Nike Flagship Store to Open in November

Despite many luxury brands taking a hard punch from Japan's falling economy, Nike Japan recently announced their plans to open a large store in Omotesando Dori on November 14th in trendy Harajuku.

The "Nike Flagship Harajuku" will be three stories tall and take up a large floor space of about 10,265 square feet. Interior design on the store is being handled by Katayama Masamichi and word on the street is that there'll be walls made out of the soles of Nike sneakers.

The first floor of the building will be for running gear and various other Nike branded items. The second floor will feature Nike Sportswear (NSW) and a "NIKEiD STUDIO" where customers will be able to customise their very own shoes and bags. Limited edition items that are exclusive to the new Nike Flagship Harajuku store will also be stocked on the second floor. The third floor is the "Nike Bootroom" which will specialize in soccer equipment, uniforms and gear as well as being able to customise your own cleats and logo embroidery. This Harajuku store will be the only shop other then London to have a "Nike Bootroom".

There'll be a number of limited edition items for sale during the opening period which includes a special collaboration with eleven athletes. The lineup of athletes include Nihon Ham Fighters pitcher, Darvish Yu, track & field star, Tamesue Dai and Japanese celebrity/marathon runner Yasuda Misako. The store also has plans to create and release limited edition goods and special Nike sneakers and other models on an ongoing basis.

Information & images taken from http://tokyofashion.com/nike-flagship-harajuku-store-opening-in-november/

Deja Vu's Latest Product: Lash Knockout

Just recently, Deja Vu, the company behind the popular Fibrewig mascara, hard launched their latest product called, Lash Knockout.

Unlike it predecessor that lengthens lashes for that faux lash effect that all Japanese girls crave, Lash Knockout voluminizes instead. Judging from the pictures I've seen, using this new mascara would make your lashes appear short but really thick, guess its more of an accompaniment to its older cousin though it makes your lashes appear black with great intensity. Great thing bout it is that its still just as easy to remove, simply wash off with warm water and the mascara would come off in tiny little tubes.

Lash Knockout was soft launched initially at the Tokyo Girls Collection show and was included in the event's goodie bag. However, there hasn't been much news bout the product lately, so perhaps it isn't as popular?

Unfortunately it isn't available yet in Singapore, so I haven't had the opportunity to test drive it, perhaps it'll come in soon. Currently, its being priced at 1500 Yen in Japan, typical drugstore product price.

Images taken from http://aliceinpursuit.blogspot.com/ and http://www.radarzine.com/blogg/from-tokyo-with-love/

Courtney Love X Hysteric Glamour Dress

Japanese brand Hysteric Glamour has teamed up with Courtney Love to create a collection of clothes, I'm not too sure if this is a capsule collection as information on this collection is rather scarce, but Nylon Magazine has posted a video of one of the dresses. The video shows Nylon Editor Marvin Scott Jarrett talking about and taking photographs of a model decked out in one of the collection's babydoll dresses.

I do think the dress is cute from far with the clashing of prints and the light pastel colours, but what I find totally weird is how different this dress is from something Courtney would actually wear. I for one, cannot fathom the idea of her not dressed in a outfit that threatens at any moment to bare her entire rack.

And if you look at the dress up close, you would notcie that the "prints" are actually tiny pictures of Courtney plastered over the whole thing. Plus, if you listen to the video closely, never once did Nylon's editor actually mention Nirvana's collaboration with Hysteric Glamour, weird considering Courtney's strong link to the band.

Not sure if this collection's gonna be successful, maybe people would still buy it for namesake...

Information and photos from http://tokyofashion.com/courtney-love-x-hysteric-glamour-dresses/

Jill Stuart 2009 Holiday Sweetness Collection

Jill Stuart will be releasing their 2009 holiday make up collection on November 6th in Japan. And from what I can tell in the pictures, the entire collection is based on a light pink colour scheme and all the products have names that makes one think of sweets....

The collection includes, Mix Face Powder Compact in 101 Marshmallow Puffy, Jelly Colour N in 103 Snow Parfait, Jelly Lipgloss in 101 Sugar Kiss, Nail Lacquer N in 106 Romantic Macaron, Pink colour Emery board, Nail art sticker and a cake- inspired make up pouch.

Sigh, if only I could get my hands on one of the items, especially the really really cute make up pouch.

Photos from http://beautyanonymous.blogspot.com/2009/09/jill-stuart-holiday-2009-sweetness.html

Personal outfit 8

Outfit consisted of:

Maxi dress: This Fashion (got it for bout only $12 i think, or was it less?)

Inner black tube (secondhand from my aunt)

Leather/Ponyhair YSL Downtown-inspired bag: Memo Saccs

Unseen Black zip-up patent heels: Charles & Keith

As it was raining when I left the house, I ended up wearing my Nichii biker jacket over my outift, didn't style my hair today as I was running extremely behind time...

