Just one of those weeks . . .

Where so much has been going on and yet, I feel so exhausted and out of it that I don't really feel like writing on my blog unless the excitement comes back.

Well, here were the highlights of things I did recently that I did not write about:

1. I SAW BRIGHT STAR
I'd say I missed the first few minutes because I got there a little late, but loved the rest of it. And yeah, I did cry. And oh yeah, watched it with my friend and totally going to go watch it again by myself to cry . . . by myself (I know myself too well freaky I know)
And how many times did I say myself in that one sentence?

2. Started watching Beautiful People. I know I know, old show, keep up with the times. But seriously, I JUST got into Sex and the City over the summer. There is no way it can get worse than that.
How did I get into BP? Well, sorta a secret, but sorta just by chance. I will say I'm on episode 5 or so and it's getting kinda boring already. Always the same scenario . . . I wish there was more substance. That, and I feel bad for Gideon because he's so never getting Sophie. I mean, the awkward nice guy never gets the girl! Although when your competition is Jackson Rathbone, I totally understand . . .
I think I'll keep watching it for kicks. And the creeper teacher that I knew had a thing for the sister the whole time. And Nick's father Julian . . . is kinda charming. Oh, and this line:
"I'd commit seppuku but my mother would absolutely lose it if I got the Burberry stained." I wish I could say that like, everyday.

3. Went to New York Anime Festival for a translating job. I got to see one of my friends I haven't seen in FOREVER because she lives in another state, but she was being as adorable as usual selling the cutest accessories EVAR. She's sweeter than apple pie y'all, and her blog is right here:
http://mintymix.livejournal.com/
Also saw some of my other friends along with some other cool people. I managed not to die of embarrassment from freaking out too much about press conferences for Japanese idols, and I did manage to have some fun because the producer of Soul Eater was super laid back. Oh, and I totally bumped into this adorable Japanese unit called Kokushoku Sumire TWICE by accident in the street way far away from the con which makes me question whether the places I visit are like tourist spots, but I was so blinded by their cuteness that I forgot that and I actually TALKED to them. Which means the shame game shall not be used on me today!

4. This is more of an agenda thing . . . my friends and I are planning to go see Vera Wang next Saturday in the East Hamptons. I don't think my aesthetic belongs in the Hamptons but I would love to see Vera Wang and her interview discusssion event. But that would also require me to travel and I am so wiped. So my going depends on a. my mood, and b. my lack of sleep, and c. if anyone can convince me enough to forget everything else and just go.

Feel like dying . . .

I feel I will deteriorate by tomorrow because:

1. Lack of sleep
2. That equals lack of brain function
3. That equals TRANSLATING JOB WILL BE FAIL
4. That equals SHAME UPON ME AND MY LIFE


And whilst I should not be so harsh on myself, I realize that this is a HUGE DEAL because what I say pretty much goes in terms of translating, so if I screw everything up, nit pickers will know and therefore tear me apart.

And because this whole post made no sense (since I didn't clarify what translating job this is), I'm just going to say it involves some Japanese girl bands and producers, and people who obviously want me to fail because then they can kill me and hate me and gnaw at my brain. The end.

Fashion doesn't wait . . .

So being off the computer for a few days really didn't help the fact that fashion doesn't wait. Now I have all this catching up to do and I'm ready to just crawl back into my bed and read (<-----loser)

Well, that being a half lie, I did manage to get some work done yesterday. I finished all my hems including the annoying Hong Kong stitch which I did wrong maybe 5 times and had to redo. Now I have to redo some of my seams because I did them wrong, but luckily I managed to grab the instructional dvd on how to do them at my library (and the right one this time!) so that should help.

THAT being said, I think Charlie le Mindu is amazing.
Does anybody else think of Gaultier's hair hat when you see this? (of which was amazing seeing at the Met a while ago)
I mean, who doesn't want a giant lip on their heads? And hair skirts? Okay, so maybe not . . . but either way I dig it. I don't care if people think it's ridiculous, at least it's not boring!

In other news, I ate ice cream this morning which is terrible to do but I did anyway. And right after a nice bowl of Newman's Own cereal. *tears* Needless to say I just eat a lot in the morning. My argument is that I need that sugar for karaoke-ing today!

