Mirando

Sunny afternoons in Belleville, checking out my new digs.







I'll be back to Texas in 5 days. Expect epic shoulder pads, lace, pale Frenchie skin that needs to be tanned by the pool, glittery nails, lots of dancing, lots of pictures, and lots of hugs.

Les temps sont durs

There's sun in Paris, but I just want the beach. Or Barton Springs. Instead I've got my mental escapes. Right now I'm feeling vintage summer, faded retro, Texas touches, PINK...









Just a couple more weeks, and I'll be back to Texas for a visit. I'm definitely ready for the sun, the pool, squeezing my little brothers...


The little BMX baby.


70's family

Your face is the place

Hong Kong in all of it's humidity. I took the ferry to work every morning, and that 10-minute ride was like my little daily jewel. Slow swaying, ocean spray, skyscrapers buried under hanging fog, me and my iPod and my L'Asie mix and butterflies in my stomach...

Todavía no me has tumbado

90's
gypsy
Austin
mangos
Belleville
big shades
pink magic
shoulder pads
Sara da Pin Up
Native American
thrifting at Guerisol
lotus blossom incense
les verres sous le soleil
pretending to speak Arabic
the new Telefon Tel Aviv album

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.