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LA CARMINA. Trendy Japanese Fashion † Harajuku street style † Women's Clothing
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Popular blog on wild Japanese street fashion, with a focus on Gothic Lolita Rococo Punk. Daily posts and photos, trend commentary, outfits and style profiles of Tokyo's craziest alternative designers and Visual Kei J-rock bands. By La Carmina, author
Recent Posts Tagged With 'fashion'
BODYLINE SWEET LOLITA DRESS WITH KAWAII RILAKKUMA BEAR APRON! FRILLS & BOWS LOLI JSK, AVATAR WARPAINT MAKEUP, DECORA HAIRSTYLES.
Hello, is there a more ridiculous apron in existence? We had a fab debate over the Baby, the Stars Shine Bright dress with a Gloomy bear over the front. I mentioned I had a cute Rilakkuma apron (from Kiddyland in Harajuku) and you wanted to see it...
WHITBY GOTHIC WEEKEND 2009: PRETTY GOTH GIRL PHOTOS, VICTORIAN MOURNING CLOTHING, STEAMPUNK & FETISH FASHION AT UK FESTIVAL.
Remember my lovely friend Zoe from the Mad Hatter Tea Party and Wizard of the Opera outing? When I saw her photos from October’s Whitby Gothic Weekend, I had to ask her for a report — you can tell she had the time of her life! Better la...
BEST CAFE IN LOS ANGELES: M CAFE DE CHAYA, MELROSE & LA BREA. VEGETARIAN, MACROBIOTIC HEALTHY RESTAURANTS IN LA, JAPANESE FOOD.
I took the boys to my favorite Los Angeles eatery, M Cafe de Chaya (on Melrose at La Brea). Their shining happy faces says it all. Best food ever — and it’s all healthy. I’m a tad obsessed with M Cafe and eat there whenever I ca...
WHERE TO BUY ARETHA FRANKLIN’S HAT! GIANT BOW HAT WORN AT INAUGURAL. PURPLE GOTH GIRL TOP, RED TIGHTS, CUTE SCOTTISH FOLD CAT IN BATHTUB.
Here’s part two of my bathtub photoshoot! I’m wearing Possessed, a comfy purple V-neck sent to me from Akumu Ink. The Goth girl print comes in both girls and guys sizes (XXS to XL) and is available on the web store. Are you excited yet ...
GOTH SAILOR MOON! AKUMU INK GOTHIC J-HORROR T-SHIRTS, ALEXORA 1980S TRIANGLE WATCH, LONDON UNDERGROUND ANKLE BOOTS, HIGH-EXPOSURE FASHION PHOTOS.
“She’s the one named Goth Sailor Moon!” Montreal-based company Akumu Ink contacted me because they share my love of Japanese horror and steampunk aesthetics. I took one look at their website and pumped my fist in the air. Akumu In...
VIMALAKIRTI BUDDHIST SUTRA: MORNING PHOTOSHOOT IN ZEN JAPANESE GARDEN, KYOTO GRAND HOTEL LOS ANGELES. BUDDHISM QUOTES & MEDITATIONS.
What happens when heavy metal combines with Zen Buddhism? This! The Adventure Team holed up at the Kyoto Grand Hotel in Los Angeles. Six thumbs up. The renovated rooms were roomy and had plenty of hairdressing space, as you can see in this video....
GIANT ROBOT LOS ANGELES GR2 GALLERY BOOK SIGNING: TOKYO THEME RESTAURANTS. BABY THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT SAILOR DRESS, INTERVIEW FOR BOING BOING ON WEIRD JAPAN.
Giant Robot kindly invited me to sign copies of my Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants book at the GR2 gallery in Santa Monica. V-fingers to good friends who came to support! Sailor collar Lolita dress: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright (from Closet Child H...
LIME CRIME LIPSTICK REVIEW, GOTH CUSTOM DRESS FROM GLOOMTH & PINK HAIR. TAXIDERMY MUSEUM PHOTOSHOOT BY DEREK CUTTING.
I’m happy to hear you liked the previous set of photos from this shoot! All photography is by the talented Derek Cutting, who shoots the Gloomth clothing catalog. Photos taken at the current taxidermy exhibit at the Museum of Vancouver —...
READER ASKS: HOW TO EXCEL IN HIGH SCHOOL, GET INTO YOUR DREAM COLLEGE & MAINTAIN BALANCE? BLUE MANA-SAMA LIPSTICK, VICTORIAN MAIDEN GOTH DRESS.
Hi! Mostly I’ve been a lurker on your blog, though I have commented a few (rare) times. I really admire your blog and your work! Right now I’m 16, a junior in high school, and having a difficult time. I saw that you went to Columbia and...
