so we'll see how they edited me.

Anyway, I decided to dress up for the occasion and my dear dear Melody Hana took photos of me, as always. What will I do without this girl??! (btw, I stole these from her unedited, so once again blame the crappy editing on me, not her haha)

Dress - Forever 21
Collar - Handmade

I had watched a few Audry Hepburn films the day before, so I was heavily inspired by her. Although I wanted to make my outfit eye catching so that I would stand out more on the Mutual of Omaha website. Aren't I devious? haha

The coolest part is that I got to keep my little movie scene marker thing. I can't find it though (I have a theory my mom has it somewhere so she can show it off.) But its one of these things, and I'm definitely going to keep it as decoration.

Outfit post and baking

2010-08-16T00:26:00.000-07:00

Hey all!

The weather here has been killer recently; and when it gets hot outside my fashion-o-meter's needle goes below 0. I forced myself to get off my butt yesterday and actually take some style photos though. I thought it was long overdue, especially because I have had my hair lopped off for almost a month now.

An out take, because it was too funny not to post!

The basket you see featured was carrying some delicious honey bread with walnuts (on half) and a caramel glaze that Melody and I made. My long time friend was having a potluck as a going away celebration for an exchange she is doing with a college on the east coast!! How cool is that? It was a great party and I got to catch up with some old friends, which is always nice :)

And here is the bread in question. YUMMM.

Twilight and Filigreea at Faerie Worlds 2010

2010-08-14T15:20:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago, I went to a local festival called Faerie Worlds.

Faerie Worlds gives people an opportunity to connect with their inner woodland creature by listening to great music, eating local food, checking out local vendors with handmade crafts and other great things. There were so many beautiful things to see and buy there, but one thing caught my eye in particular. There was a woman selling leather necklaces, hair-d0-dads (technical name), and other leather workings that she had made. I forgot to get her name, but I did snap a few photos.

Headbands

Bracelets

Hair flowers

LOVE this necklace!

Had I any money at the time, I would have snatched up several things. However, I didn't even bring my wallet with me because I knew that there were too many things I would want.

If you are interested in these pieces, visit them at their website and etsy shop!
http://www.twilightandfiligree.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/twilightandfiligree

I'll post more about my adventures at Faerie worlds soon.