C is for 'Choco Nyan' ♥ {The ABCs of Japanese Fashion.}

C is for 'Choco Nyan'. ♥

Not much is known about the elusive Choco Nyan. She doesn't have a blog showcasing her daily outfits and activities, like most fashionable girls these days do...But that doesn't stop her from being an incredibly inspiring lolita icon. Her pictures appear often in the Gothic & Lolita Bible and KERA magazines, and she's been seen once or twice in Japanese fashion documentaries and chatting it up with the occassional foreign celebrity....But no one really knows any of the nitty-gritty details about her. How on earth did such a hard-to-track girl become so popular?

Choco Nyan and her parter-in-crime Jun strolling with famous burlesque dancer and model Dita Von Tease. Oh my! Too much awesome in one picture! ♥

What we do know about Choco Nyan, or 'Ayana' (the other name she uses for herself), is that she is a young, up-and-coming fashion designer herself, and is often photographed for street style spreads in magazines for gothic and lolita styles. She is either seen by herself, or sometimes with her also-dressed-up boyfriend (or ex-boyfriend, so I've heard) Jun. Her outfits are very memorable and unique, usually mixing classic and gothic lolita elements, making her a style icon for girls in Japan and all over the world.

Choco Nyan and Jun dressed up in matching tartan and cute green berets~ ♥

It's really hard to say anything else about Miss Choco Nyan. Not much else is known. But her pictures really speak for themselves. ♥

Choco Nyan and a friend looking elegant in classic lolita.

An entire spread on Choco Nyan and her matching boyfriend.

Choco Nyan getting experimental in a gothic and ero-loli inspired outfit. Fun! ♥

The ABCs of Japanese Fashion...

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A is for Angelic Pretty ♥ B is for Baby, The Stars Shine Bright ♥ ...more coming soon!!

"X O X O" ♥ A visual circus with Miliyah Kato.

So I had this Jpop song on repeat the other night. I'm not one to really listen to Jpop, unless something really catches my attention...and somehow, this did. A golden carousel horse opens up the video for what becomes a Queen of Hearts-style, circus-esque scene. The quirky but fascinating singer belts out a cute pop ballad, accompanied by her equally wild-looking backup dancers with some wacky choreography, as if the video was some kind of Asian Lady Gaga short. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the whimsical show that is Miliyah Kato's "XOXO".

I remember Miliyah's name being thrown around a year ago, when she was just becoming a recognized in the music scene. Gyaru magazines locked onto her immediately and began documenting her unique fashion style. She became a style icon for months to come for gyaru gals everywhere. I, too, was fascinated by Miliyah's quirky, experimental style, even though I didn't really know any of her music...

Until recently, it seemed that Miliyah Kato had become rather quiet, and I had not heard anything new from her in a while...No new music video singles, no new magazine spreads...Until now. I caught wind of her new single "XOXO" and looked it up out of curiosity. I was pleasantly surprised with what I found! Miliyah is just as beautiful and inspiring as ever, in her wild outfits in a color scheme of gold, red, and black--I especially love her soft curled bob with her fancy pirate-style hat...Looks so cool! ♥ And of course her little curly buns sticking out from the sides of her head, paired with striking red lips...soo lovely~

The rest of her video is just as visual as she is. Her giant costumed animal friends and the circus-style pedestals are a very nice touch...I especially like the last scene--with her and her dancers posed around the golden carousel horse, wearing black face masks--slightly dark and sooo cool-looking! ♥

All that being said, Miliyah Kato is a trendy gal with enough personality to keep anyone interested. As a singer, she definitely delivers--she has a beautiful voice that's ranges from soft to powerful, and full of emotion--definitely worth checking out! ♥

B is for 'Baby, The Stars Shine Bright' ♥ {The ABCs of Japanese Fashion.}

B is for Baby, The Stars Shine Bright.

(I apologize for my font randomly changing sizes. Blogspot likes to give my trouble whenever I make a big post....)

