Kawaiiiiiiiiiiiiii!

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>> I've come to understand since being in Tokyo that far from meaning just a simple 'cute', Kawaii can mean anything that you find appealing on an aesthetic level.  It's a one-size fits all adjective that can be used to describe babies, clothes, a person's look, a toy or your mannerisms.  For someone who likes to have a BAZILLION adjectives to describe different situations – with cool, fantastic, brilliant, beautiful, spectacular, random being some of my most oft-used phrases that can all apparently fall under the kawaii-umbrella – this can be a little confusing.  Still, I've rolled with it and decided to co 
llate some kawaii moments from my Tokyo trip here that are not necessarily all CUUUUUTE in the sense that I would use the word, but definitely get the thumbs up, which is incidentally a physical gesture that I've been using a lot here to express how much I liked a shop/a piece of clothing I tried on/a bowl of noodles I've slurped…

I have no idea what's in this drink but it sat alongside all the diet/fibre/energy shot stuff…  I imagine it to be a one bottle formula which will magically make you regain your style mojo should you be going through a slow patch…

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There's been a lot of "Love is Life, Life is Art" phrasing floating around the slogan tees and window displays I've seen in Tokyo and this coffee shop that's outside the Gotemba train station (we went for a one-day jaunt to the Gotemba Premium Outlet Mall…) went along with that sentiment…

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It also had a lot of antique camera equipment strewn around the shop and inside the interior…

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I thought a stern parent was going to slap me silly for snapping this schoolkid.  I really just wanted to take a pic of the rucksacks which I think are an interesting shape.  They look like they might give some kids a backache but I love the curvature of them…

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Little Mai of Tokyo party/style blog Mai Sassy Girl has just got married and this is her HYPER cute (that's Kawaii in the truest sense of the word for me…) engagement ring where a heart has been hatched by an egg designed by jewellery label Q-Pot…

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Another Q-Pot bit of cuteness also worn by Mai…

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Here's the happy couple… Mai's hubby Ryota works at Daikanyama menswear 'haute streetwear' store Bench at the Greene which actually made me mildly interested in streetwear….

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I thought it was slightly strange that a safety railing was butt-ended by a green Keroppi-esque frog.  I thought it was even funnier that this guy was standing next to it in total stoic seriousness…

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You'll see that Steve went a little CRAZY over the menswear offerings in Tokyo if you read his blog.  I just tagged along and admired merchandising, concept and even coveted a few of the menswear pieces for myself.  At Japanese menswear boutique The Contemporary Fix in Aoyama, they serve up lunch sets and drinks that were created by the designers that they stock…

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I also discovered the label Plumpynuts via this pair of leather and grey jersey trackie trousers that i very nearly bought had it not been the slight err…camel-toe issue.  They have a separate store in Harajuku that I've not yet checked out…

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In Daikanyama, I fell in love with Jeanne Valet, a vintage store that seems to have collated an amazing selection of clothes dating from the mid-1800s to the 60s with equal prominence given to both menswear and womenswear.  No photos allowed inside but I tried to sneak a few… 

The thing about Japanese vintage stores which have been fascinating is that they're able to hone in a particular aesthetic of vintage (not necessarily period…) and really stock the best of that aesthetic be it Victorian lawn/day wear and sailor shirts or chintzy 70s Gunne Sax dresses, as well as merchandising it in a way that makes everything a lot more appealing and easier to comb through.  Oh, and the prices aren't as hiked up as one would imagine given that they've been brought over from  Europe/America.  Jeanne Valet stocked a lot of sailor attire, heavy cotton work shirts and muslin dresses, all in muted tones and in fabrics that show real age…

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Well, I suppose this pic would be the quintessential representation of kawaii.  Phil was Street Peeping her so I snapped her on the side…

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It's kind of refreshing going to an Asian city and seeing such a great abundance of vintage on the streets…

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There's no way I can name species of folliage here but the wall was so cool, it left me no option…

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…but to grab the fashion-blogger opportunity and blend outfit into wall…

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(Wearing Miu Miu bag, Alpha 60 dress, Limedrop blouse, Chloe sandals)

37 comments

  3. Absolutely loving all of these snaps from Japan and definitely looking forward to seeing more. I love that the street barrier things are frogs, I think they have monkey versions too! I must visit one day. You look lovely as always Susie!

  10. I love your outfit! πŸ™‚ The rings are lovely, and that drink looks interesting. Also, I love the shape of the backpack, it is so unique. Can I say that your blog is Kawaii? Because it is (if this is the right context to use it in) :).
    Sarah
    x
    http://dollydotgirl.blogspot.com

  11. I am going to tokyo next year do you have any sugestions on what I should do? Please email me.

  17. Susie I adore your style, you’re such an inspiration!
    Please check out our Blog. We ‘re in Japan for this art project.
    I hoe you think it’s Kawaaii too!
    CHAOSEROSECHOSERRORSANDMIRRORS

  19. I used to drink a bottle of Regain (sounded to me like something for male pattern baldness, is actually a caffeine-taurine kind of shot) before spending a day teaching super-kawaii kindergarten-ers! They didn’t have the ‘style’ version back then, but if I remember right, ‘style’ in Engrish refers to slimness / having a svelte figure…

  20. I loved these pictures! They made me miss Tokyo so much! I went when I was sixteen for a week and absolutely fell in love with the culture, food, and fashion… I remember being totally mesmerized by how cool kids looked in their school uniforms (especially since I had to wear the most horrid parochial school uniform at that time, accompanied by stringent rules as to how we could/could not customize them). Looks like you’re having a wonderful time!

  25. I had a feeling Kawaii meant more then just cute and I’m glad you were able to so clearly describe what it really means. Now I’m going to have difficulty not using it with everything I like. What are you eating? I want food pics haha!

  33. wow Susie – You have had a brilliantly (sorry, Kawaii) enriching time! Looking forward to seeing all the beauties you picked up! Tokyo is somewhere I really dream of going, think i’d have to buy everything just because it has bright colours and fun design. I think I’d go broke on the first day! Aaah you mentioned Keroppi. He is my favouritest little green man. I’m a sucker for frogs and him *looks up to her Keroppi inflatable lamp..* hehe
    xxxx

  36. Hi Susie, the rucksack you mention is a super common school bag for Japanese elementary school students-from 6 to 12 years-old. I would go to school carrying it with full of textbooks (yes, rather heavy for a kid). Girls normally have red ones and boys have black ones but nowadays it comes in such a wide range of colours, pink, blue and etc…and it’s supposed to be used for throughout our elementary school life for 6years because it’s so endurable but most of students switch it to another sort of a tote bag in the 5th or 6th grade because it can be very worn out and…looks a bit kiddy…
    Anyway, I am so glad to hear you had such a buzz in Tokyo!

  37. Great pics! Aren’t those Chloe Sandals divine…I really must find a stockist here is Aus. Do you know of any? Cheers, Bec

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