31st Harajuku Fashion Walk 原宿ファッションウォーク ☆

Hey Challengers!

Fun, Fashion, Friends! The 31st Harajuku
Fashion walk featured it all, but unfortunately also some... RAIN. It
started pouring at our half-way stop where we usually take pictures and
chill out.

Nevertheless, we had a great day and there were again
some amazing styles that I would like to show you.

After the walk we went to see the Cherry Blossoms, but it was too rainy and dark to take proper footage for that day. We played some games in the park and shared snacks. It was cold but I think we were all too happy to go home yet so we hung out until it got dark.

Ever since I started taking the Snaps for KAWAII PATEEN, the Fashion Walks have become an incredibly busy event for me. I was therefore really glad to get some extra time to sit and chat and play games with everyone. And once again: I forgot to take outfit snaps of myself! Aaah!



Thanks for reading!

Here is the final product: the Harajuku Fashion Walk Video!

(I love the music I found for this one. What do you think?)

Harajuku Fashion Walk LOVE Special 原宿ファッションスペシャルワーク

Hey guys!

It is crazy how busy things can get!

There was a special Harajuku Fashion Walk the other month, this time arranged by the

sexy and fashionable lady Maro. The theme was Valentine, but everyone was welcome to

wear whatever the liked. Some even brought chocolate and Maro prepared heart-shaped rings

for everyone who attended.

It was great fun and everyone had an amazing time.

Check the video out here:

Moshi Moshi Japan Festival

Exciting, creative, controversial and quirky. There are some words to sum up the "Moshi Moshi Japan" Festival that happened last month. Set as an event to celebrate Japanese culture, Moshi Moshi Nippon festival comes from the same creators that have brought us Harajuku Kawaii festival. This time based in a stadium the festival was uniting fashion, music, otaku and other pop- and subcultures.

The festival aimed especially at foreigners with two very controversial deals:
1) Foreigners got in for free if they booked in advanced and showed their passport.
2) There was a segregated area in front of the stage, exclusively for foreigners.

Certainly this must have been done with the best intentions, but it still felt kind of wrong to me on certain levels. I'd rather have us all pay 1000 yen entrance fee and have equal opportunities than letting the Japanese nationals pay over 2000 yen while I walked in for free.

Visitors got a MoshiMoshiNippon Bag, a Kyari clear file and tons of flyers

 There were several stages, ranging from Idol groups (Dempagumi etc) over fashion shows (KERA fashion show) and stage artists like Kyari Pamyu Pamyu. There were also stalls, ranging from hair stylists, wig shops, nail design and merchandise to fashion brands and even cosplay.

Innocent World Lolita fashion show during the KERA stage

The set up with stalls and stages was quite impressive and there were many people with press tags taking pictures and videos. Unfortunately for "normal" visitors most things were "NO PICTURES" so I could not really make a video about the event.

The final event featured a fashion show with 100 models, a (slighly cringe worthy) Karaoke Contest and a Kyari Pamyu Pamyu live show. Personally it was worth waiting for Kyari. She even sang Fashion Monster and Pon Pon Pon, so I was more than happy to see some of my favourite songs performed on stage. I was jumping and singing along until I almost lost my voice, it was that much fun.

From the distance the bow looked like a little bit like bra to some eyes

Check out the face of the guy on the right

All in all it was a very impressive event. I just hope next time it is either free for everyone or we all pay the same price. Special treatment for foreigners somewhat does not sit right with me. I would like us all to be equal, on all levels. Nevertheless I am grateful for a fun day out. Hopefully next time the organizers throw an event like this, there will be more chances for us to take pictures too, so I can make a video for you guys.
And yes, as always, my head is in YouTuber mode. I want to make fun videos for you wherever I go. It has altered the way I think about fun events. I always think "I want to show my viewer friends this", even if it means that I am experiencing only half of the event by setting up my camera and dashing around. I hope it is worth it and gives you a taste of being here with me.

All the best from Japan
x
Cathy Cat

Harajuku Fashion Walk #22

Passion for Fashion!

The 22nd Harajuku Fashion walk got moved to the 22nd of February (2nd month in Japanese), so we (and you) had the rare pleasure of having two fashion walks in two consecutive months. Usually only every other month, Junyan decided to move the 22nd Fashion walk to the 22nd of February. The date explains why really. I was glad I had the chance to join again, without having to wait two months.

I arrived early and prepared for the day with cake and cards

This time there was so much fun and colourful footage, I decided to make a really generous directors cut, and pretty much all scenes in and some of them in full length. You can now see how much stricter I usually am, because this video is double the length of my usual videos.

