Snapshots from my first day in Tokyo

Hello from Japan! So apart from being completely terrified on my first night as I went shaken awake by a tiny little earthquake at 3am, I have arrived safely and have had the most amazing first day in Tokyo! I threw myself right into the middle of Shibuya and Harajuku to get reacquainted with 'essential' Tokyo, then spent the night wandering around Omotesando and had dinner in downtown Ikebukuro. Here's some pretty pictures of my day. Watching the moon rise on one side of the plane as the sun set on the other, about to fly over Japan. And it's definitely winter here - there's melted snow piles everywhere! A side street in Harajuku and my outfit for the day! Checking out the Disney store in Shibuya where they have a perfect replica of Andy's room from Toy Story! Takeshita Street in Harajuku - the most amazing shopping street in the world. I promised myself I wouldn't make the first day into a shopping day but somehow came back to our hostel with 5 bags of goodies. Oops... The most incredible (and cheap!) lolita-style store! (I may have bought a pretty wig) Very Harajuku-style clothing Cat-themed accessories are EVERYWHERE If you ever go to Japan, go to a Thank You Mart. Everything is 390 yen, or about $4 each. And they have the largest selection of vintage clothing and cute accessories. The above photo is what I got and it all cost me $12 (and the socks were 2 pairs for 100 yen!) Went to the famous Avant Garde in Harajuku and had a nice chat with the owner! This is a printed tights store, who print their own designs on tights for around $30 a pair, and is basically the reason tattoo tights became super fashionable last year. It was awesome being in the place where the trend originated. Late-night snack in 7-11. I love Japanese 7-11. You can buy whole (and good) Japanese meals here for about $3. Wandering the extremely fancy Omotesando and window shopping Dior, Chanel, Swarovski and Anna Sui who all have MASSIVE stores here. A little something I bought myself in Harajuku... how could I resist?? Went to a Book-Off chain and bought a bunch of back-issues of magazines, which all cost me about $12. Got myself some recent Nylon magazines and a Kera from May. Full of so much inspiration! I will have an outfit post for you guys very soon. Hope you're all super well!

Packing my bags..

Packing a variety of wigs and other pretty hair accessories... (floral headband is DIY) Finally, today I'm getting around to packing my bags. Gosh I hate packing - but I know I have no justification for whinging because I'm packing for a very good reason, so that's the very last complaining you'll hear from me. Planning my outfits... (minus the hundreds of layers of thermals I'll also be wearing beneath) Totally set for Valentines day in Japan AND my 2-year anniversary thanks to the extremely speedy delivery and arrival of these tights this morning c/o My Tights Versatile leather skater skirt and all the jewellery I'm taking with me (mainly provided to me by Merrin & Gussy and Oasap, and of course, my handmade sunflower clips) I'm really excited to wear that bat necklace with some black lipstick and creepy doll dress! Entirely necessary 5 lipsticks I'm bringing... red, black, pink, blue and lilac Some handmade presents for people I'm meeting up with in Japan! It is going to be Valentines day after all... My lifesaver for the long plane trip... my amazingly amazing Kindle loaded up with about 50 science fiction books, Carl Sagan essays and the Origin of Species which I will make myself read! Plus a couple of trashy novels, because, well, you know, it is a long flight... SO, this is goodbye from me for a few days! I'll speak to you all once I'm in... *deep breath*... TOKYO!

Vintage Japan!

Wow. So I made the discovery while on my trip to Japan last month that their vintage stores are absolutely incredibly amazing beyond-belief. This is why:

1. Everything is an amazing quality. Japan must have some seriously trendy grannies because the quality of clothing is fantastic. You don’t have to turn the place upside down to find just 1 or 2 okay vintage pieces – basically every piece on the racks is good. The only hard part is choosing what to buy!
2. Everything is my size! No more searching through endless size 18s and 20s. Japanese people are small and so are their clothes, so everything fit me!
3. Everything is well priced. Well, half the stores were “boutique” and very expensive, but the other half were very well priced, such as the 390 yen and 780 yen stores (that’s about $5 and $9). There were also loads of sales.
4. They are open late at night, which is fantastic if like me you don’t get out of bed until way past midday.

If you are seriously into vintage, you seriously need to consider going to Japan. The best suburbs for vintage are Shimokitazawa, Harujuku and Koenji in Tokyo, and Namba in Osaka. This particular photo was taken in Fukushima in Osaka (not THAT Fukushima by the way). My suitcase literally split at the seams trying to lug all these clothes back but it was completely worth it! There will be more photos up from Japan asap! I'm so excited to post all about it!

Wearing:

Cream Polka-dot textured Cardigan

Vintage from Japan

Lace Frill Socks

Tutuanna (Tokyo)

Maroon Bowler Hat

Markets in Osaka

Vintage Bubblegum Patterned Bow Tie Dress

Vintage Shop in Osaka

Orange Satchel Bag

www.wholesale-dress.net

Black Boots

Vintage

Did you miss me?

xx Annika