adventures in fashion, travel & nightlife
Hey all, it’s time I unveiled the new place I’ve been writing – Trashtastika.com.
I’m still working on the design (obvs!) but a lot of the same topics I’ve covered here will be there – alt & gothic designers, music, nightlife, travel etc – but with a little bit on theatre & creative endeavours sneaking in.
So of you want to follow me at my new home, please bookmark Trashtastika.com…and have a look at my latest post on Dystopian Designers!
Arigatou!
I will be writing here again, but in the meantime, please, NO MORE REQUESTS FOR GUEST POSTING!!
I’ve never had such an inundation of people requesting sponsored posts, writing posts for me with links in them, glorified advertorials etc. I have always written my own posts, and will do so again, once my play is over with and I have some free time. Yes, I may be missing opportunities but I just don’t have the time to field enquiries. Thank you.
Back in August 11 I posted about my Moroccan Palm Room – aka the little sunroom connecting the loungeroom to the balcony.
Well, 18 months and two dogs later and the carpet’s dishevelled and the flooring in need of a major overhaul. Thanks god for Bunnings!
I decided to go for a vinyl floor in a weathered driftwood type woodtone. I much prefer the aged greyish look to the golden tone you see in much timber flooring. Keeping the moroccan feel, I took out a few palms and put in a comfy chair in which to sit, read and soak up the sun. Check it out:
A while back I posted about my visit to Koenji, where I dropped by the Kitakore Building as well as Nude n’ Rude.
Well, for the first time by myself I strolled around just enjoying the atmosphere (back in ’09 and ’10 I’d been led around by friends: see pics from my day out in Nakano & Koenji) .
It’s a funky little town with lots of cobbled streets in which to lose yourself, many pedestrian-only, so you don’t need to dodge traffic. My japanese friends told me it has been home to punks for many years, and there is a plethora of vintage stores to rival Harajuku, so leave a few hours to dawdle and explore. There is also a covered mall area near the railway station with a load of groovy stores, such as these:
Tatouage
This is an upmarket vintage fashion store, part of the Zool chain – see the Zool shoplist here for a complete rundown of what is becoming a massive empire – this store is called Tatouage by Zool (Purple). A lot of late 60’s and 70’s stuff is here, along with more modern styles, and helpfully arranged in colour coded sections. Know you like blues? Head to that rack.
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.
Remember my post about the gorgeous corset store and tea salon Abilletage? Well, I also attended the Abilletage Halloween Party – and what an event it was!
The event was held in Shibuya’s very decadent Trump Room – ooh la la! The ceilings there are decked out in multiple chandeliers – adorning the place like fine jewellery.
It is no secret that just about my fave aussie alternative club is the Cobweb Club, which plays goth, deathrock, punk, post-punk and wave. OK so I may be a little biased, having DJ’d at a few, but it is one of those events I just can’t miss. And neither should you!!
This is a reminder that this Friday, January 25, is the next instalment of the Cobweb Club extravaganza. Theme? Undead. Whether vampires or zombies, mummies or ghosts, demons, skeletons, wraiths, ghouls, or any other party animal without a pulse, you’ll be sure to find some likeminded spirits in the Cobweb Club Catacombs!
So there is your license to go to town costume wise – and there are prizes, from Gallery Serpentine, Death Rattles and more. So hop to it!
I’m already very excited, and have spent many hours researching my costume/look. I’ve been reading up on theatrical make-up – not just cosmetics, but 3d effects like wounds, wrinkles and creating skin abnormalities with prosthetics. If it works out, I’ll do a tutorial. If not…well, I’ll post pics of my miserable attempt. For now, I’m envisioning something like a female version of the Gentlemen from Buffy the Vampire Slayer…but we’ll see 😉
But back to the club night itself. For a peek at what I and others have worn, here are some photos from previous Cobweb Clubs.
Well, I’ve certainly had time off from the interwebz over Chrissy and New Year – but here are my photos from New Year’s Eve!
I went to a fave club Black Cherry, forgoing my usual fireworks watching. It was HOT, so I wore a sleeveless River Island black bodycon dress with an exotic tribal design in gold foil front and back, from asos. (It’s still available in some sizes, at only $42.50!)
To this I added a black cowhide peplum belt – admittedly, I yoinked the idea from asos Fashion Finder, but I can’t find the blogger who posted the look. I did a quickie DIY leopard print to the shaved part of my head – not entirely successful, the print being too big and too dark, but it was eye-catching! Jewellery was minimal, being some spooky gothic earrings from Japan (a skeleton hand and zipper), skull rings also from Tokyo, and some gold Indian bangles from my trip last April. Net stockings and black platform shoes from Berjaya Times Square in KL completed the look.
But onto the pics:
Wow! I’ve done it again – not posted for a couple of weeks. I have been “digging in” and just spending time at home being domestic, when not forced to be out at work.
This often happens shortly after I come back from an overseas travel trip – just when I have OODLES of stories to tell and photos to post. I tend to come back to lots of early shifts, which leave me exhausted, and on my few days off I can’t muster the energy to reconnect on social media. But in addition to this – we got another puppy!
Yep, my pre-chrissy wish was to get a little italian greyhound puppy to complete our family. We now have a little girl called Twiggy, and I’m smitten.
Back in 2010 I first wrote about Nude n’ Rude – a goth/punk/fetish/alternative fashion store in Koenji, Tokyo.
I always try to visit Nude n’ Rude as I just love so many of the labels they carry, known to us in the west – like Iron Fist, Kreepsville 666, Lip Service, Demonia etc…as well as other Japanese labels and now their own Nude n’ Rude Couture 2012 line.
Since I was in Koenji recently for Secret Dog, ilil etc, I decided to combine them in the one afternoon shopping trip (along with a few other stores, still to come in future posts).
I wondered what had changed since my last visit a year ago. Peering in the shop windows, I was heartened to see the same kinky, kooky, retina-searing flavour throughout:
I love to explore alternative subcultures and scenes, in Australia and around the world.
I love bright coloured hair, big circle lenses, fake lashes and Japanese gothic and rock gyaru fashion. Stay a while if you love these things too! [More …]
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