brown glasses, green dress, los angeles.

brown glasses, green dress, tokyo.

sunday best.

dress: Rampage
blouse: vintage
belt: mercibeaucoup

work chic to beat tokyo heat.

My friend, M, met me after work today for some coffee. This is what smart, simple work clothes look like.

super socks.

My friend, Yoshiko, gave me these socks with my illustrations on them. My heart warms thinking how much time and planning she put into getting these made.

mj bag.

Aya and the Marc Jacobs purse she ended up choosing.


We were impressed that this fan had a lace cover.

my best guest!

Please welcome my first special guest on this blog: aya. She is an amazing illustrator and graphic designer. I think every girl has been on the quest for the perfect bag but not every girl can illustrate that quest. Aya documented her recent search and final purchase with these adorable illustrations and her charming narration. Enjoy!

day 1:
Shinjuku department stores
1. Lumine est
2. Lumine 1 & 2
3. Flags
4. Keio department store
5. Odakyu department store

What I found: so many metal hoops and ornaments on a bag which i didn't like.
most of the bags i saw seemed too trendy so i didn't think i can carry that after this season..
so after the 6th department store, i just felt given up for the day.
what i look for my dream bag is...it can go formal, but casual..also has to be simple..
it's difficult!




so, about those 3 bags, i really liked that they're all classic but yet some part is still playful and new.
i picked the little black purse! it feels so nice~

sunday best.

dress: beams
lace slip: vintage
bear necklace: L.D.S.
heart necklace: claire's

across the board.

It's already September and Tokyo girls across all genres are getting ready for chilly fall weather. As featured in all the magazines, on the top of the trend charts are leather motorcycle jackets. These are not the clunky, heavy, crackly mostrosities you encounter in thrift stores. The cuts are lean and compact and the leather is buttery and soft. The price tags for these luxurious jackets are admittedly intimidating for many. But for those on a budget or for those who don't wear leather many juniors lines have faux leather versions, which is good for those who want to test-drive this look before committing to a big ticket real leather purchase.

One of the fresh new ways to wear it is over a sweet dress to add a little masculine charm. This time around the key is not to be too literal. Try pairing the jacket with soft textures and feminine styles like chiffon dresses, slim cut overalls, sailor shorts or lace.

I'm looking forwarding to trying out this look myself.

sunday best, today.

dress: betsey johnson
belt: anap
shirt: 3 minutes of happiness

9/2/07 last week's sunday best.

dress: betsey johnson
necklace: 109 and handmade

I'm lovin' it.

9/4/2007, Shimokitazawa McDonald's

My friend was running late, an hour late, so I popped into the McDonald's by the station for some coffee and fries. It had been a while since I sat and ate at McDonald's. Once in a blue moon I'll crave a McFlurry or some chicken nuggets or the newest gimicky thing on the menu piques my curiousity and I find an excuse to indulge myself, but when I succumb I usually take my guilt to go. I'd rather not be caught in public stuffing my face with transfats. I can only enjoy this kind of guilty pleasure at home or with a friend, "see, she's eating it, too. we're just eating it for fun. see how fun it is...".

But yesterday as I was sitting by myself facing a menacing pile of fries, coffee and the gray spackled countertop, I felt like a fly on the wall. The place was filled: mostly broke highschool students, broke college students and broke bachelors. I listened intently to all the commotion around me. When that got old I turned to my book but smoky gray ash kept raining down on me and sticking to my skin. I was surrounded by so many young smokers(teenage rebellion!! so overdone, but interesting). But after forty minutes I started to feel truly miserable I felt like I was coming down with something and I nearly ran out of there when my friend called to say she arrived.

In the end the fluorescent lighting, underage smoking and ash kind of took the joy out of my anthropological research and squashed my rose-tinted memories of hanging out here with my friends when I was a teenager, but it was worth it to get a brief look at a different side of Japan otherwise I'm kind of sheltered by my trendiness.

nylon polymers.

New illustrations in the current issues of Nylon and Nylon Japan.

girly, tomboyish, nerdy.

Yoko's girly style is so easy, breezy and L.A., by way of Tokyo, cute.


It takes a certain kind of girl to pull off this short of a haircut. Eri pulls off this tomboy look with a deceptive ease.


I love the "nerdy" look! These glasses make any outfit look nerdier even the high heels and suspenders with bows I wore today.