So now I must go and get ready. I shall update more of what is going to go down this weekend as I will be pretty busy. Toodles everyone~~~~

Anna Sui Release Party

Okay, so this is ##3 from the post I made before this. Excuse the fact that I am super duper sleepy right now, and therefore will talk like someone who is vulnerable to laughing gas.

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On Thursday this week, I was supposed to go to volunteer as a dresser at the Stella Zotis show (remember Stella, that cool rocker chick from Project Runway Season 5?) Well, I don't know exactly what happened but there was no show. Luckily, however, I had the invite to the Anna Sui party on me, so I proceeded to head over there after meeting some friends who were also going.

The party was for the launch of the new fragrance "Rock Me". Not as fruity as some of her other scents, but more floral, with a sort of maturity to it.

I arrived, headed inside, and saw a group of people all mingling, obviously invited to the party as well.

I started to browse. It was maybe only 45 minutes or so into the party when I turned around and saw this woman who looked SO GOSH DARN FAMILIAR from the back, and people were taking pictures with her. I turned to my friend and said, "You know, that looks like Anna Sui from the back . . . " So of course we scuttled to where the crowd was staring at this familiar woman, and LO AND BEHOLD, it was indeed ANNA SUI.

I proceeded to freak out because I

1. I LOVE ANNA SUI
2. I purposefully try to avoid going to that store too often so as not to break my bank
3. I LOVE HER
4. She's Anna Sui

So I whipped out my camera and waited until all was clear to ask for a picture with her. She was very nice and said yes, so we took a picture. THAT copy I'm going to keep on my computer to squee about, however I supply you with pictures of Anna and random strangers I didn't know.

(darn, looking at these pictures really makes me realize I need a better camera)

After my little moment of bliss, I then went around snapping pictures of fabulously dressed people and one of myself with adorable bartenders who I swear weren't real bartenders (because a. they were too cute and b. they were just pouring out bubbly and fruits).

(more scribbling ensues . . .)

Around the time all this picture taking was done, it was more than halfway into the party, and I saw that Anna was still around the store talking to people. So I did the final thing I could think of and mustered all my strength to ask for an autograph on my invitation as memorabilia.


She's too fabulous guys! And now I know why I was meant to become her fan . . . (drama queen moment).

The rest of the night I was near the front of the store looking at fragrances and checking out nail polish. Decided to get one in 005, the gold glittery-shimmery-goodness-in-a-bottle one. I was ecstatic when the store person came back and told me it was the last bottle (woot for lucky happenings!) And I have to say . . . I have it on now, and apart from the fact that it smells like roses (as does all her fabulous body/cosmetic merch), it really is gorgeous and you can put it on top of any color really. I currently have it on top of a copper polish made by Sally Hansen called "Lucky Penny".

So yes, thus was my Thursday, an amazing party full of good times and good people and Anna Sui! My last wonderful happening was just when I was paying, one of the staff girls I know hugged me at the counter and told me she was happy I came.

That was my thought [x] a billion.

Giddy as a school girl . . .

Well, I technically am a girl who goes to school, so does that make me giddy all the time (yes . . . )

But anyway, I have about 3 main reasons to be giddy:

1. I have my first follower . . . from Australia (thank you muchly dear)!

2. Peter Som's collection makes me want to blow bubbles in a daisy field, eat soft serve ice cream at amusement parks, and let go of a balloon and watch it disappear in the sky. Such flirty patterns and colors . . . I want it all! I have friends who are scared of color (or just don't wear any), and I think even they would love this collection. Anyway, pictures speak for themselves.

3. THE BEST FOR LAST.
Which I'm making into an entirely separate post that will come right after this (oh, I am evil). And man, it smells like chicken . . . it's a sign I should be sleeping . . .


images credited to style.com

Michael Kor-ing this morning . . .

I think everyone should take the name of a designer and just make it into a verb. Life would be more fun that way if you could tell people to stop Rodarte-ing and La-Renta-ing.

I think the same works with Politicians . . . there are so many instances that I wished Ron Paul was a verb. And speaking of Ron Paul, just finished watching an interview of his on youtube, basically saying he was right about predicting that the economy would become bad, and that the Federal Reserve should be gone because it's harming people more than helping them.

