WIcked style

I couldn't visit Tokyo without checking out Harajuku and the Harajuku girls. They're pretty daring chicks who get totally decked out and hang out on a bridge on Sundays, waiting to be photographed. These girls are workin' it and they know it, and now they're actually trying to get people to PAY THEM if they want to snap photos. I wasn't really about to give in to this pseudo prostitution of street style snaps, so all I got was this:

You should google these ladies.

It's unfortunate that I have no pics for you because the Harajuku girls were wearing some really fabulous get-ups. Common themes are goth, dolly girls, deconstruction... Seeing them in person was cool, and it brought to mind some designers who use(d) these girls as inspiration. L.A.M.B., Anna Sui, Betsey Johnson, Vivienne Westwood, and even Galliano sometimes have a little Harajuku thing going on. Pretty cool.
I also noticed a lot of girls in... denim underwear?! Okay, I guess that they were denim shorts just cut at a high bias, therefore covering no part of the leg. These were then paired with knee socks and stripper heels. They were literally, like, 13-year old looking girls wearing these outfits, and I'm was just like, "Whaaaaaa?!". And then I found out that the Japanese consider the back of the neck to be sexy/erotic/whatevs, but not the legs. In fact, they only have one word for the entire lower half of the body and therefore don't even refer to legs individually. Anyway, I found that really interesting.

Okay, so some more shots of the Harajuku area:




The night before, my friend Sophie and I hit the Tokyo streets. We started off at a convenient store, which is apparently the popular thing to do. You can buy canned cocktails. And yes, I did, and yes, they were actually pretty good. Then we headed to a cool club called La Fabrique. They played video clips that synchronized to the techno beats. I dug it.


And they had this light thing installed that sort of gave the illusion of a camera flashing, so it made you feel all famous and glam. Then there were also plenty of people taking party pics and fashion pics. You guys should check out the site TokyoDandy.com for Tokyo party pics, music, fashion, etc.

And hey, look, after searching high and low I found a cherry blossom tree! Unfortunately I found it at nite.


And then I found this hotel that I liked, I don't know why.


Okay, hope you like! I'm gonna go for a walk in Hong Kong. I still haven't really taken any pics here. I'm in a lazy mood.

#1 Crush

Tokyo was faboo and I am already scheming a nice, long trip back. I arrived in Hong Kong tonight after a very restless 5 hour flight. NO MORE FLYING. I'm not patient enough and I'm sick of airports and recycled oxygen.

Anyway, let's talk about my new Boo, Tokyo. It's a really fascinating city with windy, unnamed streets (literally. They don't name their streets), multi-level building usage, 24-hour everything, kitsch, consumption, and mania. My friend Sophie was kind enough to show me around and to teach me about Japanese and Tokyo culture. She pointed out that, when looking for restaurants and shops in Tokyo, LOOK UP. The Japanese literally use all levels for everything, which makes Tokyo a very dense city that is chock-full of things to discover. Sophie also told me that the city is constantly in construction and flux. Little shops and eateries are always opening, then closing a few months later. Buildings are going up and coming down. I sort of love that about Tokyo. It's a city that you can never fully know and maybe never get tired of because it's always evolving.

Some of my faves from this trip:

The Bathing Ape store. Those of you who know me well know that I have an obsession with neon and with high-tops, so this store was sort of heavenly.


The floor tiles had lights that constantly changed under them. I love this concept.

Looky looky I found Japanese vintage! I was so pumped, and it was SOOOOOO cheap. I'll have to take pics and show you my finds.



I also found some sick architecture, which is expected for this city. It's really like a museum for architecture. I was digging some of the more subtle buildings with little eye-catching details.

I saw a lot of wood-panelling, which I'm a big fan of. It's retro-cool.



I liked the harmony between these 2 buildings.



I also liked the contrast of bushy green trees against stark white buildings.

Okay I have lots more pics to come! I'm going to try to sleeeeep now. Bisous.

Day 2

My second and (Thank you, God) last day of Shop Channel was today. Tomorrow is Sunday, and I have a day off. I'm heading to Harajuku to watch the girls workin' it. I can't wait to see their outfits, then maybe do a little shopping...

Some pics from my trip thus far:

Every toilet here is equipped with a seat warmer and these other insane accessories. A lot of restaurants and shops keep the toilets constantly warm. This means that you always feel like you're sitting exactly where some other stranger's butt has been. I do not appreciate this sensation.


Stumbled upon these on my way to the studio.





Shibuya at night.

KO N BA N WA

Good evening, from Tokyo. What a strange and fabulous city. I'm in love. This happens to me every time I visit a new city - I fall in love. It's cold and rainy and a little snowy here, but I still love this insane metropolitan mess.

My flight was delayed so I ended up landing in Tokyo almost 12 hours late. This means that I missed my briefing meeting for HOW to be on live TV. I had to wake up early this morning to meet my interpreter, who gave a 15 minute run-through of what exactly I should be doing, what cameras to look at, etc. Basically she explained to me that as the Japanese host of the Shop Channel was asking me questions, the interpreter would whisper the English into my ear. AKA I had to clear my jet-lagged head through a jumble of 2 languages. Whatever I did it and maybe I'll show a clip if I don't look too fat or feel too embarrassed.