Skipped school today as I didn't feel like facing a certain someone and having to their with their shit and their "top of the world" attitude (that's what this person said bout me, funny, isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?)

Anyway, met up with some friends and we ended up window shopping as most of us are dead broke... but I did loan some money from my friend to get a couple of really cute scrunchies...

Ended up eating tonnes of food, talking about super dirty X-rated stuff, found out someone isn't as innocent as she seems, getting a really huge blister on my right big toe and did plenty of walking in my heels....

Such fun...

Personal outfit 7

I've been to my share of fancy shmancy hotels before, and most have a decent make up area in the lady's powder room, but this is the first time I've encountered one with such comfortable softly cushioned seats....

My outfit consisted of:

Dress (made up of sky blue silk, under a black gauzey material with pleats at the bottom and a gold/black beaded waist detailing): Some random shop having a sale

Gold Heels: Everbest

Bag: Chanel (not shown)

I realise I haven't been putting up much outfit posts, school has been draining my creative juices and it doesn't help when they've been putting up all sorts of restrictions concerning our clothing choices. So my outfit posts would be reserved for my weekend outfits but only if I go out of course, I am not showing anyone my homewear, ever. However, if one is sooo curious to know what I wear at home, then simply look for this Manga called Switch girl, I'm pretty much decked out like the main character's off mode most of the time... so not a pretty sight...

Anyway, attended the Bf's colleague's wedding dinner recently. Since I don't wear formal much, and am currently bloated up like a balloon thanks to my PMS, I simply threw on this dress whcih I had bought like eons ago. Thank goodness I didn't toss this out when I lost weight or else I'll be at a loss on what to wear....

My hair also turned out pretty sucky that night, lately my hair doesn't seem to obey me, no matter how much I punish it with Velcro curlers, ironing tongs or straighteners. It just happily shifts back to which ever position its happy with thus wasting all my styling efforts. Could it be, because its currently at a in-between stage (between long and mid-length)?

Uniqlo in France

The massive crowd outside

Patiently waiting...


Inside the concept store..

American Apparel's surprising promotions...

I have to admit this is a pretty late post... okay make that an extremely late post (especially in the fast-paced world of fashion/ blogging).

Uniqlo has opened a concept store in Paris and there was such anticipation that there were about 100m of queueing on each side of the street and a wait of at least 45 minutes to reach the cashier. The crowd was so overwhelming that many producst were out of stock even before the first week was even over. Madness!

Guess there's alot of excitement simply because of the recession that has badly struck the fashion industry, so something like Uniqlo which offers basics at low prices without neglecting quality is very much a life-saver. Prices over in Paris are bout 7 euros for long-sleeved cotton T-shirts, 19 euros for a sweater and 39 euros for a pair of jeans.

In the face of competition, American Apparel (which is known for being super stingy) has surprising been offering rare discounts and promotions on their online website. Perhaps they're being fearful of the Japanese giant?

Images and information from http://modepass.com/article/Uniqlo+Phenomenon+!-8057.html

Celebrity Gossip and Celebrations!!

Rinka is getting married!!!

Anna Tsuchiya is getting remarried and is pregnant, again!!

With the quiet lull in the fashion industry, I thought I could take a break when I was suddenly bombarded with news of one of my favourite models. Who am I talking about?

I'm talking bout Rinka, one of the oldest more successful models of her age (at age 36, you're practically a dinosaur in the modelling industry). Newspapers in Japan have gone mad reporting bout her engagement and even Rinka herself has admitted to it on her blog, reportedly, the wedding would be held next spring though the actaul date and location are still uncertain.

Not much is known about Rinka's fiance other then the fact that he's slightly younger than her, works in a construction -related firm and that they have been dating for bout eight years despite multiple break -ups and make-ups.

Now Rinka can happily stomp over those people who labelled her as a "makeinu"("loser" term for single women over 30) with her designer heels all the while with a bounce in her long never-ending legs.

Whilst researching bout Rinka's engagment, I also found out that singer/ actress, Anna Tsuchiya is pregnant with her second child and is about to remarry, this time to the father of her second child who also happens to be her stylist.

This is probably great news for her after having to be a single mom after her divorce from her first marriage and the sudden passing of her ex-husband.

Guess Japanese entertainment is having plenty to celebrate about for now....

Japan Fashion Week

Sorry bout the sudden lull in posts here, haven't really found much new information to blog about. However, soon there'll be a bombardment of information and images as I'm bracing myself for the sudden rush after the Tokyo Collection Week is over.

According to my sources, the event would be running from 19 October to 24 October, which would be covering the '10 Spring/Summer Collection. There'll also be about 48 maisons/ 51 brands showcasing their work.

