A Little Bit of London in Tokyo

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A Little Bit of London in Tokyo 1 A Little Bit of London in Tokyo

Would you call me an awful traitor if I admitted that I never feel a shred of homesickness for the UK these days?  Thanks to the recent appearance of Morrissey in Tokyo (where I ended up seeing him twice), there is very little that I feel I am missing out on.  Back when I first came to Japan I did remember missing English humour, and to fix that problem ended up picking up the entirety of Red Dwarf on VHS for 10 yen a shot from the noble Book Off.  Thanks to the wonder of the internet even that is no longer an issue, and given that the country is run by a certain C these days I can honestly respond “no” to my Japanese friends asking me if I regret missing out on the olympics.

But even having said that all that, when I strut through Shinjuku station and see that the UK can still command a pop-up shop in the heart of Tokyo I am vaguely proud, in the same way as I am of our history in the formative years of underground fashion.  But its, and my future is in Tokyo.

A Little Bit of London in Tokyo 2 A Little Bit of London in Tokyo

If you fancy a bit of London in Tokyo, this is in B1 Lumine Est, Shinjuku station and is brought to you by Plaza.

Fun in the Sun at Koenji Festival April 2012

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One weekend last month, there I was trying to get some work done when it became apparent that the whole of Koenji was alive with a festival.  The lure of what sounded like an entire brass band (but turned out to be a very loud lone trumpeter), eventually turfed me out and away from my desk – and I don’t regret it one bit.

Fun in the Sun at Koenji Festival April 2012 Fun in the Sun at Koenji Festival April 2012

I must confess that I am not usually one for street entertainment, but sometimes when the sun is out and the beer is flowing there is nothing I would rather do than watch someone spinning a tea-cup on an umbrella.

Fun in the Sun at Koenji Festival April 2012 2 Fun in the Sun at Koenji Festival April 2012

As well as the street festival there was also an art market with some surprisingly good items on display.  There was a chap hand-making pens from brass and ebony, sterling silver jewelry with price tags that exceeded monthly salaries, all next to kids toys for 100 yen.  I am constantly amazed by the ability of Tokyo to provide sheer quality wherever you go, and even in this one market there was a month’s worth of designers I could feature over on Tokyo Telephone.

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Are friends electric?

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teas that bind01 Are friends electric?

Mr. Numan’s friends might be electric, but ours are creative!

Last Friday I popped along to Yoyogi to support fellow Tokyo Tea Club member Jo at the reading of her amazing book, The Teas That Bind (click the link to find out more!). I’m feeling really inspired to do my bit to help now, and I couldn’t have asked for better company on Friday evening too.

I’d also like to mention that the lovely Caroline Josephine‘s super-cool literature and Japan online magazine Tsuki launched recently with a bang – if you’re after a good read then you’re spoilt for choice!

teas that bind02 Are friends electric?

Kameido Tenjin – A day of turtles

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kameidotenjin01 Kameido Tenjin A day of turtles

We realised that we hadn’t done anything… Japanese for quite a while, and rather than spend another day pottering around in Harajuku (our other favourite past-time), Samuel and I decided to go on a trip to Kameido Tenjin to get some fresh air – and see lots of turtles!

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Snapped in Wut Berlin

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Change Fashion Samuel 2 Snapped in Wut Berlin

Just found this shot of one half of your operators at Tokyo Telephone on Change Fashion from the Sadak reception at Wut Berlin.  It is a reminder of why I recently had my hair chopped into at the back to avoid the weird fly away situation I have going on here – but best not to be too vain.  Sunglasses are the usual Chrome Hearts and the larger necklace is one of my favorite pieces of vintage ivory.

I am in my comfort zone with the outfit which is the current season Rick Owens skirt in black and a light silk knee length top with a great trapezium shaped neckline.  It is a bit of a mess of curves and straight lines which I know isn’t that great, but you live and learn.

Change Fashion Samuel Snapped in Wut Berlin

Exploring Suginami

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haikyo01 Exploring Suginami

A couple of months ago, when there was still snow on the ground, Samuel and I did a bit of exploring around the outskirts on Koenji and happened to find this amazing estate of workers houses. Both terraced cottages and tower blocks, they’d been left for the bulldozers for a while, but the sense of calm and utter quiet was pretty indescribable.

We were also kind of surprised that it wasn’t some kind of junky haven – no signs of life or even of graffiti – and it really made us realise how different it would be in our native UK!

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Meeting Your Heroes

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Meeting Your Heroes Meeting Your Heroes

The gap between being a kid and proudly showing off the label on my Tommy Hilfiger jeans and that as an adult meeting the man himself doesn’t seem all that big.  For the record I am wearing Alice Auaa in the picture above, which is where I moved on to as I started to get to grips with my personal fashion in my teens, and likewise the point where I idolised the brand, actually owned it and then met the designer have all flowed together into a bit of a blur.  Maybe because if you appreciate these things you will always have the mentality of an outsider just enjoying the view, even when it is paradoxically from the inside.

I suppose all I have ever done is been passionate about what I enjoy, and it has always led me the right way.  Occasionally it is punctuated by nice moments like the one above, and well, that is just fantastic.

Horn Clutch Bag

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Horn Clutch Horn Clutch Bag

(iphone for size reference)

It has been far too long since I actually made something myself, but then again with this project, nature had done most of the actual work for me.  Inspired by the Rick Owens Rick-zilla statue currently in the Tokyo shop that features a vast horn growing out of the statue’s base, I decided that I was going to hunt one down and make a bag out of it (makes sense right?) for myself.  Anyway, I finally stumbled across one that was of the appropriate size to actually get things inside of and set to work.  Initially I had planned to put a shoulder strap for it, but decided against doing anything that would disrupt the natural shape too much as every single change would need a hole opening in the horn, a process that was comparative to carving bone, but nothing like the horrible coral and fluorite I have been working with recently.  In the end I figured that the fewest holes would be two near the opening to make a hidden flap to stop anything falling out.

Horn Clutch.jpg 2 Horn Clutch Bag

The flap is saddle leather hinged in the side with the skulls and with a sturdy leather handle through it – which you need as the flap is a perfect fit when fully closed and stays well in place due to the thickness of the leather.

Horn Clutch.jpg 3 Horn Clutch Bag

Finally I polished the surface and exaggerated the natural scratches in the horn before calling it a day about 10 minutes after I started.  Obviously I am only going to be using this at a handful of  fashion events, but it does fit a surprising amount of stuff inside.

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Usagi no Ehon

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Usagi no Ehon

Last Friday my best friend and I hopped along to the bunny cafe Usagi no Ehon in Shimokitazawa and spent a very happy couple of hours in the company of some insanely cute rabbits. Very highly recommended!

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