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Spooky Ghouls at Cobweb Club “Undead” Jan 25, 2013

February 1, 2013 by

A few posts ago I mentioned the upcoming Cobweb Club with the theme “Undead”. Well – I went…and so did a spooktacular bunch of other assorted monsters, demons and ghouls. Wanna see some fab pics? Read on…

For my inspiration, I went no further than the fabulous “Hush” episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer – and those creepy silent hovering men, the Gentlemen. Anyone who has ever seen this episode remembers them – usually with a shudder!  I wasn’t going to slavishly copy them; I still wanted to go as a female, and keep my hair, but be Gentleman-inspired. (See my Gothic Pinterest board for my inspirations).

While I didn’t have time to make a custom prosthesis to cover my brows and make my face more skull-like, I did manage to customise a mask I had, and with the help of special effects make-up, transform myself.

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Filed Under: Clubs, Fashion, gothic fashion, Music, Outfit posts Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Abilletage corset salon and tea-room

October 26, 2012 by

I finally made the time to visit the exquisitely decorated  “Abilletage” corset salon and tea-room today.

When you first enter, the sense of days gone by is evoked, with damask wallpaper, dainty knick-knacks, velvet and tapestry upholstery and rococo-like memorabilia. The one room salon is both store-front and tea-room, so you can enjoy your afternoon tea (or alcohol in the evenings) in a delicate ladylike fashion, whilst perusing the goods.

I sat at the little bar area adjoining the kitchen, as you see here.

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Filed Under: Asia, Fashion, gothic fashion, Japanese Fashion, Travel Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Gothic Lolita hair & skull print dress

December 1, 2011 by

On Saturday night I attended a Haunted Housewarming with a dresscode that said ghouls, ghosts and old school goths.  I decided to try out the Gothic Lolita Hair Rope I bought in Marui One recently, to get that spiky goth/anime look.

Just what is gothic lolita hair rope, I hear you ask? See exhibit A, at left. It is hair attached to a central cord, which you then drape or wrap around your buns, to get that messy updo look. I also bought some that had curly hair instead of the straight, which gives a sweeter,  more wavy/curly ladylike look.

Prisila, a company which has the charming catchphrase “No wig, no life” (teehee),  offers a huge range of wigs, hairpieces, fringes, buns, hairbows and accessories for every lolita, gyaru and Japanese fashion enthusiast.  They have stores in various places in japan, but Marui One in Shinjuku is a very central one.

Check out the website as there is so much there to drool over (hint: use google translate, if, like me, you can’t read japanese).

So, back to the product. How do you use it? Basically, you put your hair into ponytails, wrap your hair around itself into buns, then take each rope and wind itself around each bun. I started off in the middle of the rope, winding both ends around the bun and crossing them over each time, securing with pins as I went. Then when finished I just teased out a bit more for an artfully messy look and hairsprayed the ‘do.

Anyway, enough of the explaining; here’s the result:

As you can see, it is a little Robert Smith/the Cure like. Great on a hot summer night when you just have to have your hair up.  Bones hairclips just add to the old-schoolness of the look. Of course, I should dye my fringe a darker blue/purple to match, which I now have 🙂

I will also include the ubiquitous cab-cam shot, showcasing the circle lenses (CircleLens2U), and cobweb fake lashes (from La Foret). The outfit shot displays the fab skull dress I snaffled at Studio Alta on my last day in Tokyo, worn with a gothic lolita skirt and Deadlygirlz corset.

Only today did I discover that Prisila have a great “how to” page with lots of helpful videos. Here’s the one using the curly rope wig with a single bun:

And the dress? It is from Aleara by JurianoJurrie, which is on level 2 of Studio Alta.  The  Aleara brand is more gothic, sexy and underground style (so they say), with lots of black, white and red. Another one I wasn’t aware of previously, although the JJ brand is well known, being featured often in Jelly and Nuts.

The dress can be purchased here, and below is the dress on a lither model. It also comes in the off-white with black print, and as you can see, looks good buttoned up so the ruffle shows.

More new brands and purchases to come!

Filed Under: Blog entry, Fashion, gothic fashion, Japanese Fashion Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Naoto News!

March 3, 2011 by

There are so many exciting events coming up shortly in the gothic fashion and music stakes, which I’ll be posting about in the next week. Some of them are in Tokyo and I’m getting VERY excited now, as I leave for o/s again on the 14th – a week Monday!! After 3 days in Seoul, South Korea, I head once again to Tokyo, which leads me back to the topic at hand.

Today I want to focus on fave Japanese gothic designer, Hirooka Naoto.

March 19 – h.NAOTO Frill Collection 2011

To display his latest “Sweet Frills” range, Naoto is throwing a Lolita Sweets Party! (And it’s when I’m there, muahahaha…) Gothic Lolita celebrity Aoki Misako (world ambassador for “Cute”) will be there, having returned from her jaunts round the world (read more at her website):

Naoto Creative Designer Hiroshi Oka will also be there, as well as other guests, photo sessions, and from what I can make out, a Best Co-ordinate Competition. Oh, and of course, delicious sweet cakes and tea, all in a genteel atmosphere. So Tokyo lolitas have a wonderful excuse to dress up and come along! I think I *might* just get to this for the photo opportunities, even though I myself am not at all into the sweet side of things.

