Phew - I don't think I've stopped to breathe in the last two months. Alas, my writing workload is looming and I must say sayonara to Tokyo... for now. I'll be back soon, there's no doubt!
I accumulated a million flyers during my stay, and they're a pretty good visual snapshot of the current Gothic Lolita / J-Goth / Visual Kei scene. Above, you can see bits and pieces from the Marui Individual Fashion Expo,Alamode Market, and various Japanese Lolita fashion brands.
Most of these handouts came with the Marui fashion show gift bag. I included cards and tags from Listen Flavor, Artherapie, Angelic Pretty, Sex Pot Revenge, Atelier Pierrot, Algonquins, and Sexy Dynamite London.
I saw Jimi (aka Man Heaven) performtwice with his band Laverite at Urawa Narciss. Here are some of the other Visual Kei band posters that I picked up at his concerts. There's a memento from the Becca showcase on the left.
Ah, I will miss J-rock hair and disappearing noses!
I went to Gothic club nights up to three times a week, and was hugely inspired by the music and fashion. You may recall my reports from Tokyo Decadance,Midnight Mess,Alamode Night,Club Cemetery, Midnight Necropolis,Tokyo Dark Castle, and more.
So what's next for the blog? I've only posted a fraction of my store photos, so you can look forward to inside peeks at Closet Child, Milk, Sexy Dynamite London, Sex Pot Revenge, and more (which I'll tie into a Lolita shopping and nightlife guide). I'll be going on a DIY clothing binge: parasols, anyone? Finally, I'll be in Los Angeles in early December... massive adventures are in the works, I promise!
Anyone else here a raving fan of the Garfield and Friends cartoon (1988-1994)? From the third to seventh season, the theme song went a little bit like this:
"Dancing, fiesta! Romancing, siesta! Samba, la bamba... aie caramba!"
That's what I was humming to myself (okay, singing aloud) as I moseyed around Tokyo's Design Festa. The two-day, twice-yearly event attracts over 7000 crazy persons (a.k.a. artists), who are given a sliver of floor space to express their inner animal. For some, this means dragging random attendees onto a stage and crowning them Mushroom King/Queen (top right).
Crazy persons, you say? No wonder the J-Goth crew came out to Design Festa, along with a number of cyber / Gothic / Lolita types.
The Tokyo Decadance regulars re-staged their Halloween performance, but made it longer and less kinky. Basically, they went Jackson Pollock on each other to the soundtrack of EBM (electronic body music). Entwining limbs created a living painting of blood, kabuki, and death.
The more hardcore performers got acrylic paints down their throats and on their eyeballs!
Many Gothic and Lolita independent fashion designers had booths at Design Festa. I'm overly familiar with the major brands, so it was nice to see something both different and handmade.
The sweet accessories are truly works of art.
Over a dozen exhibitors specialized in creepy dolls, along with Lolita-fied Blythes.
Now I have the "Abu Dhabi" song from Garfield and Friends stuck in my head... What were your favorite childhood cartoons?
Marui One Shinjuku's fifth floor display changes frequently, and my photos from yesterday's post are already outdated! From Sept 25 to Oct 8, you'll find an exhibition of Pullip dolls wearing Gothic Lolita Punk fashion. The dolls on the right are h.NAOTO's Dal, Prunella, and Taeyang. (Check out this previous post for more about h.NAOTO's collaboration, including ordering info.)
Pullip also teamed up with Kera to style several dolls. Working in miniature has its creative upsides; the leather and crystal-studded eye patch/masks on the upper right would cost a fortune if they were human-sized. And the bunny ears look fabulous on the doll, but in real life, they would be half the height of your body!
The big-eyed, round-faced Pullips seem like they're made to wear frilly Lolita dresses. On the same floor, you can buy the exact h.NAOTO outfits (on the right) in human size.
One of the glass cases held miniature dolls. Some dolls modeled animal costumes and kimonos - but I think the neo-Victorian outfits stood out the most. No wonder Lolitas are described as living dolls!
Wow, my gams have never looked so good! The talented artist behind the drawing board is Erin Nicole, a university student originally from Toronto. She's working on a series of fashion illustrations inspired by style bloggers, including Rumi Neely from Fashion Toast and Selina Jervis of Flying Saucer (who's given me a few blog shout-outs). It's an honor for La Carmina to receive Erin's leg-lengthening treatment.
Can you think of a more deliciously decadent gesture than drawing out an ornate Gothic Rococo fan... and whipping it in the face of your rival? Count D has a stellar idea for customizing and graffiti-styling Victorian pocket-fans "for damsels at risk of fainting". While in NYC, we hunted down blank "templates" at Pearl River Mart, the Asian knick-knack kitsch palace. (Have you ever been? It's a must-visit for DIY inspiration.)
