Tokyo yo-yo

Yes, I'm finally back in Tokyo and its like I never left, it still feels like home to me. I'm like a yo-yo, I keep coming back, choosing to visit Tokyo again rather than go somewhere else as for me Tokyo is the ultimate destination for fashion, friends and fun.

On day one I wore:
Denim shirt Vintage, Surry Hills Market
Sheer blouse Sportsgirl
Collar tips ASOS
Sheer polka dot skirt ASOS
Blue faux fur tail Deadly Ponies at the Alphaville sale in Melbourne
Platform sneakers ASOS



Necklace Lactose Intoler-Art
Eye belt ASOS
Bangle Elke Kramer


I'm over in Tokyo with my friend and styling assistant Sofie, and of course my husband Henry who took this photo. Above we stopped by the Kita-Kore building to check out my friend Koshiro's shop Garter and Rachel's shop ilil which I've previously blogged about. It was Henry's first visit, as this is his first trip back since we lived here  5 years ago and this all happened in that time. As an architect he is amazed at the ever evolving building and how it is allowed to exist when planning rules in Australia are so strict and the bulk of his work back home is making DA's (development applications).


Sofie's Stretsis skirt is super kawaii.


From left to right, Henry, Brandon from Lactose Intoler-Art, Tavuchi the owner of Spank, Sofie and me. This was the first time I have met Brandon in person, after being online friends for 5 years since he discovered me on myspace back when I lived in Tokyo. We have supported each other's work for so long it has been amazing to finally meet him, and of course I wore his necklace.


Spank is as kawaii as ever.


So kawaii!


Tavuchi took us on a tour of Harajuku, to all her favourite shops. Here we are at Tokyo Bopper shoes which is always painful to visit as they don't carry my size.


Nadia, which I blogged about on my last visit to Tokyo, has exploded in popularity recently. They are the place to go for platform converse, tattoo tights and all the other Harajuku on-trend items right now. The shop staff posed for a photo as she loved my Lactose Intoler-Art necklace (the drawing is of another Nadia staff member, Manitas)


Nicola Formichetti, who is most famous as Lady Gaga's stylist and for being the Creative Director for the relaunch of Thierry Mugler, was in Tokyo to launch his Nico Panda line. I have loved his work long before his Lady Gaga days, back when he mostly worked on Dazed and Confused magazine I was obsessed with collecting and clipping his shoots so to say I was excited to be meeting him is an understatement.


The Nico Panda collection.


Here I am meeting my idol, hence my extreme happy face. The best part about meeting him was that about 3 weeks ago he actually emailed me out of the blue to ask about some Australian fashion contacts, so when I went up to him he was like "you're that Australian girl"...so yes he knew who I was which is crazier than crazy.


This guy was wearing head to toe Mugler for the event.


Mugler.


and more Mugler.


He got Nicola to sign the inside of his Mugler blazer.


Harajuku idol Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is EVERYWHERE right now. On about 5 different tv ads which also get played on the tv screens on the trains, billboards all over the city and with advertising trucks blaring her music as her album just launched. All this is great for me as I freaking love her, Pon Pon Pon and Candy Candy are always on repeat on my prada phone! I picked up the Spank! and Nadia badges during the day's shopping, cho kawaii!


Some Puri Kura fun with Brandon, Sofie and Henry. It's not my birthday till Wednesday (omg going to Disney Sea for the first time, can not wait!!!) but this is what we ended up with, pretty kawaii ne?


At the in-store event for Nico Panda Nicola signed my limited edition Nico Panda bearbrick, and he said Lady Gaga has the same one! Exciting.

How the leopard got its spots

This is what I wore to the small New Years Eve rooftop party I attended, where we got to see the Sydney fireworks without having to deal with the crowds around the harbour. Conveniently the party was on my very own roof so I didn't have to go too far. I did however forget to bring my camera upstairs to capture the fireworks, but hey guess what, they looked just like fireworks!

My polka dot obsession is still in full swing, as is my love of sheer and maxi skirts. So imagine my delight at seeing this skirt in both sheer and polkadot on asos.com in a maxi length, it was the full trifecta, the holy grail of skirts if you will, and as so many bloggers have written before me and will continue to write till someone invents a better way of writing about shopping, "it had to be mine". Well mine it is and wear it I will, all summer I imagine and well into winter too by adding some printed tights or leggings. This is another piece I expect to get a lot of wear out of in Tokyo come May.

