Hongdae on a Saturday Night

Well it almost seems a dream now, but back in March I was in Seoul for a week, staying right near Hongdae, which is the student and entertainment district.

I have mentioned Hongdae before (Hangin in HongdaeCoffee & Drink Palace Hongdae and shoe-store glimpses in My Travelling Wardrobe), but here I show a little video so you can get a feel for how mad the place is on a Saturday night. There was a break between bands I was seeing, and so I walked around, checking out the other people walking around, the street markets, the street food, the bars, cafes, clubs and boutiques that litter the place. Oh, and the traffic jams. Boy, do people like to take their cars out there!

If the above isn’t visible, visit the link Saturday Night in Hongdae. And make sure you go, when you’re in Seoul!

Neon Brights & Coloured Tights

I have been vastly influenced by the neon brights and colour blocking coming off the runway at the various Fashion Weeks, already filtering down to the high street (albeit slowly). And so it was on my o/s trip that I went searching for some neon staples, if you will; some brightly coloured mainstays and accessories to zoozh up my impending fall/winter wardrobe. (Let’s face it; I often buy a lot of black, even on my Japan trips).

As mentioned in a previous post, I managed to find a pink faux-leather biker jacket from Sasch on level 5 of Noon Square, Myeong-Dong, Seoul, as well as  a glorious orange skirt with great pocket detailing from Zara, also in Noon Square.

   

 

Next up I went shopping for bright footwear….once again in Seoul, but this time in Hongdae, right near where I was staying. One was a pair of that yellow-green colour platform shoes, with contrast faux animal skin.

  

And the other pair were coral heels with a slight platform in front, again in the faux fish or snakeskin.  They went really well with the pink and orange outfit, being a shade between the other two.

  

So that shows you can buy cool things in Seoul – mind you, I really had to look for them! Well, in Hongdae there are a lot of great boutiques and shoe stores, but in some of the shopping malls, it was hard to find the middle ground between high end items and budget/nasty ones. For me, Level 5 of Noon Square was one of the best.

Moving onto Osaka, from Love Boat I bought a groovy turquoise biker jacket, and a neon yellow-green transparent cincher:

  

While in the bag department, at OPA I nabbed a leopard print beauty with orange trim – to go with my orange and pink outfit, natch!

 

The store I bought it from was “Dith” – you can buy the label through Rakuten – Dith store here.

I spied some great wide belts in bright colours at Salire in Osaka….and so when I got to Tokyo, nabbed a few at Salire in Lumine Est, Shinjuku.

 

But I did buy at least one item from Marui One…on sale at Yosuke USA I fell for this purple suede pair of vintage looking boots, from the Leche line. They’ll work nicely with a victorian or Dolly Kei look. A size 24 or medium, is still available on sale at Rakuten.

And finally, the tights. There was a shop in Shibuya 109 that had soooo many patterned tights, I was in heaven. Not only the infamous Celeste Stein, but also a brand called Look from London. At around $45 each, they weren’t cheap, but I can’t find these in Australia.

Of course they look better out of the packet, so here they are.

 

Obviously flat products don’t look very exciting, but I’ll be using these in upcoming outfit posts..although some are still coming over from Japan in boxes, sent so I wouldn’t have excess baggage. What are your faves, or ones you’d like to see me put in an outfit?

My travelling wardrobe

So I’ve been a dirty rotten stopout for not posting very much…it’s hard when you’re travelling, you know? I thought I’d just post a few fashiony shots, so here is my lovingly merchandised rack of clothes as seen in my Seoul hotel room (click on any to see larger):

  

The pink vinyl biker jacket is from Seoul, found on Level 5 of the Noon Square mall in Myeong-Dong. And boy, have I been wearing it everywhere!  The orange skirt is from Zara, also in Seoul. Everything else I brought away with me.

 

Obviously those shoes are just SO WRONG…so I went out to Hongdae and bought a pair of coral platforms that  fall between the orange & pink (& a pair of green ones at another store). Drool at the shoes behind us in the pics…

 

AS for the shoes themselves…you’ll just have to wait for my haul post, coming soon…

Hangin’ in Hongdae

It’s about time I talk a bit about Seoul, and post a few pics. Where to start? I’ve hit a few major areas now and taken loads of snaps.

I’ll start with the area in which I’m living – Hongdae. It’s right near a couple of universities, so it’s very arty, studenty and social. There are a heap of very creative cool buildings, hip or funny cafes, bars and restaurants, bohemian and funky boutiques, and just lots and lots of young people. A little like Harajuku but without the alternative bent…you DON’T see anyone dressed much out of the ordinary here. I wore an orange skirt with a pink vinyl biker jacket and magenta/purple tights and scarf…and people took photos of ME!

Here are some pics for you (click on any to see it bigger):

  

 

  

Then there’s the establishments with funny names, ahem… (Fuckfake???!!)

  

And the novelty cafes such as Hello Kitty…

  

….and the Charlie Brown Cafe

  

I got a few pressies at this great little novelty store Artbox,  that sells things in pretty colours, again with a hello kitty etc bent..

  

And how about some of  the thought provoking and/or amusing graffiti?

   

There’s sooo much more to show you about Hongdae, but that’s enough for now. I highly recommend coming here if you visit Seoul, and even staying in the area itself.

Coming up:

* Creative buildings in Hongdae & Seoul
* An olde worlde Versailles/dolly kei type tea place in Hongdae
* The malls of Myeong-Dong
* Outfit pics and new purchases!
* Fab boutique accommodation in Hongdae
* Gig write-ups & pics (there’s a punk gig tonight, & a paddy punk & folk festival the next 2 nights, both in Hongdae)