VISITING THE LONDON UNDERGROUND SHOE FACTORY IN LOS ANGELES. WAREHOUSE CLEARANCE SALE ON GOTH PUNK ALTERNATIVE BOOTS!
La Carmina hearts London Underground Shoes — as you’ll remember in these posts — so it was a thrill to be invited to Dynasty Footwear’s headquarters in Los Angeles. The crew treated me like a princess: I got a grand tour and...
PHOENIX WRIGHT COSPLAY: BENTO LADY ANGEL STARR. JROCK VISUAL KEI BAND BOYS IN LITTLE TOKYO, LOS ANGELES.
Congrats to Amanda, who was the first to figure out my cosplay outfit! I’m dressed as Angel Starr, the bento lunch lady from the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney game for Nintendo DS. What do you think of my handmade cosplay outfit? Pillbox hat:...
THE TRAVELLING ALICE & THE PIRATES PANTS! JROCK VISUAL KEI MALE FASHION, BOYSTYLE & JAPANESE MEN’S GOTH ARISTOCRAT CLOTHING.
Thumbs up… to raiding Carmina’s suitcase and trying on her clothes. Ementhy immediately threw on my leather jacket and rifled through my pockets (he found a Japanese manga cafe tissue pack). Lemon dropped his jeans and got into my Alic...
SUSHI IN LITTLE TOKYO, LOS ANGELES: VIVIENNE TAM ELEPHANT GANESHA TOP, YELLOW JOHN FLUEVOG BOOTS, VISUAL KEI FASHION.
Greetings, Adventure Team! As soon as Lemon and Ementhy met up with me in LA, it was lights camera ACTION: I painted their nails, they ripped my stockings; the room became a tornado of pillow fights, black eyeliner, and endless hair teasing. Finall...
TOKYO FASHION STORE PHOTOS: GOTH SWEET LOLITA PUNK & FAIRY KEI BOUTIQUES IN LAFORET, HARAJUKU. NILE PERCH, SEXY DYNAMITE LONDON, H.NAOTO.
It’s a good thing that all of you love Fairy Kei fashion — because girly 1980s pastels are taking over the streets! A new accessories store, B Be Bee, recently opened in Laforet Harajuku; it’s filled with airy fairy headbands, hea...
GOTHIC LOLITA PUNK SHOPS AT MARUI ONE, SHINJUKU SHOPPING COMPLEX 0101. BEST YOUNG WOMEN’S DESIGNER CLOTHING SHOPS IN TOKYO. B-MOVIE BLOOPERS!
Shut your eyes and tap your Goth boots together… and wooosh, we’re back in Tokyo! And right outside 0101 (Marui Young Shinjuku), home to almost every Gothic Lolita Punk brand. The first floor is a mix of kawaii gift shops. From the gla...
SKIMPY JAPANESE MAID COSPLAY OUTFIT FOR HALLOWEEN! ALICE’S TEA CUP & NEW YORK PHOTOSHOOT BEFORE J-SUMMIT @ WEBSTER HALL.
Never mind that these photos are from November 1st — every day is Halloween! On Day 5 of my dark bacchanalia, I dragged my bruised legs out of bed for a J-rock concert at Webster Hall. “Halloween Hangover” was the perfect excuse t...
CUTE YUMMY TIME WASHINGTON DC BOOK SIGNING & GEORGETOWN CUPCAKES. THOUGHTS ON JAPANESE ROBOTS CARING FOR ELDERLY & TAKING OVER THE WORLD?
My family is originally from Hong Kong but I have relatives scattered all over the world, including Washington, DC. And so, my Cute Yummy Time book signing in the capital city turned into a mini-reunion with family — Basil Farrow’s fath...
DANCES OF VICE STEAMPUNK HALLOWEEN! EDWARD GOREY VICTORIAN COSTUME PARTY, NEO-GOTH ROCOCO FASHION IN NEW YORK.
Announcing yet another Los Angeles book signing – this time for Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo! WHEN: Monday, November 30, 6:30-8:30pm WHERE: Giant Robot LA gallery, 2062 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles CA Hope to see you there and at the N...
VIDEO: LIVE CUTE COOKING DEMO ON NBC TODAY SHOW! CUTE YUMMY TIME BREAKFAST FOODS, EGG RECIPES FOR KIDS.
A new day, a new video: my NBC Weekend Today Show appearance! I talk about character bentos (charaben) in Japan and the healthy approach to cooking in my book Cute Yummy Time. Then I demonstrate two cute food demos, which turn a fried and hardboile...
TODAY SHOW TV APPEARANCE AT 30 ROCK, INSIDE NBC STUDIOS IN NYC. CUTE FOOD BREAKFAST DEMO ON LIVE NEWS TALK SHOW.