Outfit Details
Hat Xmas gift from Henry, it has the widest brim I've ever seen
Leopard top Another recent Savers find from the Savers in Footscray, about $4
Sheer polka dot skirt ASOS $50
Crystal necklace Xmas gift from my sister
Platform Sneakers ASOS $60
Black lace frill socks $5 from a sock shop at Westfield Doncaster
Tote DI$COUNT
Bangles Elke Kramer black resin studded bangle & Estelle Dévé Asperatis Bangle in gold $30 from her recent sample sale
Rings MOMA NYC and Corky Saint Clair


This photo shows the platform off a little better than in my last post. Its all about getting the right angle guys!


I'm not sure where my sister got this necklace from but I love it. Thanks sis for the great pressies this year xxx

Merry Gifmas

I trust everyone had a fantastic xmas. I had my family in town for a beach side chrissy in sunny ol' Sydney, it was a funtastic day of swimming and eating and surprisingly no one got sunburnt. But what's Christmas without some fabulous gifts hey? I did pretty well this year, my sister gave me the Antipodium for Sportsgirl dress I have wanted since the collab launched and I gave myself some much lusted after platform sneakers that I finally found in my size on asos. The best gift of all however was two tickets to Tokyo in May for Henry and myself that was another gift to myself from, well, myself. Hey sometimes you just gotta treat yourself yeah? Can not wait to hit the Tokyo streets again after not going back at all this year, I've missed my friends, the fashion and heck even the crowds.

Outfit Details
Dress Antipodium x Sportsgirl xmas gift from my sister
Leggings Gisela Ramirez $40 in her 50% off sale
Platform Sneakers $60 ASOS
Frill socks American Apparel $14
Necklace From my last trip to Tokyo
Tote DI$COUNT
Bangles Elke Kramer black resin studded bangle & Estelle Dévé Asperatis Bangle in gold $30 from her recent sample sale
Rings MOMA NYC and Corky Saint Clair

These platform sneakers are going to see a lot of action in Tokyo, the perfect mix of comfortable and fashion. They're not as high as I would like but having size 10 feet means sometimes you just can't be that picky.

Lactose Intoler-Art

I recently blogged an outfit photo of me wearing this Tokyo street style illustration necklace by my friend Brandon of Lactose Intoler-Art, but without a close up detail shot of it or much in the way of explanation. So without further adieu here goes. I have never met Brandon in person but we both have a mutual love of Tokyo and share the same friends in that city. We just never seem to be in Tokyo at the same time, hopefully that will change next year with me planning a three month stint for some work and fun (!). I've been a fan of Brandon's work for a long time, first blogging about him back in 2008, and again when he drew me in 2009 and more recently as part of my Sunglass Hut Inner Circle inspiration posts. What I love about his illustrations is that they perfectly capture the unique fashion and style of Tokyo but you also get a sense of the subjects personality too.

Outfit Details
Blue blouse ASOS $16
Black maxi dress City Chic $90
Necklace Lactose Intoler-Art
Tote DI$COUNT
Bangle Elke Kramer gift
Rings MOMA NYC and Corky Saint Clair
Socks My Italian Closet
Sandals Melissa Aranha flock jelly sandals $65 from Monk House Design


Brandon now has his own online store where he sells necklaces and tote bags featuring his Lactose Intoler-Art illustrations. If you don't see one of your favourite illustrations or street style shots in the store he can do custom orders too, they cost a little more but are worth it to get something unique to you. I really wanted a girl wearing platform sneakers so he sent me this design of the girl with the blue hair which I love. The amazing thing is people on the streets of Harajuku have been wearing his necklaces and bags recently too which you can see on his blog here. How amazing is that, he is now contributing to the outfits and fashion in Tokyo that he loves so much?


I told you I had more colours in these My Italian Closet socks! Here I am wearing the pale blue pair.


Brandon surprised me with this updated drawing of me and I love it.


I especially love that he also sent me it as a photoillustration of me in Tokyo. Can't wait till I'm over there again!!!