(click image to watch)

He also talks a lot about Obama and the decisions he's making and how it's not really going to work (i.e. social medicine). I personally love watching these kind of interviews (and curse my political junkie friends who converted me last year), so if you're interested, check it out!

Well, going back to my title, this morning I was up and decided to watch the live showing of Michael Kors' fashion show on his website.
I'm not a huge fan of Michael Kors and I don't really find his things that attractive personally, but I think it's because he's catering to a much older sophisticated woman, who likes clean cuts, lines, and toned down colors. That and on some of his shoes, the bottom looks like ridged potato chips. But I can appreciate the audience that buys his stuff, and I think it's consistent what he's doing; so in that sense, I do respect him greatly.

That being said, his ss2010 collection was actually pretty nice. There were definitely a few pieces I really liked (usually the draped tops or the structured skirts), and it was quite sexy (the sexy that's not like "look at me" but more like "I know I am. So what?") His menswear that came down the runway with the womenswear was a little less exciting, and some of it I didn't like too much. Overall though, pretty collection.

Listening to Thriller . . . and browsing Zac and Marc

Because every Tuesday night should be a thriller night, right? Actually, it should because I don't have classes on Wednesdays! Woot!

I have GOT to stop these freak out moments involving designers *cough Zac Posen cough* BUT IT HAD TO HAPPEN TODAY (it was inevitable) BECAUSE IN HIS SS 2010, HE USED TAO OKAMOTO. AND SO DID MARC JACOBS. And I freaking love her. I swear I forgot exactly how I came upon her, but when I realized it, I loved her. She is just the perfect androgynous specimen with hair that I wish I could work and legs up to the empire state building. Love her.


But back to Zac Posen. Woke up this morning at 5:30 to finish some random sewing for class today, and went online to find some images of hairstyles for model drawing (which we barely used anyway! Totally wasted ink like 3 times printing it out without streaks . . . ) But me being me, I had to check out Zac Posen and Marc Jacob's collections for next Spring/Summer . . .

Zac Posen

Some looks from the show. Obviously a variety, ranging from see through rain coats to evening dresses. When I saw it this morning at 5:30 in the morning, I gotta say I didn't see much of it to really appreciate it. But after seeing the whole collection AND the models walking, gotta say love seeing them smile and twirl like they did. And apart from a few looks, really do love the collection. I think the best part about the clothes is the choice of color and how flattering the general silhouettes are (unlike Alexander Wang's ss2010 . . . sorry had to say it [too]).

Marc Jacobs

Uhhhh, well, starting with what I did like, the colors for example (especially that blue he used for a good chunk of his collection) were lovely and also very formal conservative Hilary-Clinton-drinking-champagne kind of colors. That and he was creative . . . I guess.
But to get to the point non-kicking-around-the-bush moment, I was sort of like what the bleep bleep bleepers is up with the shiny baby blue bra on top of the orange and cream top? And the ruffles that look kinda cheap and granny (in a not so good way)? And why incorporate the geisha in this? I feel like so many things just went into the collection but it didn't work together. Like if you take all your fav foods and put them together, that it'd probably taste nasty? Yeah, kinda like that . . .


Oh well, so you win some you lose some. Speaking of fashion shows though, anyone check out Chris Benz? The colors were really cute, and the overall collection was a mix between sporty and flirty. But apart from that, I came across a great discovery.

I REALLY WANT THESE SHOES:

Sandy Claws may you put them in my stockings.

images credited to style.com

The Video Music Awards

I really don't have the chance to watch any award show except the Oscars because my dad can't stand those things. And music awards . . . no one backs me up in my family about those. So me being the good little teenage American girl with a lot of time on my hands (which is a LIE because I'm just procrastinating) took the time to watch some coveted clips and decided to comment on a few things.