So until I can gather more information, guess this blog'll be at a standstill till then, so just be patient okay?

A guy wearing a skirt??!!

Its very interesting to sometimes surf around Japanese street style blogs/websites as chances are incredibly high of finding pretty unusual outfits or looks that people in other parts of the world would rather shun.

I was pretty impressed by this guy in particular wearing a skirt (or in more manly terms, a wrap), telling my friend about this resulted in her bursting laughter with tears to boot, however once I showed her the photo, she was swooning at his (in her words), "cool factor".

However, this guy managed to take the potential girlishness out of this skirt (or wrap) by having plenty of loose layering, shiny velcro sneakers and a more manly rucksack...

Only guys in Japan can pull of this look...

Image taken from http://tokyofashion.com/japanese-guy-in-skirt-and-hood/

Tsubasa Masuwaka & Koji Collaboration

Behind the scenes photo of the photoshoot & the fake nails used, I love the nail designs... OMG!!

More photoshoot & a photo of the team

Discussing product,branding, image etc.

Tsubasa herself testing out the prototypes...

More testing and note taking, she's so involved in the entire process...

Popular model, Tsubasa Masuwaka and makeup brand Koji are collaborating to produce a line of eye make up named "Dolly Wink". The products would be available in the Japanese market from November and I'm praying hard that Sasa here would bring the line in too.

The concept of the line is, as said by Tsubasa herself, "adult Cute". Thus the products are centred around creating the doe-eyed effect that Tsubasa is famous for.

In case you didn't know, Koji is the brand behind the famous Spring Heart fake lashes, that I think most Japanese models use... I haven't tried them out myself but I've heard plenty of good things bout them....

Images taken from http://www.koji-honpo.co.jp/tsubasa/report/index.html

Yohji Yamamoto Bankrupt!

As the string of bad luck continues to hit the Japanese fashion industry, yet another blow is being felt, this time by one of their own great designers, Yohji Yamamoto.

Semms that the designer has filed for bankruptcy protection in the Tokyo District Court. Reasons for the bankruptcy points to the brand's own aggressive spending which included expansions into the European and American markets, causing their debt to soar to more then sixty-five million US dollars.

Japanese company Integral Corp. has stepped in to finance the restructuring of Yohji Yamamoto Inc. while they sort out all their financial issues. Still, the company would continue to press on by continuing to operate in Japan and other international markets, which is good news for not only the founder and head designer, Yohji Yamamoto, but their 600 employees as well. The company manages several brands including, Yohji Yamamoto, Y's, Y-3, and his daughter's brand Limi Feu.

This is pretty sad news for Yohji Yamamoto whose pretty much a fashion legend in Japan, for he, Rei Kawabuko of Comme de Garcons and Issey Miyake are the people who brought Japanese luxury fashion to the world during the 1980s.

Information from http://tokyofashion.com/yohji-yamamoto-files-for-bankruptcy/

Magazine Freebies

My Marc by Marc Jacobs canvas bag, given with the Autumn/Winter booklet (love the apple and heart print)

My Anna Sui wallet, given by Sweet magazine, I love this month's content, especially with the numerous pictures of Rinka, I think my make up and hairstyle is slowly moving towards her kind of style

I love reading Japanese magazines, not only to be updated on what's new and hip but the feeling of sifting through the thick glossy pages gives me a thrill which I can't describe, it doesn't even matter that I sometimes don't get what an article is talking about due to the language barrier.

Anyway, a new trend has started among these magazines (not exactly new since it started bout late last year), they've been giving out a ton of freebies, sometimes even on a monthly basis, and the gifts aren't some cheap ass plastic keychains or what not.

When I last checked, there were scrunchies, wallets, make up pouches and the ever-popular canvas bags being offered. Sometimes, its not the magazine content that attracts me but rather the so-called "free" gift being offered, often I had to harden my heart and stop myself from making a purchase simply because of a cute bag being offered so temptingly.

From the looks of it, this trend isn't gonna die out so soon, which means more good news for consumers like moi I guess, for now I'm hoping very much for a pastel coloured scrunchie... anyone?

Versace Pullout

Despite high street stores such as Kitson and H&M expanding rapidly in Japan, the economy is still pretty slow, which has affected more expensive brands pretty badly.

Its so bad that Versace has closed all of their directly-managed stores and has even announced that they're planning to close the Versace Japan public relations office by the end of this month.

Of course they're not the only brand that being hit, many other luxury brands such as Chanel and Louis Vuitton have also felt the effects of the worldwide economic crisis which has resulted in declining sales and/or store closures. I also heard that French Connection has announced their plans to close all their stores in Japan which is quite a harsh blow to the Japanese fashion industry.

