Splashes of Red

In my research for lovely fall clothes I discovered that among all the dark themes of this season, there were subtle but still rather effective hints of red on the runways. I love red and purple this season. I'm not one who can stay dark and depressed for long periods of time, so splashes of color is good news to me.

I came upon the designer Alice McCall and I completely fell in love with this little red coat in her collection.


Another favorite red piece of mine is this Badgley Mishka dress.



Hmmm. This makes me wish Christmas would come soooner.

TOKYO!!!

I just got back from Tokyo yesterday and I have just so much to say about Japanese fashion. There will definitely be another trip to Tokyo sometime soon and I'll probably take some friends with me. First of all, the people are there are SOOOOO trendy. I could have spent an entire afternoon just sitting at a cafe in a department store in Shinjuku and watching people walking by.

So here's what's cool in Tokyo:

• Very tan skin and frizzy, strawberry blonde hair. There were tons of girls like that teetering on 4 inch heels all over the place. It was too over the top for me, plus the tans were very fake= tacky. The only thing I admired about this group was their skinniness. They were so skinny they looked unhealthy.
• Jeweled nails. There were even nail salon booths at the airport! Fake nails were sold everywhere: from top department stores to the corner pharmacy. It's like the wilder the design the better.
• Fedora hats are very in. I actually like this trend though. And the Japanese girls pulled it off ever so chicly. So I've been doing some research and it looks like the top hat designer now is EugeniKim. I have yet to buy one.
• Surprisingly cowboy boots are popular in Japan too. I, personally, would not be caught dead in cowboy boots now. They were very 2004/2005. But I saw them on quite a few girls in Tokyo and I saw even more for sale.
• CHLOE. To my delight everyone there loves Chloe. I saw 3 girls wearing the same See by Chloe t shirt that read "I love Chloe."
• Skulls. I love skulls too...I know that sounds kind of morbid but I find this trend very cute. There were shirts, necklaces, bags, etc featuring some sort of skull design. I myself purchased quite a few things.
• Plaid. Oh those Tokyo girls, always one step ahead of everyone else! I mentioned before how plaid is coming in by storm for fall.
• Yanuk jeans and Taverniti So jeans. Haha and this is not a plug for Blue Holdings (the company my mom works for). But yes everyone in Japan is wearing designer jeans and especially a lot of those two brands. I don't get how they can wear skinnies or any type of long pants for that matter in that humidity. I wore shorts and halter top dresses the entire week I was there and I STILL sweat like monster.
• Cell phone art. There were tons of little places I like to call "Blinging Stations" where you can get your cell phone decorated with colorful, shiny, and artsy designs. I was very tempted but decided not to get it done after my last DIY fiasco. I also decided I like my phone plain and simple.
• RAINBOOTS! If you know me well, you know I love rainboots. It was lovely to see almost all the Japanese children wearing cute rainboots (many adults too). People there were well prepared for rainy weather. A couple typhoons arrived during our stay in Tokyo which foiled our plans to visit Mt. Fuji. The weather was nice though, a least it was little bit cooler (but still REALLY hot).
• Knee high socks. It kind of grew on me at the end of the trip but at first I really hated them. For some reason people in Tokyo have to wear socks with skirts and shorts. One day I was walking around Harajuku and everyone was staring at my legs. Later I found out that bare legs was not a common thing in Tokyo, but I'm from California and we wear short shorts.

I discovered a department store that I absolutely fell in LOVE with.........Lumine 1 located in Shinjuku. Everything was gorgeous and I wanted to buy everything but here's the thing I hate about Japan- Everything there is so tiny because the people there are tiny. So I couldn't buy a thing because I was too fat AND because my feet were too big. The biggest shoe size they carry in most stores is equivalent to 7.5. Yours truly wears 9.5. I wonder what all the big people do in Japan. I feel for them, I really do.

I also liked Laforet in Harajuku located on Omotesando. Speaking of Harajuku, I did go to the famed district and I found the shops on Takeshida very much to my liking. That was where I spent the most time and money. The best part of vacationing during late summer are the sales. I bought tons of clothes! The fashion there was pretty crazy. I managed to sneak a photo of some random girl at the vending machines (a common fixture in Tokyo) but she's a very toned down example. I was too scared to take pictures of the hardcore Harajuku girls. AHAH notice the guy's shirt in the background. There were lots of weird shirts with weird sayings. Sorry guys, I'm having trouble uploading pictures so come back tomorrow to see the Harajuku girl.

I missed home though. Tokyo required way too much walking! But I must say I am quite good at using the subway now. I'm also kind of use to the outrageous prices in Japan. Except I refused to buy a $7 issue of TeenVogue. I didn't want to wait until I got home to read it but after seeing the price I gladly put it back on the magazine stand. Tokyo is also the land of $8 gelatos and $10 coffees, something I had to partake in several times after exhausting days filled with shopping. The walking was good for me though because it balanced out all the chocolate croissants, mango ice cream, cream puffs, candy, banana chocolate crepes and pastries I kept eating. I don't even really like sweets all that much, but the sweets in Japan are top notch.

But it's really good to be home. I love California weather.

You Are Too Much

That's what my mom always says to me: "You're too much." Sometimes she's right, but I think she's usually wrong. I don't think I'm TOO much because I like my life and the events that belong in it the way they are. That includes my fashion. So I am absolutely in love with these Juicy Couture shoes (picture) and I found similar shoes at Aldo. But of course my mom objects...she's always ruining my fashion highs. I invision the perfect fall outfit for when it really gets cold around these parts (god knows when that will actually happen): a big flouncy blouse, some sort of grey/black colored baby doll dress over and those shoes. Well, I'll just have to get my mom work with me here, just like those times when I convinced her to buy me mini dresses and short shorts (it's hard work to get her to budge since she can't wear mini dresses and short shorts).

Number #1 reason I need the shoes is because I love Chloe and they look so much like the Chloe Summer 06 shoes. See to get the real look you would need to shell out $670 but you can get the Juicy ones for $300 or the Aldo ones for about $90.

Other things that she doesn't like but I absolutely love....

Jumpers. I'm crazy about them. I saw one at Zara that was too cute to handle. By the way, the entire fall collection at Zara is to die for.

Turtleneck dresses like this Diane Von Furstenberg at the right. No one else can make dresses like her. No one. (Ooo....and those shoes on the model, I want those for homecoming.)

Purple. Anything purple. She hates. I LOVE. It's my new favorite color. Other than red, but that's another story for another day. Apparently the color is too harsh for her taste. Whatever.

Marc by Marc Jacobs wallet. But I agree that it is outrageously overpriced for so little patent leather. It IS very cute though. Just not worth all $450.


So I'm leaving for Tokyo tomorrow and it's rather hard to find the proper things to pack when one is going to one of the largest fashion capitals of the world. You know that term "traveling light"? I have never been capable of doing that. I always end up bringing like 5 pairs of shoes for a 3 day trip or 10 pairs of jeans for a one week vacation. It's horrible. Looks like this time is going to be no different. See you guys in a little bit!