1. I should be commenting on the Taylor Swift Kanye West controversy (is it even?) first, but I think everyone knows what happened. Basically West called her out when she won Best Female Video and said Beyonce had best video and that left Taylor kinda . . . quiet. Look, Taylor is darling, Beyonce is a doll, and Kanye has done too many things before for this to be remotely shocking.
2. Uhhhhh, LADY GAGA?! She actually freaked me out during "Paparazzi". Like, I think it's her face . . . the blank stare in her eyes and the blood irked me. And the red crown and lace outfit . . .
3. Pink and Shakira wearing the same Balmain dress was win actually because they both rocked it and uh, duh, I kind of love Pink. She's amazing.
4. Michael Jackson tribute was really lovely. Those dancers are banging.
5. Beyonce's Single Ladies is everywhere, and has been everywhere since it came out. I don't mind too much, I mean, I've heard it enough to be able to recite the lyrics to you therefore I won't be distracted from anything if it comes on. But her performance of the song, I admit to loving it. I think what made it the best was that after watching it, I realized that if the Single Ladies dance was a workout regimen, that would totally work for me.
6. I hated Whitney Port and Jennifer Lopez's dresses. And Tyson Ritter wore a suit the same color as my blood (inside joke). And Beyonce's dress had the oddest lump in the front that I did not care for. This being all said, nothing against the people, just the clothes.

images credited to mtv.com

I got kissed by a fly today

Because I was wearing candy flavored lip gloss and obviously, flies must be attracted to that, hence the smooch from the fly. My, what a wonderful way to start my day.

So I'm totally not looking at Anna Sui boots on Japanese auction sites right now. And I'm totally not swooning over them and obsessing over them and wanting to buy them. And I'm totally not going to look at other stuff on Japanese auctions because they're way cheaper than ebay. Of course not.

Speaking of Anna, saw a gorgeous dress at the Buffalo Exchange here for $48 and it was quite great condition. But me being the cheapo that I am, I lingered over it for 2 days and decided not to get it. And now I'm re-thinking my decision. If it's still there tomorrow, I may just go back (unless someone here convinces me otherwise). God I need to go through some Anna Sui shopping therapy.

SO TODAY, I went over to the Metropolitan Pavilion for the Sara Shepherd of London fashion show. I had to get there 3 hours before the show so I could help out and be ready to dress the models quickly.

Most of us were in pairs, so my partner and I got assigned Uliana Tikhova (@ right) as our model. She was SUPER SWEET, and I didn't know she was pretty well known! Just checked her stats online right now actually, and I am so in love with the line-up of designers she's worked for. She was pretty quiet at first, but she is just super likeable.

Best moment was when she looked at my shoes and said "I like your shoes! They look vintage," which pretty much made my shoes model-approved and me a happy happy camper.

Can't really go into details of what went down now since I'm waiting on a few pictures from my friends. But it will come fully sooner or later. Here's a sneak peek picture though.


Oops, I turned into a rabbit. It wasn't supposed to happen today . . . (naaw, I just looked tired hence my scribbling)

Tokyo Joe is the definition of "disrespect"

Obviously people who have read up on this tiny little consignment store in the East Village will know what I'm talking about, people who have endured it as I did yesterday will understand it to its full extent, and people who have no clue, well, be happy you're blissfully unaware and if you want to keep it that way, don't read on.



I frequent Tokyo Joe for it's collection. Not bad stuff for not bad prices. But after yesterday, I don't think I'll be going back.

My friend and I went over there yesterday so I could grab some cute shoes I saw a few weeks ago that happened to still be there. But of course, since it's a clothing store and it's nice designer stuff for moderate prices, I decided looking around to see if anything else would suit my fancy didn't seem like a bad idea.

Now, I'm Japanese, born in NY. I know English and Japanese both fluently, but if I'm with a friend who doesn't know Japanese, OBVIOUSLY I would not be speaking Japanese to her. I guess for some ridiculous reason they must have thought that I was not Japanese then (which is the stupidest deduction) and therefore safe to do what they did next.

After maybe perusing for a good 20 minutes, looking through their dresses and shirts and jackets, I hear the girls chattering away again (they're like mocking birds, they don't stop chattering about the most pointless things). Then the girl right behind my friend and I look over at us and says to her staff friend "I don't know what they've been looking for all this time but they're getting super annoying."

True, they could've talked trash about how we looked or what we were talking about or whatever whatever, but it just made it worse that they had a problem with us browsing. The whole point of coming into a clothing store and browsing is to figure out if we want to BUY something. If you have a problem with people looking through your store, then obviously you should be working else where. It was also the specific phrases she used to say "they" and "annoying" that made it even worse.
That comment was only made worse by the fact that I remembered at that point they were saying things when I was trying on the particular shoe I wanted as well.

