2008 may go down as the Goth Loli equivalent of 1854, the year Commodore Perry's "Black Ships" forced the opening of Japan to the outside world. All right, perhaps I'm hyperbolizing... but my beloved h.NAOTO has just joined Angelic Pretty, Mary Magdalene, BTSSB, and Metamorphose in extending shipping to overseas buyers!
On the new SES (S-inc) international online shop, you can browse and order items from the brands h.NAOTO, gouk, and Hangry & Angry. The website is in English... arguably. Some of the translations are eyebrow-raisers; the description for gouk, the Japanese (Wa)-inspired line, sounds like something you'd find in a fortune cookie: "Spread your old feelings, look back at the footsteps of you've walked through." Gong!
Here's another great "Engrish" caption: "Hangry is a girl who wishes for peacefll life but loves to wear punk fashion." Hmm, isn't Hangry (above) a boy? I suppose gender categories are more fluid in the Visual Kei world...
And then there's "Angry who loves sweet gothic&lolita fashion but is very savage towards Hangry." She certainly has a sadistic bent; I posted before about how she chopped up her "angel" counterpart in a comic. Here she is in various plush toy guises. The Circus Master outfit (bottom center) is an original take on grotesque-cute.
h.NAOTO is master of the animal-shaped purses and shoulder bags; they're a perfect mix of shredded punk and kawaii. The button-eyed rabbit (bottom left) is an inspired cell phone holder!
h.NAOTO's latest Gothic & Lolita designs have his trademark layering of sheer fabrics over black and white prints. I much prefer his delicate tops to the poofy-sleeved button-downs that many Lolita designers make.
Rush over to h.NAOTO's English-language online store - many of the items have already sold out. The site only accepts PayPal and offers shipping to 40 countries. I won't be opening my wallet, as the already-pricey items are quite marked up. Have no fear - I'll post a DIY solution in the next few days. Stay tuned!
