1.07 // Japanese street style: a world unto its own

While most of us look into our closets and see jeans, boots, sweaters, dresses, all that... it seems that the youth of Japan have got Hip & Cool nailed down, to a T. Where we have browns, greens, and greys, they have hot pink, turquoise, zebra stripes and Day-Glo orange.
And somehow, they pull it off with the same style & grace that Kate Moss pulls off... well, anything. How do they do it?

Any normal - well, non_japanese - person would look like an absolute clown trying to pull this off. But these two? Nah, no biggie - just another normal day. (Heck, you should see them when they dress up!)

Well there you have it. Dressed up. (For what? Anything in particular? We'll never know...)

I particularly like that photo - goth, yet chic & elegant. I love the middle outfit, especially the hat (of course!), but all 3 are spectacular.

A big thing over there is cosplay: dressing up and even acting like characters from manga, anime, comic books, and other East-Asian media. Gotta love how it turns out ~

(Notice the girl in the background too!)

Love the shoes on the right.

There are whole cosplay conventions, often associated with video games. Sort of like science fiction conventions here... but it'd be frowned upon to come dressed up as someone like Hitler. There, that's considered a great cosplay costume. (Cosplay = costume + play).

and our look du jour:

Twiggy. Of course.

Don't worry, I'll get to her pretty soon...

~ r

1.06 // Equestrian? Oui, s'il-vous plait!

Equestrian doesn’t necessarily have to mean horse poop and smelly clothes - it can mean smart jackets, white gloves, quirky hats and - of course - riding boots. That much has been made obvious the past few seasons, and has been well showcased in collections from Rag&Bone, Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Lauren, Carolina Herrera, Moschino Cheap & Chic, and many more. The good news is, you don’t need to go out and spend hundreds to get the look - maybe drop a few $$ for the boots (if you don’t already have some - they’re a great staple for fall & spring), and if you want to go all-out and get a bona fide riding hat. Be my guest!

(Essentials for this look: white ruffles, black or brown leather, appropriate trousers [gray or black, usually], riding boots, subdued color palette - an all-around elegant and refined look).

Rag&Bone // Fall 2008

Carolina Herrera // Fall 2008

Moschino Cheap & Chic // Fall 2008

Oscar de la Renta // Resort 2009

Ralph Lauren // Spring 2008

Ralph Lauren // Spring 2009

…and it must be good, since it’s caught on so quickly! We’ve been seeing cropped pants paired with smart ankle and knee-high boots, and a veritible plethora of fitted blazers & jackets with very English-style cuts on the lapels and waist. Here, see for yourself:

see the pants + leather + blouse?

And a few inspirational photos:

…et maitenent, notre equipement du jour:

Bottega Veneta // Spring 2009 (doesn’t really fit in with the theme, but I love this look - and this is just the right shade of brurnt orange that I love!)

Asta la vista!

~ r