I thought about leaving on the spot, but decided I would get the shoes because it's not like the shoes were at fault. I waited for one of them to get the other pair, took out my credit card, and waited to sign. Then as I was signing, I knew I just had to say something. So I looked at them and said, "By the way, next time you say bad things about other people, make sure they don't know Japanese." I took the shoes and left after that.

They were pretty silent when I said it and they didn't bother looking at me afterwards so I'm sure they got it. I could've asked for an apology in Japanese, but didn't even want to deal after that.



If I'm ever in the area, I'm going to Buffalo Exchange right next door. All the staffers are friendly there, and you don't end up leaving, ticked out of your mind.

Fashion's Night Out

This post is delayed due to classes and overall not being able to get on a computer since then, so here is everything including lovely photos, a recap of EVERYTHING I experienced that night, and just overall, a super long post.

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The day started out as it always does, except that I was dying to get out because you-know-why.

After getting out of class at 5 p.m., I managed to make my way over to Korea Town to get my fix of some kimchi rice for dinner, and headed over to 5th Ave where I would be meeting my friend. She was on line at Aldo trading in shoes for a sweet $50 gift card, so I decided to do what I've been having dreams about for the past few weeks:

Seeing Zac Posen

My choicest set of pictures of him and le model (who was by the way was adorable)

So here's the tragic story that I must share about seeing Zac Posen:

I was happily snapping away pictures of him and his fabulous rhinestone laurels/tiara, when my friend arrived. She needed to use the bathoom, so off we went in search of one in the ever-so-crowded department store that is Bergdorf Goodman. After taking care of business and coming out again, Zac was out of the window and my friend was on the phone. Being the shifty eye-d girl that I am, I started to look around. That's when I actually had a 10 second heart attack.

ZAC WAS OUTTA THE WINDOWS AND ON THE STREETS. TAKING PICTURES.

I was dying and naturally had to go over, so off we did. I took my camera out, set it up, and waited for my moment to jump in and ask. All of a sudden, a random man starts asking questions, so away those 10 seconds went. And then suddenly, a woman who was with him (Zac) says "we have to go" and there I am, yelling "wait" only to say hello to his back walking away.

I ended up tearing for the next 20 minutes.

I got over it though because a. I had to, but b. I was still glad I at least got to see him and be about half a foot away from that fabulosity.

So the rest of the night included going downtown to Soho and in and outta shops. Oh, but before that, we went inside a Cole Haan where we had the most orgasmic cupcake with a chocolate center, followed by an orgasmically soft leather bag designed by Maria Sharapova. Oh, and the staff at 5 ave. Cole Haan are just super friendly, and I was overall a happy camper there.
But back to going downtown, more pictures:

Parties were everywhere, people were everywhere, and the streets were covered in ice chips and cars that couldn't move. It was pretty amazing.
The 5th random crowd picture (counting from the left and down) was a result of the whole neighborhood wanting to grab pictures of Rihanna in front of Intermix. The last picture is a cookie I grabbed at Topshop from Eleni's (which reminds me I have not visited their store in Chelsea Market for a while), which I gave half of to my mother the next day.

I would say the longest I stayed in a store was at Anna Sui, because if anyone knows me, they know I LOVE Anna Sui, her clothes, accessories, store, and store staff. I was planning to buy more there, but decided since it was already getting late, I'd opt for their conditioning lotion (which so glad they re-stocked, along with some of their other bath things because I am OBSESSED) and some sparkling blue tights.

The right is an invitation I got to their release of their new fragrance "Rock Me." Tragedy story number 2 is thus: I'm attending a show (the better phrase would be I'm dressing models backstage) and it happens to be the same day and time frame as the release party. So of course, I'm going to have to miss it. And I love Anna's fragrances so naturally this is a big blow for me. This also means I need to go on a quest to find someone to give this invitation to.


The rest of the night ended with drizzling rain, some more ice on streets, passing by the Prada party, and discussing more fashion on the train with my friend. Ending with some intense fangirling of Zac Posen on the phone with my friend over at Boston, hugging my blanket while we talked about his perfect eyebrows and sweaty charming awkwardness.