FASHION: Hello Kitty graces the cover of Elle Taiwan

Hello Kitty's trending on Twitter? Just as good as the day that "El Camino" was a trending topic - it's always a good feeling to be in the know before twitter gets a massive hold on it, but I have to admit I had NO idea why Kitty-chan herself as of big importance.

Well look who made the cover of Elle Taiwan? Some people were commenting on how disturbing this is, but after hearing the Japan Day folks introduce the feminine feline as a Japan's ambassador, this is no disturbing surprise at all. In fact Hello Kitty is such an icon I'm surprised this didn't happen sooner. I mean, she even launched her own makeup line at Sephora earlier this year with a followup of collections launching in both F21 and H&M, so why shouldn't she be on the cover of a fashion mag?

What do you think?

Check out the site where I snagged the photo from and check out the OTHER VERSION of the Elle magazine.  Fashionista.com // Hello Kitty On The Cover Of Elle Taiwan 

La Tenoli 

Hello Kitty at UNIQLO -- Hellosmile Project

Hello Kitty is EVERYWHERE lately! Hello Kitty for Asics. Hello Kitty for Forever 21. Hello Kitty for Uniqlo! 


For the first time in months, I took a look at the new Uniqlo (US) site and I discovered that there's a line of Hello Kitty graphic tees out EXCLUSIVELY at the Flagship store on 5th Ave -- sounds like a shopping trip on Friday to me.

There were two tees in particular that I fell in love with.

The others were a bit too kiddish for me; these are cute but still rock-able at my age. I'm definitely going to check out the FOREVER 21 X HELLO KITTY collection when that comes out on Friday as well. Check out the collection on TokyoFashion's cover post of the Shibuya launch.

By the way, I'm so happy to be posting up on here again.

La Tenoli

Reponses to the NYC Earthquake.

NYC Earthquake 8-23-11

This is my first post in more than 4 months -- but today while I was on the train to work a certain thought popped into my head (quite delayed, mind you). Although I promised a review on this month's SOUP as my first post back here, I think this one much more thought-provoking and appropriate.

Last Tuesday, most of you know that there was a earthquake here in New York City - the epicenter of it in Virgina - with a magnitude of 5.8
A lot of us were pretty shocked and frightened while it was happening because this is not really something that most New Yorkers have ever experienced nor something we are really prepared for.  (First earthquake I experienced was in Japan)

Now while I know our little sway in the wind was nothing compared to many of the earthquakes that those in the West Coast experience, I found it rather rude and insensitive that many of the people that I know from the West Coast and other areas of the country were quick to call us "cry babies". Now here's the thought provoking part...
It was interesting then to see how my Japanese friends reacted to the news, quick to ask whether we were okay or not and concerned about the aftershocks that might follow. It was interesting to see that those in a country that recently suffered from an extreme earthquake disaster earlier this year were more sympathetic than fellow Americans, and I wondered, "Is that a culture thing?"

Are Americans supposed to have thick skin? Maybe next time there's a tragic shooting on the West Coast, us New Yorkers should pull out the 9-11 tragedy card. I think it is quite obvious from our reactions to the quake that we are not accustomed to a little shaking (i.e. we walked outside instead of hiding under our desks). I ask that next time people think about these things before being so damn insensitive.

I ask for your opinions - I highly value them.

-- La Tenoli

お久しぶり、ごめん。[It's been awhile, I'm sorry]

I went on an unannounced hiatus back in April because I had a few personal issues to sort out. Looks like I'm back and ready to start blogging!

So let's kick it off with one of my favorites -- next week's post? A review of September's issue of SOUP.

Trust me, you're going to love it.

La Tenoli

EVENT: Arts & Crafts Fundraiser For Japan

The Art Lover and Japanophile in me is very excited for this event! 

Saturday April 16th, New York Hana-no-kai and NIHONGOchannel are hosting 

the Arts & Crafts Fundraiser for Japan. 

Food, Drinks, Art, Fellow Professionals, and of course Models.

Because we all know that all real parties have beautiful women in kimono just lounging 'about

For more info check out the official blog post for the event. 

28 East 63rd Street, NYC (between Madison and Park Avenue) 

Admission is $5 (but more is always humbly accepted)

100% of the proceeds from admission and gallery sales, 50% of bar sales, plus a percent of craft shop sales will go towards the New York Japanese-American Lions Club Fund! 

Hope to see you there! 

La Tenoli

Hello Kitty X Dr. Martens Collab Part Dos!

Woke up this morning and saw this tweet:

Which linked to a picture of these with the short caption "Coming out in Spring"

I'm really excited for these because I wasn't able to cop the boots during the winter collab and I'd totally rock the high top with a pair of skinny jeans, no doubt. So I'm going to keep this in my radar and hopefully manage to snag a pair. 

The flats are $110 and the high tops are $125 now available on the Doc Martens website.

Check out the UNIQLO haul post below and SOUP March Fashion Trends. 

Stay tuned for more weekly updates and follow on Facebook ! 

La Tenoli

UNIQLO Haul-ing

Must have stopped to visit UNIQLO at least 3 times in the past two weeks.
Shout outs to all the great people I know who work there and who I always look forward to seeing!

Alright, let's get to the money spending part.

                      Blazer $39.90   Jeans $29.90                         *favorite!     $19.90      

                                        ( front)                                                              (back)

                                                                                                                $49.90

Check out some of my favorite fashion items/trends in this month's Japanese fashion magazine SOUP here.

Hope you guys enjoyed this little haul post! Anyone else snag any UNIQLO items recently?

La Tenoli

EVENT: Don't Give Up Japan!

My {Japanese} aunt sent me an email this morning with information about an event happening on Thursday March 24 to raise money for Japan. 

There will be refreshments at the event. So I encourage you all to come out and network with some of the amazing people who will be there. 

RSVP by tomorrow March 22nd by email to yokom@shipsltd.com or mayagorgoni@gmail.com

For those who can't make it to the event but still wish to donate, please visit http://www.ifrc.org/en/get-involved/donate/

I'll be doing my best to attend the event and would love to see some of you there.

By the way, please check out the new EARTHQUAKE RELIEF FUNDS tab above to find other ways of donating by purchasing items online. 

La Tenoli