  • DATE / March 19 (Sat)
  • OPEN: 15:00 START: 16:00
  • PLACE / h.NAOTO + Harajuku
  • Tickets dealer / h.NAOTO + Harajuku, Laforet Harajuku, Shinjuku Marui * Tickets are 1,575 yen (tax included) 
  • Contact / h, NAOTO + Harajuku (03-3478-6454)

March 26 –  T. KUNITOMO & gouk FASHION SHOW & PARTY

Fashion show of brand new collections, set in a party atmosphere with food and drinks

  • DATE: March 26 (Sat)
  • OPEN: 18:00 START: 19:00
  • PLACE: T.KUNITOMO Gallery
  • Contact: 03-5766-3910

There are soo many upcoming Naoto events – check this page for what’s happening in the next few months. One I definitely want to check out is the exhibition in Marui One from March 24-30:

h.Anarchy Army Collection

ANARCHY will present a punk rock and “ARMY” theme.  Expect wild and powerful camouflage fabrics in military designs. 

  • DATE:  March 24 (Thu) ~ 30 (Wed) 
  • PLACE: h.NAOTO store, Marui Shinjuku
  • Contact:  h.NAOTO + store (03-3478-6454) , h.NAOTO Marui Shinjuku (03-3358-1889)

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    Pet cat 101 MINT SHOP 

    This is a pop-up store in Marui One, on the 2nd floor from 5 – 23 March, featuring the popular Sixh offshoot brand, “MINT Cats” . To commemorate this, the character “Sakurako” T-shirt has been designed, and  the first 50 people who spend over 5,250 yen,  will win a “Sakurako” badge.  See the t-shirt and badge below.

     

    Naoto has also released new items on the website for March 2011 from h.ANARCHY, Blood, and H.JELLY, Gramm, Frill,Sixh, Hangry & Angry, and Gouk.

    Just last week on Feb 26th, the Sixh 2011 Summer Collection was unveiled at Naoto HQ in Harajuku. This time there was definitely a rock and quirky/indie vibe happening, and far from being all-black, there was blue and purple in the designs, and even plaid! 

      

     

     

    Of course you want to check out the runway show, I’m sure:

    Fans will recognise IBI, Mint and Gashicon from Sixh the band – who will all be attending the Anime Matsuri convention March 18-20 in Texas, along with La Carmina! See her post on Anime Matsuri here for more details. And…the band itself will be playing only a day later, back in Tokyo, on the 21st of March!

    Sixh. Night Vol 3 in Ikebukuro BlackHole

    Of course it will be an event fusing fashion and music. Sixh is joined by God Circus Dog

     

    Sixh. Live sponsored project

    • DATE: March 21 (Mon)
    • PLACE: Ikebukuro BLACK HOLE
    • Doors open 18:00 for 18:30 start
    • Advance ticket 3,000 yen / 3,500 yen

    That’s another one to try to get to…but there’s so much else on!

    So that’s a whole lotta Naoto love for now; hope you enjoyed 🙂 Other posts you might like: Naoto at Japan Fashion Week, Naoto fukubukuro day and h.Naoto gothic lolita fashion designer extraordinaire.

    Filed Under: Alternative Fashion, Designers, Fashion, gothic fashion, Japanese Fashion, Music Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

    DIY Punk Tom Binns style safety pin & skull necklace

    November 29, 2010 by

    Like many others, I’m entranced by Tom Binn’s jewellery which fuses a punk aesthetic with high couture for a unique finish.

    Fab, right? But it costs over 600 pounds!!

    Some of the best DIY’s I’ve seen on this are from Monoxious  and the letter CH, but hell, just get googling and you can find more. Here is mine:

    Cobweb top – Alice Auaa
    Corset – Gallery Serpentine
    Sequin Skirt – Sportsgirl

    What You’ll Need

    1. A necklace – I chose one with multi strands of chains so I could get a chaotic, layered effect

    2. Skulls, beads, charms, chains, maybe little bones…and safety pins! Raid your jewellery drawer and craft cupboard – you never know what you’ll find.

    What To Do

    1. Have a good look at your chain and work out where to put your various elements. I decided to only use the chunkier chains in my necklace for the bulky skull beads etc.

    2. Start placing the beads and charms, attaching by means of safety pins or existing link chains, and take off again if they don’t work.

    3. At a certain point you’ll need to affix your chain necklace to something that will keep it steady while you add more beads, chains etc…Otherwise the little beads may end up on the wrong side when being worn. I discovered this was happening with my little bones especially. I used a foam mannequin head and stuck pins through a couple of the chain loops at the back to hold it firm.

    4. Keep going, adding and subtracting elements as you see fit. In my case, I took off the skull earrings as I felt they looked a bit tacky, and added more skull beads in various sizes instead…and more safety pins! (I had to rush up to the dollar shop for more, heh).

    5. Try the necklace on, to see if the effect when worn is what you’re after. And make a bracelet to match, while you’re there! (Toyah Wilcox/Siouxsie make-up entirely optional)

    (And, erm, take out the trash before you take a photo, OK? You’d THINK hubby would’ve noticed that before he took the pic – sigh…..)

    There are lots of other exciting things you can do with safety pins and chains – why not pick your fave designer and attempt a DIY? This blog Brook & Lyn took a Moschino jacket and copied it using lots of tiny gold safety pins around the collar.

    For myself, I’m eyeing off Balmain’s latest military jackets that have chains adorning each buttonhole and frogging, and the dress completely covered in fine gold chain. Hmm, gonna need a whole lotta chain…..

    Have you DIY’d anything with safety pins? What would you like to make, if you did?

    Filed Under: Alternative Fashion, Blog entry, DIY, gothic fashion, Outfit posts Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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