Watch the funky colourful fashion video here:


What you might have spotted during the video:
1)Junyan
2)Haruka Kurebayashi
3)Great Weather

What you might not know:
1) This meet was on a Saturday, even though they are usually on Sundays
2) Haruka Kurebayashi is a model, designer and artist, often appearing in KERA magazine
3) The tv crew at the beginning was from a French TV programme

I have to mention again how incredibly kind Junnyan and Haruka Kurebayashi are. Haruka Kurebayashi kept playing with the kids that came to the fashion walk, Junyan took his time for all of us and they supported the filming a lot. Junyan himself approached me about the message for Mexico, which again shows how kind he is. I hope the Harajuku Fashion Walk in Mexico will be a full success!

I actually have caught a pretty bad flu this week (4 days of high fever) and was really glad that I was just about able to go and take part at the fashion walk. Hopefully I will be back to my 100% soon!
Until then, I gotta wrap up and keep warm. And so should you by the way! Winter is not quite over yet!

This is the less-decora version of the outfit, on arrival back home

I had many error messages with Sony Vegas again today, so I might have to start using a new programme soon if this keeps happening. It also made the quality of the video suffer a lot. Thanks to that I am editing since 5 pm and it's now 2:13 am - past a sick person's bed time! And I just realised I wrote Junnyan's name in the video with only one N ... oh no (T-T) I hope he will forgive me. I really need to catch up on lost sleep now.
So off to sleep now!

Have a great start into the new week guys!

x
Cat

Harajuku Fashion Walk Coming Soon!

It's the most wonderful time of the month....

It's Harajuku Fashion Walk 2014!

The first Fashion Walk started off with a real BANG!
It was a great time and made me feel really happy!

The video will be up tomorrow but till then, here are the pictures as little teaser for you <3

aaaand are you excited about tomorrow's video?!
Hope you are! I will fetch some sleep and am looking forward to hearing your reactions tomorrow!

Baby The Stars Shine Bright + Putomayo Luckybag review

Last week I opened the announced Lucky bag from Angelic Pretty with you guys.
Inside we found the complete Candy Sprinkle JSK in Black plus bag and socks.
This week we are opening the lucky bag from Baby the Stars Shine Bright together.
However this time it's different:
I have no clue what's inside!

BTTSSB (short for Baby the Stars Shine Bright) released two different kinds of lucky bags this year: A decided dress, similar to the Candy Sprinkle, which had a rose print on. Therefore customers knew what they would get and have a whole set. I didn't like the print that much though, and I guess I was not the only one because there were lots of bags still left in stores in Tokyo when I browsed.

However, they also still do the mystery lucky bags, in which they pack items from earlier years that need to leave the store. They still make sure that you get at least one dress or skirt with it, but apart from that the rest is a MYSTERY!

It might not fit together, it might not fit, it might not be your colour - but it will definitely be a surprise!

So let's reveal the mystery in my newest video before I explain more:


You might have realized the following things:
1) There is an Alpaca in my video again. This time I give it a name.
2) I get changed.
3) There is a Putomayo bag on the bed!

To reveal the secret, I actually took a video of the footage of opening the Putomayo bag that day, but when I was editing today, the video got quite long. So I decided to put the pictures of the Putomayo bag on my blog instead. After all, the accessory is really small so they didn't show so well on the camera anyways.

Let's check out the content of the lucky bag:

Price: about 10.000Yen

1) brown blouse with cherry lace collar

2) see-through neckholder blouse with sparkles and star buttons

3) BTTSSB bag in white

4) red bonnet with piano pattern

5) blue striped summery dress

6) matching headbow

(Comes in a pink BTTSSB logo sportsbag)

Derpy but happy me!

Alpaca claimed the bag as house

Lots of good quality lace to give a detailed front. I love the heart buttons as well.

Nice large bow! Still has some strings poking out though.

 One of my weird things with Lolita fashion is, that I keep buying dresses in BLUE but then hesistate to wear them. I still somehow believe that blue is not my colour because I am not naturally blonde. So I rarely wear my blue dresses. In fact, I sold my last blue dress on, as well as my last blue skirt, which I bought and never wore! Such a waste! But with this dress I will try and wear it. It's a really nice different style to the Angelic Pretty and it shows the classical charm that BTTSSB has.

Baby the Stars Shine Bright Lucky bag review:

☆☆Summary☆☆
☆PLUS ☆
+ lots of value for a cheaper price than the set-dress
+ beautiful bag with long straps to go around your shoulder
+ two kinds of blouse
+ head bow and dress are matching 
+ Surprise fun! 
 
