Currently viewing the tag: "shopping"
I was reading through my introduction to Itazura when it dawned on me that I hadn’t included half of my favorite items from the shop, so here we go again! Needless to say, I would highly advise you to read the original post before you begin so you get an idea of the new kind of Japanese vintage fashion that this place focuses on, as otherwise this might just look like a random aggregation of culture, but trust me, there is method to this particular madness.
This is how the place appears from the doorway in, and you have to virtually crawl [...]
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We have been discussing the influence of Akihabara culture on fashion quite recently on Tokyo Telephone. It all began with the Akihabara Fashion Week, then a look into 5okai, the shop that is leading the way in the future of Akihabara fashion, but if that represents where we are going, where are we right now in terms of Japanese fashion with Akihabara influences? The answer came to me rather abruptly on our travels in Shibuya when we were quite literally grabbed and taken into a new vintage shop that has just opened this month in the same building as Wagado in Shibuya.
As the [...]
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Scramble Market, a corner boutique in La Foret, is probably one of our favourite places in Tokyo… I know we say that a lot, but the depth and breadth of fashion in Tokyo is quite breath-taking and the result is that we have more than a dozen ‘favourite’ places!
I’m still in love with La Foret; I still get goosebumps when I step in through the huge glass doors and walk around and up and down and amuse myself on the tiny escalators. La Foret was the goal when I was a teenager: a huge fashion department store in Harajuku selling all of the Japanese street [...]
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Due to our current hectic schedule, we actually celebrated Valentine’s Day yesterday by having a lovely wonder around Shimokitazawa followed by dinner at a super-cute cafe just down the road from us in Koenji (it’s my new favourite place – they even have hot cocktails, amazing). Yet again we ended up giving each other similar presents, this time Things With Snakeskin, awesome. I could be cheesy and say it’s just more evidence that we’re a good match? Or maybe we’ve just lived together for a long time now? Either way, it was a much-needed break from running around!
To me, Valentine’s Day is a great celebration of cheesiness and [...]
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Late last year Liz Lisa debuted a new brand, Juge Etta… and we’ve only just got around to mentioning it here, sorry about that! I think Fashion Week takes up rather a lot of our time at Tokyo Telephone, and also we’re exploring a really exciting new wave of Akihabara fashion. However, let’s not forget that there’s more to Japanese fashion than underground brands and new-wave styles – as Samuel wrote about before (over a year ago!!), the mainstream is pretty damn fine: nowhere else can you find such quality and downright lovely fashion even at the very base level. Yes, Japanese fashion undoubtedly has its peaks, [...]
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Whenever I talk about kimono and other forms of traditional Japanese clothing on Tokyo Telephone I always feel the need to reiterate the fact that I’m no expert in this beautiful and often confusing field: I’m a fair-weather kimono fancier, a window-shopper and a dreamer. So let me say it one more time: I’m just dipping my toe into the wonderful world of wafuku, and there plenty of other people out there who know a whole more about it than I do… however if we’re talking about the social significance of Comme des Garcons, that’s another story!
Right, disclaimer out of the way, today I wanted to [...]
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The greatest realization you will ever have in Tokyo, is that there will always be more to see. Just when you think you have got a handle on the trends of the moment, the movements of the past and the shape of what is imminent, you be walking down a road you have been a hundred times before when you spot a cafe in a basement or an isolated boutique perched in a tent on the roof (I speak from personal experience). The reason being that these kind of places are entirely self-contained, and have no real need to promote themselves beyond the devoted clientele that the vast, [...]
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So far in our vintage fashion odyssey here at Tokyo Telephone we have been neglecting the darker side of vintage fashion, so we thought we would remedy that with a good look at the ultimate destination for the crust of Tokyo, horror punk aficionados and anyone who basically wants their fashion to be a light-hearted middle-finger to society. Kuro-Benz, ironically named after the Mercedes-Benz owning club of conservative kachigumi types purring around Ginza, is a vintage fashion institution responsible for dressing at least one person in each issue of Tune magazine in a mix of scummy colours, worn fabrics and confrontational artwork. It is the perfect anecdote [...]
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I think it’s high time we delved into the wonderful world of vintage boutiques in Tokyo again, right? Our focus today is on DaiDai in Koenji, and it’s guaranteed to put a smile on your face…
Under the same umbrella as the marvellous Green Dot (coming up on Tokyo Telephone very soon!), DaiDai is almost literally a riot of colour – you’d better bring your sunglasses! Hidden in the backstreets of Koenji and jostling with its fellow vintage neighbours, DaiDai really manages to stand out, and is a great example of the focused aesthetic that makes Japanese vintage shops really unique – here you’ll find rag [...]
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Continuing on ongoing project showcasing the the best and most beautiful vintage shopping experiences in Tokyo, today we’re very proud and excited to feature Gaijin, a vintage boutique in Koenji.
Even though I kind of prefer the darker side of fashion, I always pop in to Gaijin whenever I have time – I love the pastel colours and calming atmosphere, as well as spotting lots of cats and unicorns all around the lovely little shop! Gaijin is owned by a charming couple (alas out scouting for new treasures in London when we took these photos), and while the wife runs Gaijin, the husband [...]
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Time is ever charging on in the fashion world, leaving me with very little time to round up the best from last fashion week before we are treated to the A/W 2012 offerings from Tokyo very soon indeed. One of the collections that I could not let get unnoticed is this great debut collection from new brand Mabuya Mabuya. The illustrious backing of the brand that accompanies designer Koichiro Higa are a team who cut their proverbial teeth at Jean Paul Gaultier and Opening Ceremony, and the brand has already built up quite a head of steam with a high profile showing at Fashion Week Berlin.
If you take a walk down Koenji’s main covered street, you might pass by a green sign and a flight of stairs leading up to a vintage shop… I’d advise that you climb those stairs and discover GrogGrog!
As I think pretty much everyone is aware now, here at Tokyo Telephone we’re more than a little in love with the amazing and unique vintage shops in Japan, and now we’re happy to be able to share some of our favourites with you. We think it’s high time we celebrated these beautiful boutiques and stand-out select shops, and while we realise that not everyone [...]
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