After that we headed to eat some amazing Japanese noodles at a rickety little joint that looked like a little house in the midst of skyscrapers. A few coffees later I braved Shibuya, home to bright lights, department stores, karaokes, funky shops, and video game centers. I'm uploading pics for your pleasure right now.

Some old promised pictures,

Sara and I stumbled on this cool art installation in the 3rd.


Then on to some of my favorite graffiti.


My favorite vintage haunt, complete with this little dude in a nook.
Where I found this velvet floral blazer. EPIC.



Walking home from the Pere Lachaise.


The ever-ripping tights.


Aggressive people wrote on my hand.


Sweaty dancing with the lovely Isabel.


Happy to have left this fat bastard. AKA my ex-roommate's cat.


This is the view from my new apartment. A burned-out building across from me. I secretly love the bottomless black pits staring across from you.


And here's an image of Leo, taken by me as I sat on my plane for 4 hours, wondering when it would depart. HOT.

Hey babyz

Sorry that I've been M.I.A. for so long. Work got a little crazy, Sara came, I moved, and now I'm heading to Tokyo and Hong Kong for more work, work, work.
So some recaps:
Sara's visit was epic. I took her to all of my favorite places and we giggled and laughed and took funny pictured and talked in weird voices and talked about watching A Clockwork Orange but didn't watch it and went out until 8 am (Sara in her badass new fur coat) and and and. It was good.
I'll upload pics soon.

I moved to Pyrenées in the 20th arrondissement, and I lurve it so much. I haven't had time to unpack and set up, but pics to come I swear.

And now I'm sitting in the airport (so far I've been here for 9 hours because of delays), dying to get on this plane and get to Tokyo! So I'm going to be on Japanese TV being interviewed on (ahem) infomercials for our company. I have no words. I am nervous and I also think it's going to be hilarious. I've never been on TV and I'm sort of shy, so... yeah. How does this work? In Hong Kong, I'll be doing my more typical merchandising/import/export/marketing what-not. PIcs and maybe even a little video clip to come.

Basically, I have things to show you and I will do it.

Lastly, to pass the time in the airport, I watched Romeo + Juliet, a film that I last saw, like, 8 years ago or something. Anyway, it's amaaaaazing!! I totally forgot about it. I love the sort of trashy 90's beach setting, the music, the fair thingy, the modern interpretations of R and J's outfits (Romeo's chain shirt?! Yes yes. And Romeo, aka young Leo is an androgynous dream. So much to love.

Feel the urban fabric

I just wanted to have a cheesy post name. Anyway, back to urban fabrics and cosmopolitan textures. I haven't really had a break from them for the past 8 months. I think that I need a getaway to the beach or the mountains or some place remote. I've realized lately that it's getting increasingly difficult for me to relax, take it easy, slow down... My current goal is to chill out, even in this concrete jungle of packed metros, stuffed clubs, busy streets, etc. This may sound whack, but I need to, like, tap into my inner peace and return to a state of zen. Step 1: listening to Devendra Banhart and Vetiver. Check them out!

And on the whole urban fabric note, don't my Diesel boots remind you of the Capsule Tower in Tokyo?!



Oh and another revelation that I had last week was that I might be in love with this dude and with this pic:


P.S. Insane work at the jewelry tradeshow was worth it because on the last day, I was able to escape and check out the other exhibitors. I found some cool jewelry. These bangles are made from the horns of African cows and are sold here in Paris under the company name "The Green Room".

Someone cut my feet off

Because I've been standing on them non-stop, 11 hours a day, and they hate me for it. I apologize for the lack of posts. Work has eaten my life, and has apparently crippled my legs and feet. We've been doing this huge jewelry trade-show, which starts at 9 am and ends at 7 pm. Which means that I'm awake at 7 am, then standing on the metro for an hour to get to the show, then packing things up and leaving at 8pm, arriving home by 9, falling into bed, eating like a wild boar, wanting to cry but being to tired to cry, attempting to fall asleep but instead envisioning jewelry on plexiglass, and waking up to do it all over again. Well yesterday was the last day of that routine, THANK GOD. THANK YOU THANK YOU.

I woke up yesterday morning to the dark of the Paris dawn and the glow of white snow piled high on the surrounding rooftops. It looked sort of creepy and haunting against the dark blue morning. Anyway, I trekked to the metro, and I kid you not, I had this moment on my ride to work where I was like, "Is it morning or evening? Am I going to work or am I coming home?". I literally had no idea where I was in space or time. Rock on.

Well, that's the story of my last week and a half. It's not very exciting. But the following pieces of architecture are... They were my escape from work. I used them as my inspiration when I did my first architectural model at 16. Luis Barragán and Ricardo Bofill. I don't know who to credit the pics for as they've been in my computer for ages.

I'll start with Barragán:







These buildings (many of them were homes) were designed in the 60's in 70's and built in Mexico. I'm dying to take a trip to check some of them out. Barragán played with light, water, and color, which adds a light and soothing element to his designs.

And Bofill. The first time I saw this hotel I freaked out. I just think that it's pretty bad-ass. It's called "La Muralla Roja":


I think it's just so striking against the Spanish coastline.

Okay, hopefully I'll have some pics of my own to show you soon! My best best besty in the world is coming to Paris verrrrry soon and I'm freaking out in anticipation. I'm sure she and I will take pictures galore, so... yeah.
I'm going to go back to sleep now. It's a "Dreamy Tuesday" as Tara might say, and I'm spending it in bed and off of my feet.