 ☆MINUS☆
- the bow was not quite sewn in properly so I had to fix that
- see through blouses are usually not well perceived at Lolita fashion meets
- not the colour I was looking for but I am up for the challenge!

☆VERDICT☆
Surprise, suspense, super sweeet!
I know I binged out a lot on dresses this January, but then again, it's my first brand new Angelic and BTTSSB and who knows if I will get them next year. Great value and brand new brand.

Now to the Putomayo bag:

This was the last accessory lucky bag of the shop! It sold at 1.500 Yen but had like 3 times the value inside.

Contents:

Price:1.500 Yen

1) Star earrings

2) pink cross choker

3) Alice in wonderland Egg necklace

4) matching rabbit earrings

5) box necklace (worth 2.100 yen)

The box item was sold at 2.100 yen alone, and the pack was only 1.500 yen! Bargain! Loving the Alice egg and necklace <3

To be honest, I loved the element of surprise! I even dreamed what wonders might be inside the bag! I was kind of hoping there might be a skirt and a dress but I am still happy with what I got. I might wear the blouses for normal wear and make combinations out of the things I have now. The bonnet will be the hardest to combine though. I will have a think about that.

All in all, a lucky lucky bag in my opinion! I am really grateful!

Can't wait to take my new dresses on new adventures and make fun videos for you!
Okay guys! It's late in Japan I need to grab some sleep!

Night night lovelies!

Moekawa Cafe モエカワカフェ ♥ : Cute Girls and Snacks

 On a day of shopping in Harajuku all you wish for is more money and a place to rest your sore feet.
 Now my friend Annabelle and I were looking for such a place to rest and have some food and found Dream Station, which is located at the end of Takeshita Doori.
Inside are several places from the famous Crepe shops to Kebab stalls, and the newly opened MOEKAWA ♥ CAFE.

Moe + Kawai = Moekawa!

On that theme, the waitresses from Moekawa Cafe were dressed up in cute, maid-inspired outfits, even though they are not strictly speaking a maid cafe. The staff was very cute, apparently some of them are idols, and they were really friendly. They even let us take a picture with them.

Moekawa Cafe specialises in little snacks and drinks.

As said, they are not a Maid cafe, so they won't put a "moe moe kyun" spell on your food or dance and sing, but the food definitely shows the cute touch that you'd expect from the name: tiny eggs with mouth and faces on them, heart shaped carrots, potato stars and a ketchup heart are some of the decorations used. My egg yakisoba was layered in a cup to give it a cute yet colourful pattern. I also got an Acerola drink for free as special opening offer.

The staff is extremely friendly and open, they don't expect money for taking pictures and allowed me to share it online - that's a rare luxury in Japan! I was really happy about that and asked if I can take a video next time I visit them and I got a positive response. Lucky!

The Moekawa Cafe has already been to Paris before, and functions as a flexible entertainment cafe, meaning they are at Dream Station for a limited time.

☆REVIEW of MOEKAWA CAFE　モエカワカフェ　原宿☆

☆☆PLUS☆

☆The staff is cute, friendly and moe = Moekawa!

☆You're allowed to take pictures

☆The food is decorated with love and moekawa power.

☆The prices are reasonable (my yakisoba was 400yen) and the portions are perfect.

★★MINUS★★

★No moemoe performance shows, but apparently they might be using the JOL stage for　performances, according to their web page.

★The location is inside Dream Station, so there are no specially designed places for Moekawa guests, as it is all within the food court of Dream Station

★Not really suitable for a fashion meet because of the surroundings, but definitely nice for a break from shopping

☆☆☆☆OVERALL☆☆☆☆

I LOVED Moekawa Cafe, especially because of the staff. They were so kind, cute, friendly and moe, how can you not like them?! No matter how difficult a customer I was, they really took in my requests (especially when I went there filming another day) and remained sweet and charming. Perfect service! I find Moekawa Cafe is the nice alternative to Maid cafes. You still have the cute girls and decorated foods, but you don't have table charges, photo charges and high prices. It's like a maid cafe accessable for girls, in a nice and girly atmosphere, with the staff being like the nice "oneesama" (older sister) type that really cares.

☆ATTENTION!☆ The Moekawa cafe is running from October 2013 till the 31st of January 2014! If you want to get a chance to go to see them you have to hurry!

 Perfect time out for your Harajuku Shopping trip!

 I will definitely, definitely go there again if I get the chance. I hope they continue doing the cafe in other places in Tokyo, or extend their time in Harajuku.

If you are curious, the link to their webpage is HERE ★

There's a cute little short clip on youtube, watch it HERE

Thanks for checking out my blog!

MOEKAWA Moemoe!☆

Love

x

Cat