I found a gorgeous book, Unfolding Beauty: Art of the Fan, in the arts reference section of the Vancouver Library. I took some snapshots to inspire him and set your heart a-flutter!
The fan on the left depicts the christening of Napoleon III's son (in 1856). Read the description out loud; the words roll off the tongue: "Feather-shaped blades of white moire silk, lithographed and overpainted in gouache with touches of gilt and topped with marabou feathers..." On the right, a rustic scene from the 1750s: a lady in a pink, flowing robe volante greets a traveling salesman, who presents frivolities such as fans, ribbon, and makeup.
This haunting fan (from the 1740s) consists of four vignettes enclosed by Rococo frames, which surround a central ovoid mask with eyeholes. The second scene delights me: a woman chases her husband with cat-o'-nine tails while a monkey plays a love song on his viola!
Ostrich plume fans have been a traditional royal accessory from King Tut to Princess Diana. (My friend the Countess of Beaumont has several in her dressing room.) The Luna Moth's delicate green wings are reproduced in this 1890 fan, which sparkles with gold mesh and gilt-silver thread.
The decorative possibilities are endless: miniature paintings of Rococo past-times, accents of silk and lace... I love the bold curve of the swan's neck; the scalloped edge creates the effect of feathers, and the silver sequins suggest the ripple of water.
Soon, I'll be fanning myself with something equally gorgeous - Count D is making me a Gothic Lolita "Black Widow Spider" fan. If it's anything like the t-shirt he painted for my birthday, I'll fall to the floor in a dead swoon!
Three Gothic Aristocrats walk into a bar: Count Drunkula, Count Mackula, and Count von Pennies. The first one hails from Ireland... the second is Italian... and the third is a Jew.
Oh, I crack myself up! One could write a book about the bizarre things La Carmina does to amuse herself. Chapter One: She was so excited to be publishing her next book under Penguin that she immediately ordered a plush toy version of the publisher's mascot. ($15 from Penguin USA, reduced to $13 if you enter the coupon code NACCP.) It met her kawaii standards, but was far from sufficiently Gothic. What's a Goth Loli to do?
Turn him into the avian cousin of Bunnicula! She replaced his goofy orange bowtie with a shimmery red and black cape. His flippers got the corset treatment with white nail polish. A few strokes from a bottle of red gave him a bloody beak and hellfire eyes. The final touch - a metal nose (beak? ) stud. Bwa ha ha ha!
Can you think of a good name for the little vampire? Count Waddlesworth, perhaps?
PS - Actress Joanna Lumley recently caused a stir with her words: "The young ones don't do anything nowadays. You must learn to sew. It is pretty shaming if you can't sew." What are your thoughts?
Raise your axe if you're a fan of American Psycho. Count D and I can't get enough of Patrick Bateman, the 1980s Wall Street uber-yuppie who gets his kicks from cocaine, random murders, and pontifications on Huey Lewis and the News. Here's my kindergarten sweetheart turned "sinfully high-calorie man-candy" (his words, not mine) next to his pop art portrait of Bale as Bateman. Badass, right?
His painting depicts the infamous business card scene. (Watch it with me above.) Bateman whips his out: "New card. Picked them up from the printers yesterday. That's bone. And the lettering is something called Silian Rail." His smugness collapses when his Pierce & Pierce co-workers take out their own. Eggshell with Romalian type. Raised lettering, pale nimbus white. And his arch-rival Paul Allen's? "Look at that subtle off-white coloring. The tasteful thickness of it. Oh my God, it even has a watermark…"
The time came for me to tackle this most serious aesthetic matter: designing and ordering business cards. I analysed flowcharts; I made comparison tables; hundreds of non-billable hours later, we had a winner: PremiumCards.net. The company offers short print runs and a mouthwatering array of finishes, shapes, and sizes. And the cards are printed on - are you ready for this - 16 point stock. (Tasteful thickness is key, my friends; a flimsy card is a flimsy handshake. Stay away from cheap online printers that use 10-12 pt stock.) I ordered a thousand color cards for $49, including shipping. What a deal, not to mention fast delivery and exceptional customer service from James.
And the results would make Bateman sweat. Oh mein gott! The colors are crisp - not a single print streak to be found - and the thickness feels so good between your fingertips. I went with the smooth matte finish and the regular corners (I felt the rounded ones were too Luis Carruthers). The back is blank, but you can put a full-color print there for no extra charge.
I designed my business cards to look like little drawings rather than corporate handouts. The site logo and colors create instant recognition, and the contact info is easy to read. (I move around so much that it's useless to print my phone number.) Basil Farrow gives his stamp of approval with his big sideways-feet.
Phew, that's enough hotness for today! You can get your hands on these cards and more at PremiumCards.net Read Bret Easton Ellis' novel and watch Mary Harron's film if you haven't already. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to return some videotapes.