Tokyo Obsessed

I am obsessed with all things Tokyo right now, but really when am I not? Normally I would have got my Japan fix by now but Sydney induced poverty has kept me Australia bound, and as such I'm suffering major withdrawals, not helped by Susie Bubble's amazing posts on her recent Tokyo trip (look she visited my friends shops in Koenji's Kitakore building at my insistence, and she was impressed which says a lot, Susie sees the best of the best of the fashion world and what the kids in Koenji are doing stands out as unique/amazing/unreal amoungst all that she has seen!!!). So yes, I miss my amazing friends over there soooo much, and I miss the unique fashion just as much (the two are intertwined I guess). The above platform sneakers from a street snap from my friend Daisuke's site Drop Tokyo remind me of the sweet as pie Tabuchi from Spank and I really desperately want a pair for myself. Fruitless internet searching where I found many similar styles on yesstyle.com (the home for cute Japanese/Korean high street pieces) but sadly all were too small for my size 10 feet, has left me with a slight ache in the pit of my stomach for the awesomeness that could have been. I also found an amazing pair at Nu+Nan's Sydney city store, but they only have the one pair and again it was too small for my heffalump of a foot. Not that I would fare much better finding platform sneakers in Tokyo where I spent the year I lived there pretty much not buying any shoes at all due to the small sizing, but there occasionally were some larger shoes around and I'm sure I could stumble across a pair of platform sneakers in my size if I just could have some dollars in my account the next time Jetstar have a Japan sale. Here's hoping I get over there soon cos I'm going CrAzY!

Styling work: Mori Gyaru - Forest Girl

I've had this idea for a shoot for a long time, a shoot inspired by a cult trend from the streets of Tokyo, and finally got to realise my vision this week and I'm pretty happy with the result. What with being out of action for the last few months due to my knee as styling is pretty physical work - there is the sourcing, the lugging of many bags and boxes back to the location, prepping the racks which often involves building them first, dressing models which involves a whole lotta kneeling (which I'm still unable to do) and then returning all the clothing the next day. Who ever said fashion was glamourous? I'm just so happy to get back into the game. Have a few new clients to add to the mix, as well as my work for On The Streets of Sydney, of which the above shoot was for. Check out the look in its entirety and read the blurb about my inspiration, part forest girl part swamp girl, there is one in all of us xoxo

Stylist Hayley Hughes Photographer Rachel Kara Hair & Make-up Sarah Scott Model Lauren Moody from Chadwicks

Otanjou-bi Omedetou Gozaimasu

It was my 26th birthday over the weekend and it turned out to be the best birthday ever thanks to my awesome friends, oishi Japanese food and lots of umeshu soda. Henry remembered this great private izakaya style room at the back of our favourite Japanese place in the city, Yamato, and it was perfect. Its the full tatami mat with dropped floor situation, it felt like we were back in Tokyo again. Oh and just about every guest was a blogger! From left to right me, Nadia from DI$COUNT (hiding), Alicia from Sea of Ghosts and her boyfriend Solly, Pat and Greta from Comeback Kid, Estelle from One Perfect Morning, Chris from Corky Saint Clair, Danielle from Scrapbook, and my blogless sister.


I rocked my beautiful Drown necklace.






Blowing out the candles on my cakes.


After we went to this fun warehouse party in the city, the same one was on my birthday last year.




My sister bought this cool Evil Twin dress at General Pants specially for the night.






On my actual birthday on Sunday I wore this for lunch and art galleries with the family. We went to the Ian Potter Centre to see the 100 years of fashion exhibition, which was a bit of a let down as its so small, but the dresses from 1850 are pretty amazing for the level of work that went into them.

Hat: Fun Accessories $29.95
Necklace: Birthday gift from Estelle Deve
Dress: TV $300
Bangle: Elke Kramer, my gift from Henry
Leggings: ASOS $40
Brown oxfords: Aboh shoes $60
Bag: Gift from my mum

Simply the best

Weird shit, fun shit and pretty shit, that pretty much sums up our family Japan trip, basically it was the best family holiday ever.




We saw some really beautiful parts of Kamakura that I hadn't seen before. My mum was blown away from it all.


Weird cute stuff is everywhere in Japan. My mums face was always that happy the whole trip.


Ebony and I hit the shops but got distracted by Care Bear photo ops.




All of my friends now think all Aussie girls look like us, blondes in black. Cami is now an honorary sister in the family as my mum loved her.




One of the best moments of the trip was when I ran after this girl to take her photo for Sportsgirl's street snaps. I tapped her on the shoulder and she turned around and gushed "Hayley-san, I read your blog" which was a total surprise! Hikari and I exchanged emails, she is an art student and made her bag herself! So cute and talented.


Another best was spending time with my mum and sharing in her delight at everything we saw. I had dreamt about taking my mum to Japan for so long and it finally happened and it was just as great as I imagined it would be. It was her 1st time overseas and I'm so glad we could do this with her, to help celebrate her 50th birthday. Love you mum xxx