Like many lolitas, I have a soft spot for the novel/film "Kamikaze Girls". Written by the lolita cult-classic author Novala Takemoto, Kamikaze Girls tells the silly but sweet story of unexpected friendship between a dedicated, Rococo-loving lolita girl and a tough Yanki biker girl. Much of the story revolves around the lolita girl's love for a fashion brand called "Baby, The Stars Shine Bright", which is actually a real lolita fashion brand that many girls have been wearing since the 80s. . . ♥

Baby, The Stars Shine Bright is another lolita brand that stared sometime in the 1980s by a man named Akinori Isobe and his wife. Like in the last 'ABCs' article I did, Baby is another brand that caters to the "sweet" lolita style, putting out dresses covered in expensive lace, all in pastels, and often using printed fabrics portraying delicate floral prints and cute food items. Unlike its rainbow, glittery, "deco loli" counterpart Angelic Pretty, Baby makes more subdued, but equally "sweet" pieces that are more delicate and soft-looking compared to Angelic Pretty's loud colors and wild design choices. Baby is considered a very classic "old-school" sweet lolita brand among girls of the lolita fashion scene--the brand still has a very innocent, girly, princess feel that is similar to lolita style back when it started in the 70s, making it stand out from the in-your-face colors and extreme overload of cuteness that is the modern-day sweet lolita world. Despite this rather "out-of-date" sound, the brand has a huge following of very dedicated fans all over the world~

Novala Takemoto, the infamous frilly author that wrote Kamikaze Girls and many other lolita-themed stories and poems. He's quite dapper when he's not dressed in girl's clothes, I swear. . . xD

Baby is probably one of the most famous lolita brands outside of Japan--it has set up shop in both Paris and the United States, and plays a major role in both Novala's Kamikaze Girls, and also the up-and-coming short film "Mr. Rococo"-- the story of a lolita girl who has spent her whole life loving only "cute" things, and ends up falling in love with a professional wrestler who only loves "tough girls"...thus starting her journey of becoming a frilly wrestler! (I don't even know....lol! from the looks of it, though, the movie looks pretty amusing, despite the bizarre storyline...)

Several collaborations have also been done with this brand, from accessories made with Hello Kitty's pet cat 'Charmmy Kitty', aprons and purses in the shape of Gloomy Bear, and many other things. Novala Takemoto himself even designed a line with Baby called "Pour Lolita", with the memorable catchline "God Save the Lolita". Unfortunately, the cult author's line got canned after Novala got arrested for smoking marijuana...which caused a bit of a scandal in the lolita world, though he continues to still have a huge following....myself included~ ♥ xD

A darling magazine advertisement for Alice and the Pirates. Check out that treasure chest purse! ♥

Baby has another separate clothing line under it's wing, titled "Alice and the Pirates", that makes whimsical nautical-themed lolita clothes with a punk-pirate twist. The brand concept is literally "Alice in Wonderland meeting a bunch of cool pirates", which is quite fitting. Fanciful blouses with frilled jabots, long trenchcoats with oversized collars and dripping with golden chains, and cute purses in the shape of tiny treasure chests are a common sight for this line. Different from the sweet lolita vibe of the original Baby line, Alice and the Pirates is slightly darker, and is popular with girls who are more interested in the gothic side of lolita.

The designer of Alice and the Pirates, looking elegant in black and red.

Overall, Baby, The Stars Shine Bright is a memorable and iconic brand that is considered very special in the hearts of many lolitas around the world. It is known as one of the very first lolita-style brands, famous for its huge lace accents and beautiful, elegantly-sweet designs. Baby creates a whole new world for girls to divulge in--a world of sweets and soft fairytale princesses. And a little pirate-edge, of course. ♥

Let's see more~! ♪

**Links...
♥ The official Baby, The Stars Shine Bright website. Mostly in Japanese, because Baby doesn't have an official English web store. But it does ship overseas! ♥

♥ One of the various shop blogs of one of the Baby, The Stars Shine Bright stores that are across Japan. All in Japanese, but includes great pictures of newly released products!

♥ Another Baby shop blog. More great pictures of new products~

♥ The shop blog for Baby, The Stars Shine Bright in San Francisco. Finally, a blog in English! Get info on the shop's newest releases here, along with shop events, pictures, etc.~

♥ Baby, The Stars Shine Bright on twitter. In Japanese, but often posts cool behind-the-scenes pics of models, new products, funny pics that the Baby staff takes, etc.

♥ Baby, The Stars Shine Bright (US) on twitter. The twitter for the Baby San Francisco store. In English, and also posts important store info, new releases, etc.~ sometimes posts cute customer snaps too, which is cool! ♥

♥ The official website for the in-the-works "Mr. Rococo" movie, that's being filmed in a real Baby, The Stars Shine Bright store and featuring real Baby clothing. Really nice website--the layout and graphics are really cute, and the trailer (though in Japanese) is right on the front page.

