Fall 2011 Collection

This isn't so much a collection as it is, "random shit I did during Fall 2011", which is unfortunately, quite minimal. In my defense, I am nearing the completion of my Asian Studies degree, and am rigorously preparing for proficiency exams in both Japanese and Chinese, so needless to say, I haven't had much time for sewing. 

This fall, I took the traditional qi pao pattern and used it to produces variations of tight-fitting 1960s style dresses, with bold silks.

The only exceptions being the last two pieces, an oversized hooded poncho, and a sheer gown.

Photo Diary: Best of Izumo

Photo Diary: Best of Puerto Vallarta

More Leopard for winter

Coat: Old Navy
Top: American Apparel
Pants: H&M
Leg warmers: sock shop on Harajuku
Boots: Walmart

Christmas Lights in Hong Kong

These are photographs I took a few years back when I was in Hong Kong for the holidays. It still makes me smile to look at them!

Tokyo Streetwear of the last decade

These photographs were taken on my first trip to Japan in 2002. I had only learned about Gothic Lolita fashion recently and was soooooo excited to hit the streets and check out what people were really wearing. Let me say, I was not disappointed. People really dressed like this. It was surreal. In fact, it was solely because of Gothic Lolita fashion that I learned my first Japanese phrase:

すみません、写真を撮ってもいいですか？

It means, "Excuse me, may I take a picture?" In English, we would probably say "may I take your picture" or "may I take of you," but in Japanese I think that's kind of implied. I mean, I'm not gonna walk up to a group of grown women dressed like Victorian dolls and ask their permission to photograph the sidewalk. Of course I'm asking to take a picture of them.

The irony of it all is that at the time, that was the only Japanese phrase I knew, and now that I can actually speak Japanese, I would NEVER approach a stranger and ask to photograph them. It's just too embarrassing and I'm too culturally sensitive. Basically, now that I actually know what I'm saying and can understand their responses, I would feel foolish approaching them. 

Therefore, these photographs are not only a relic of a time in fashion history (though people still dress like this 10 years later), but they are also a relic of my personal history, of a time when I could roam the streets of Tokyo without a care in the world.