Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2009

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It's also the last time that LA Fashion week will be held in Smashbox Studios. The Factor boys decided that they want to evolve LA fashion week from the C-rate celebrity dredged party scene that it currently is.

The few shows I've gandered upon have ranged from wistful and colorful, to drab and horrifying.

Let's start with Monday, shall we?

The "Beach Bunny Swimwear" show was interesting. Hugh Hefner's blonde felon twin girlfriends showed up, setting the scene for white-trash fun. The swimwear itself was uninspired, using runching around the rear for that extra bit of "booty-licious" fun. Lingerie-looking swimwear was par for the course, with male audience members who were clearly there for he T&A and not the fashion were whooping in the crowd to the tune of frat-boy jams from 2003. Oh, the good old days. The line itself wasn't "BAD" per se, but the atmosphere of frat-boy fun really made me want to leave and shower myself ASAP.


Next up was Elmer Ave.'s menswear. The music started off slow, with good 'ol boy music from the 40s playing while models dressed in dapper coordinates walked (is there really any other way but "dapper" to describe this look? While I am a lover of all things throwback, the clothes themselves weren't original. What I did love, was the coordination of the clothing, and the fun prints on the blazers, Elmer's trademark.



On Tuesday, October 14, The Lana Fuchs Couture collection was a fun mix of summery flowers, butterflies and lovely evening gowns. Many of her items employed he use of fabric braiding, creating accents that lined her bodices or hung freely from the garments. The idea of a big braided rope swinging from someone body sets off all sorts of alarms for me, but for Lana, I suppose that's fashion. Here are some of the fun and frilly items that I really enjoyed:
Pillow Ballgown


Blue Mermaid dress


Wedding dress-- excuse my terribly blurry photos


Round up of darkness, as I call it


And finally, we were able to get great seats for Joseph Domingo, a U.S. based designer who really really likes fish scales. No, like.. really. And we love them, too now!
First up, there were a lot of swimwear pieces that featured high cut bottoms and mod-esque tops. What really stood out to me from the onset is... THE CURLY MOHAWK!

YESSSS thank you, God, I am SO GLAD this is a trend now. Get your banana clips out, everyone, it's time to party in the front and party in the back.

In a very superhero way, I LOVE this little mod dresses. The lines and color are fantastic, but not too "out there" for your normies.


The fish scales that Domingo employed ranged from round to pointy.. and I loved the way the pointy ones came out. Very sheik and bird like.


It was a great show!

Okay, onto a little rant section. Thank you very much, PR team for Lauren Conrad, for OVERBOOKING the show, leaving journalists and scene-sters alike waiting in line, tickets in hand for about an hour and a half before being told they couldn't enter. Thankfully, I opted not to wait in the ridiculous line. I had received an email about a week ago, confirming myself and another one of my publication staff for admittance to the show, only to reciece an email late in the evening the night before Conrad's show stating that, "Oh oops, just kidding only on of you can get in." Thank you Red LightPR for being Indian givers.

That's right, I just went there.

One more show is on my docket for Thursday evening, being the Humanitarian Green Show at 8PM. More on that later, kiddos.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

West Hollywood Gothic & Lolita Fashion Show photos!

You can find them here on my other, OTHER blog! I'm proud of the way I was able to style the models as well as become impromptu hair dresser for this show!

Myself and my lovely models (me on the left!)

Which of these is not like the other...!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS AND STYLING NOTES

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

WEST HOLLYWOOD BOOK FAIR GOTHIC & LOLITA FASHION SHOW

Brought to you by TOKYOPOP, Japan L.A., West Hollywood Book Fair, and myself :)




Please join us for fashion and photos on the Robertson Stage, and also for giveaways at the TOKYOPOP booth, courtesy of Japan L.A.!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Unforgettable Olympiads.


Short snippet I wrote for a fashion column (yes, I know it's rehashing a bit of the Lucy Liu tragedy earlier.. but look at that other photo! Bangin!!)