♥ The official website for Novala Takemoto Mostly in Japanese, though there is a badly-translated Engrish section under his "Novala" page. Thought it would be worth including though, because of all his past involvement with Baby~

**Videos...
♥ Part 1 of the San Franscisco Baby, The Stars Shine Bright fashion show. It's really nice to see Baby getting some overseas attention, though the girls in this show are a bit...tedious. Beautiful clothes though--and also a quick appearance from famous lolita model Misako Aoki! ♥

Misako Aoki joins American lolitas in modelling for Baby, The Stars Shine Bright overseas.

♥ Interview with Baby's latest designer, Kumiko Uehara, during the Baby event in San Fransisco.

Kumiko Uehara being a cutie during her Q&A in San Fransisco~

♥ An internet special featuring popular lolita-style musician Nana Kitade and a visit to Baby, The Stars Shine Bright. Nana Kitade brings her host to a Baby store and explains lolita fashion to him...and he attempts the look himself. It's a very silly and charming video--it's so nice to see someone male being genuinely curious about the fashion and not just "hurr durr you're going to be raped by a pedophile". very sweet~ ♥

Punk lolita singer Nana Kitade explains lolita fashion to her interveiwer.

♥ A short video taken in the Baby, The Stars Shine Bright store in Paris. Darling room decor...and, of course, beautiful clothes + accessories!! ♥

A screencap of Hannah's favorite thing---shoes!! ♥

♥ The first scene in the Kamikaze Girls film adaptation that features Baby, The Stars Shine Bright. The translations aren't a 100% perfect, but they're pretty close. It's still a nice look at this silly and charming movie~ ♥ (Also, for those interested, you can buy the DVD--that includes English subtitles--and the original novel by Novala Takemoto both on amazon.com...I own both and I love them so much!! ♥ )

The lolita herione of Kamikaze Girls explaining how she discovered the Baby brand.

♥ A wonderful in-depth look at a Baby, The Stars Shine Bright store, where lolita model Misako Aoki interviews a Baby staff-chan about the brand's latest releases. Beautiful video quality, and both Misako and the staff-chan are too adorable!! ♥ Even though the translated subtitles are a little...off, it's still a very entertaining and informative watch!

Hehe..."race".... xD

♥ The trailer for the lolita-themed short film, "Mr. Rococo", that is now being filmed. This version has English subtitles, so the story should be a little more understandable to English-speakers. xD

The ABCS of Japanese fashion...
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A is for Angelic Pretty ♥ ...more coming soon!!

Alice lost in Winter Suburbia. ♥ {personal photoshoot.}

As promised in my little holiday preview, here are more of the photos from the shoot I did with my personal photographer friend Lauren~ ♥


It was a really fun day. I went to my local library, which is a cozy little building in the center of town--and also one of the main teen "hanging out" spots in my area, hahaha~ I met up with a bunch of friends + Lauren there, and we went out around the center of town, taking pictures in abandoned snowy playgrounds and empty parking lots. When it started to get dark, the town square and all of the trees in front of the library were covered in Christmas lights, giving the whole area a magical and mysterious 'winter wonderland' feel~ ♥

There was something very nostalgic about the shoot. Maybe because we were taking pictures in the playground I played in when I was a little girl, and wandering the sidewalks I wandered for so many years growing up, but I felt it was very magical--and I think that shows in the pictures too! ♥ I kind of had the idea of an "Alice lost in a suburban winter Wonderland" going through my head, matching the cozy and warm sweet lolita outfit I had on that day, complete with delicate pearls with pink cameos, fuzzy sweaters, and giant fluffy earmuffs from Bodyline! ♥

Also a lot of credit goes to my photographer friend Lauren too--her photography + editing is always superb~! Thanks so much Lauren!! ♥ :] Hopefully we'll be getting together next week and doing a gothic lolita themed shoot next . . . ! ♥

"We are but older children , dear,
Who fret to find our bedtime near."
-- Lewis Carroll, in the opening poem of 'Through the Looking-Glass'
♥


all photos here are (c) Lauren Phil
check out her facebook page to see more of her work! ♥