Once upon a time, I was a guest on the weekend edition of Today Show in New York — and the experience was like a fairy tale. The previous night, I stayed up late prepping for the food demo (unlike Cinderella, the neighborhood rats didn’...
GOTH WITCH HAT & DRESS: PHILADELPHIA CUTE YUMMY TIME BOOK SIGNING, KIDS RECIPE BOOK INSPIRED BY CHARACTER BENTOS.
I had a grand time in Philly. In particular: Chapterhouse coffee house (they have an amazing green apple soy chai smoothie), vegetarian Chinese food, jazz at the Kimmel Center jazz (I snatched this witch’s hat from the store) and the Fabric W...
HALLOWEEN VAMPIRE MASQUERADE BALL IN NEW YORK CITY. FRINGE FACE MASK, H.NAOTO GOTH SKULL DRESS & BLUE FEATHERS.
Announcing TWO Los Angeles Cute Yummy Time book signings! I hope to see you on Saturday, Nov 28 and and Sunday, Nov 29 from 2-4pm. Come to Kinokuniya Bookstore, 123 Astronaut S Onizuka #205, Los Angeles CA. If you’d like to cover the event or...
NEW YORK STEAMPUNK HAUNTED HOUSE: HALLOWEEN HORROR SHOW ART PERFORMANCE, HENRY STREET SETTLEMENT.
I wasn’t kidding when I said I celebrated Halloween for five days straight this year. On Day 1 (Oct 28), I was invited to check out the Steampunk Haunted House at Abrons Arts Center (Henry Street Settlement). A brilliant concept: building a f...
CLOSET CHILD VIVIENNE WESTWOOD & VISUAL KEI J-ROCK MUSIC STORE IN HARAJUKU, TOKYO JAPAN. VINTAGE SECONDHAND GOTHIC LOLITA PUNK CLOTHING.
In the past few months, Closet Child (my much-loved Goth Loli Punk secondhand store) has undergone a significant Harajuku expansion. In addition to the renovated three-floor store on Takeshita Doori, there’s now a branch for vintage Vivienne ...
COURTNEY LOVE & HYSTERIC GLAMOUR BABY DOLL DRESS COLLABORATION. CUTE YUMMY TIME IN WOMAN’S DAY & METRO NY, JAPAN TREND SCOUTING.
I mentioned Twittering with Courtney Love in my last post. It’s a funny story: the Hole singer/actress found my blog because she loves Harajuku fashion, especially Gothic Lolita. In a typical OCD move, she flooded my Twitter inbox with messag...
COSPLAYING AT EDELSTEIN SCHOOLBOY CAFE IN HARAJUKU: ANDREW ZIMMERN’S BIZARRE WORLD TRAVEL TV SHOW. SEXY JAPANESE SCHOOLGIRL!
We’ve reached the final location of the Bizarre World episode I co-hosted for Travel & Discovery Channel. The Tokyo spooks met us at Edelstein in Harajuku — a cafe where the waiters cosplay as awkward teenage schoolboys! (I wrote a...
SWEETIE PIE CAFE IN WEST VILLAGE WITH DOE DEERE, FOUNDER OF LIME CRIME MAKEUP & FASHION LIFESTYLE BLOGGER.
I met up with the lovely Doe Deere at Sweetie Pie restaurant in the West Village. She’s the founder of Lime Crime makeup and runs a charming blog with makeup tutorials, photo inspiration, advice and much more. Doe and I have several friends...
AKIHABARA SHINTO BUNNY MAID CAFE: ANDREW ZIMMERN’S BIZARRE WORLD TV SHOW FILMING & PRODUCTION. MARU MUSIC COSPLAY CONTEST & AN CAFE.
Everyone has been asking me when my Tokyo appearance on Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre World will air. I wish I knew! At the moment, I’m working with the show writer on my segment. Rest assured I’ll give you plenty of notice before it h...
JAPANESE ABSINTHE: GOTH SKULLS DIVE BAR IN TOKYO, BAR BREADLINE. BUYING & CARRYING LEGAL ABSINTHE IN JAPAN.
Is absinthe legal in Japan? It surely is! There’s even a bar in the outskirts of Tokyo dedicated to every permutation of the dreamy green fairy. Between the Alcatraz ER theme restaurant shoot with Andrew Zimmern and the Department H party, a...
CUTE YUMMY TIME BOOK SIGNING IN WASHINGTON DC! PHILLY METRO ARTICLE, LOLITA PHOTO SHOOT IN JAPANESE PARK.
Time for one of those méli-mélo posts. Moriawase, if you you prefer Nihongo. A random assortment of odds and ends, which often ends up being more exciting than something planned and straightforward! Here are some pro photos taken by Mitchell Fie...