Take a good look, folks. You’re staring at two very different takes on one pure-as-the-driven-snow theme: the 2008 Beijing Olympics, featuring… you guessed it, Asians. Patriotic as all get out, photographer Peter Lindberg captured Chinese-American actress-sometimes-model Lucy Liu flaunting Chanel’s Amazonian look while draped in an American flag, symbolizing, one can only guess, how lovely it is to be an American. Liu’s tousled locks and winning smile make her a surefire fit as a Harper’s BAZAAR poster girl. The couture brand name along with the onyx-accented necklace add haute accents to this otherwise unoriginal photo. Sorry, Lindberg! On the other hand, photographer Chen Zhun had a very different take on the Olympics in the alien-like portrait on the right, emphasizing hair sculpture as fashion and eerie other-worldliness in this alluring photo of a “Siamese triplet” trio of Chinese models. Without a scrap of clothing or jewelry on them, Chun still manages to convey sleek high-fashion with black sand and an amazing hair stylist. The photo is dark and captivating, and maybe that’s why I like it. I can see a sunny smile on glossy covers on the allover newsstands, but something like Zhun’s work manages to speak of high fashion without having to spell it out for you. Deliciously fashionable and well-done, Zhun.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Vote for me! (to go to Tokyo!)

I recently joined in the fray over at the H&M website to compete for a chance to be a reporter representing H&M at their new Tokyo store opening in Ginza!

I think I've got quite a bit of journalistic experience under my belt, with almost all of it being Japan related, so I went over to my friend Lauran's house, got all fashionista-d up and out, and shot a :30 video!

Please take a gander at my entry here and VOTE for me!

The top 10 voted by "the internet" will then be judged by a panel of H&M reps to decide who will go to Tokyo!

Let's make this happen, people!! VOTE VOTE VOTE! =D

http://www.hm.com/us/?deeplink=tokyo;view;Tokyo-c48dce89-e5e9-4cd5-91bb-dcc6d07e3a22-95-1.mp4#tokyo08

Friday, August 8, 2008

Event Report: Lolita Tea Party at Royal/T

Recently, I attended the Royal/T X Japan LA Lolita Tea Party, and dressed up a storm, as they say.

What: Lolita Tea Party. High tea was served, a photo booth was set up by some artwork, paparazzi snapped photos, and girls got to socialize.
When: August 3, 2008
Where: Royal/T maid cafe in Culver City, (Los Angeles!) CA
Who: Thrown by Japan-goods store Japan LA
Why: To promote Japanese street style here in LA and get business rolling over at Royal/T.

Americajin.com has some more to say about our Japanese street style over on his site, as well. Can you spot me? It shouldn't be TOO hard...

I had loads of fun, and got to see some amazing coordinates. And, of course, it was a fabulous excuse to dress up.

My coordinate from the event.



My outfit breakdown:
Tricorn hat, shoes: BABY, THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT
Skirt: Angelic Pretty
Top/corset: Vivienne Westwood
Wristlets, ruffled tie-on collar: handmade by myself
Socks: Candy Stripper
Jabot: Algonquins


And of course, some of my best friends were on site for this event.
I adore the sweet look as well (as exhibited by the two beautiful blonds on the left and right (Jenny and Lauran, respectively), but I always feel myself compelled to go to the dark side. My friend Truemee (second from right) and I (duh, guess which one!) decided that black chic was more appropriate for this paparazzi filled event.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Glam Eyelashes from Kakuyasu Uchiide: Bat, Bat, Batter up.













I am in love with the ultra-glam look of these fluttery buddies. This kind of reckless abandon for all things practical is a large part of what I love about dressing up. The crazier, more over-the-top, and more impractical I make my fashion, the more I feel like an artist decorating a palette
, rather than just a girl picking pre-selected popular fashions from the rack.

Ironically, my, and many other fashionable ladies', devil-may-care attitude about the glory that is dressing up was poo-pooed by the hypocritical designer of these lovely lashes. In Kakuyasu Uchiide's interview on PingMag.com , he annoyingly comments on Japanese youth culture's obsession with fashion:

"Being an extreme thing is not so good. I like young people who are trying to find their originality through fashion and make-up that is suitable for their income."

Uhm... am I taking crazy pills? His very industry hovers around making HIGH FASHION goods for a select clientèle of only those who can afford it. Extremes in fashion are something I'm always striving for, though I understand that others may not share my strange hobby. I live within my means, but I try to dress fabulous. And so should you.

Mr. Uchiide is head make-up artist for Shu Uemura's cosmetics line.

Don't worry, buddy. I still like your lashes.


Also, this just in:


Wait, wait, wait..... so... BAZAAR Magazine is trying to tell us that.. LUCY LIU IS
ASIAN?!? or... or... AMERICAN? Or BOTH?! Haha... Her horrifying spread centered around Olympics and ACTUALLY draping herself in Chinese and US flags is featured in the August 2008 issue of BIZZAARO.