However, not all hope is lost, according to an unnamed "informed source", Versace plans to open new stores in Japan after autumn 2010, and that they are currently "reviewing their business strategy". Hopefully, this means that the pullout is merely a temporary closure....

Cross your fingers!

Information and image taken from http://tokyofashion.com/versace-withdraws-from-japanese-market-sources-say/

Jil Sander for Uniqlo is Coming to S'pore!

Love this cardigan... I am so determined to make it mine!

I am currently jumping around in my room manically, totally delirious with joy from hearing (or more like reading) the news that the Jil Sander for Uniqlo collection would be available in sunny Singapore!

Finally, poor students like moi would be able to afford something from the German designer, whee!!!

I'm just crossing my fingers that I am not disappointed by the collection, the way I was by Kate Moss and Christopher Kane collections for Topshop. Is it just me or are the collections simply just plain boring clothes with a "famous person" label on it in order to jack up the prices?

Cross my fingers and pray hard!! Haha!

Information and images from http://fashionation.wordpress.com/

New H&M Store Bag

This is abit of a late post, but it seems that if you shop at the new H&M store at Shibuya, they would package your purchases in a really cool/cute looking bag that's exclusive to that store and my guess is that it'll only be available for a short while, you know, to add to the "new" hype...

Sigh... why won't H&M come to Singapore???

Image and information taken from http://www.radarzine.com/blogg/from-tokyo-with-love/

Seventeen Magazine Stylin' Challenge

Grey wool dress with faux fur-trimmed hood: Sixties Inspired

Leopard print stockings: Some shop in Plaza Singapura

Thigh-high boots: Rubi (I love them... despite the fact they toe the line between fashion and trashy)

Memo Saccs Bag: Borrowed from Mom

Over the weekend, I had taken part in the Seventeen Stylin' Challenge, unfortunately, I wasn't selected as a semi-finalist.

I have to admit, my outfit was bit much, but then again the theme was 'Urban/ Street Style' and my fashion compass points towards the more wild and open Japanese street style. Despite trying my hardest to not want to sound like a bitch throwing a hissy fit, I couldn't help but notice most of the teams they had chosen were all clothed in... black (boring much?) and wearing the unanimous Singapore teenage girls' uniform of leggings, biker jackets, gladiator sandals etc.

There was even one selected team that was even more outrageously dressed then I was, think huge black fur coat, silver and black leggings, cheap bling that threatened to overpower the already huge coat, hair tied up to a high bun, gold hair band and beige boots (wth?!)

Never mind, I'll stop before I sound even more demented... tata!

Personal outfit 6

Prada Blazer: Salvation army

White t-shirt: Giordano

Denim shorts: Cotton On

Stockings: China

Multi-strap pumps: Charles & Keith

Scarf: China

Jimmy Choo Blue leather bag: Borrowed from mom

Went for my hair dye/ trimming session today and unfortunately, I did not take the pics which I had promised... was too busy pestering my hairdresser bout hair care tips and asking him bout the latest trends on hair.


The good thing was that I came out with a much lighter hair colour then before and all the nasty, overgrown roots have been dealt with. Bad thing was, he told me that this was the lightest colour I am ever gonna get without bleaching and thus in the process, damaging my hair. So I can't ever get blond locks... ever!!


But then again I'm happy with this new colour, its bit hard to describeas it's a darker brown indoors but more golden and blondish outdoors, so its also hard to take a photo off...


Anyway went window shopping with Pochi after I did some shopping alone, and walked away with a new pair of thigh high black boots. Bit intimidating and a challenge to wear them without looking hookerish or trashy, but then again, that's the fun in fashion isn't it? To be experimental...


Will be test-driving the boots tomorrow, hope they're comfy!

Personal outfit 5

Beret: Acessorize

Biker jacket: Nichii

Gold, brown, black striped dress: Giordano

Stockings: China

Oxfords: DMK

YSL- inspired Memo Saccs bag: Borrowed from mom

Did some shopping with Jems yesterday... no make that a ton of shopping, but at least the stuff I got were things I've been craving for.

Got a pair of denim shorts, a sweatshirt, blue stockings, a black fedora, just to name a few... and maybe tomorrow I might just add more things to my wardrobe. Unfortunately I haven't gotten round to packing up my cupboard, so they're still in shopping bags on the floor... reminder to get round to actually doing it.

Tomorrow, I'll be trimming and dyeing my hair, hoping very much to look more Japanese by going blonde, just hoping I won't turn out like those lian, bleached out, peroxide blonde... but I trust my hairdresser, I'm also torn between getting straight bangs or just leaving it as it is... we'll see how tomorrow and I'll be sure to take pictures... so cross my fingers it'll be good!