Archive for the ‘fashion’ Category
a few months ago in hong kong, i found a copy of a book that seemed vaguely familiar - pretty and full of pictures for my chinese challenged brain, i walked out of the arts centre with it under my arm.
once i ripped it open in my hotel room, i came across a pullout that looked like this:
a couple of months later, i got myself a new mobile phone, one with a camera that actually works. so idea + camera = this. ever wondered what a librarian wears to work? you may make your own conclusions about what librarians are actually like…
l-r: top: from david jones, skirt: bought in hong kong; cardigan: limi feu, skirt: emily temple cute; jacket: lee, shirt: forgot, skirt: my first made in china; cardigan: mum’s, top: ozoc, skirt: atelier pierrot; cardigan: uniqlo, shirt: cue , skirt: astrid and cyril
l-r: top: the gabriel chelsea, skirt: izzue; shirt: y’s, skirt: from stina; top: alannah hill (thrifted), t-shirt: dunno; top: muji, cardigan: limi feu, skirt: jacqui e (thrifted); cardigan: from aunt, top: myer underwear department, skirt: thrifted
the book in question is my fashion moments 87-07 by winifred lai. she is a famous stylist/fashionista/writer in hong kong, who started working for city magazine in the 90s, and then became chief editor of amoeba, a very pop fashion and culture magazine. she now writes columns, looks after her son as a single mother, works freelance with magazines, collaborates with fashion labels, and has many women admiring her.
i still wish i had kept the couple of copies of amoeba i used to have:
the photoshoots were bright and wild and creative, and mirrored a little the attitude of cutie magazine in the late 90s. i remember seeing zeny kwok and steven cheung in there as models (1998?) as well.
i am terribly overinterested in clothes right now, moreso than ever in my life.
maybe i need the distraction.
maybe i’m making up for being a plain child.
whatever the reason, i am totally beset by jane marple (jm) clothing. named after the lady detective of course, and prim like her namesake, but uncharacteristically designed for fun too.
i also like the lolita style very much, the concept which now generally includes knee length skirts and dresses over a petticoat with most regular flesh covered up, like a demure young maiden (no, i am not here to shoo away nabokov’s novel). otome-kei (or, maiden-style) is a label i’m not sure exists outside of western lolitas who like to have guidelines for defining styles, but if the definition of otome-kei (in moe, of all things) is accurate, it would involve dressing up without regarding the male gaze, going about daily life in beauty and innocence. i think that is the otome vision i get from jane marple.
the basic history part: lolita has its roots in the early incarnations of country-ish looks, spawning brands such as pinkhouse and wonderful world. milk also originated in the 1970s, and designers from that brand branched off into their own labels, including shirley temple, and emily temple cute. jm was another offshoot of milk, and the company was founded in 1985. while i don’t have any pictures dating back that far, past designs are just as wonderful as the present:
besides the occasional lolita-ish elements that appear from time to time in jm, there is a big british feel to it as well, perhaps a nod to the influence vivienne westwood had on japanese fashion in the 80s?
just to prove it, jm has its own replica of westwood’s infamous (but not copyrighted) heart jacket:
whatever it is about jm, i’m in love.
s/s 2008 collection
ゴシツク アンド ロリータ - それはスタイルじゃなく宿命
ゴシツク アンド ロリータ - それではなく流行 理由
gothic and lolita - it is not a style but fate
gothic and lolita - it is not a fad but a reason for living
- takemoto novala
when i put these clothes on, it makes perfect sense.
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