Poisoned Rationality. @kittychancatorie-blog - Tumblr Blog

Holographic teaser nail polish from ILNP #holographic #nailpolish #ilnpbrand #ilnp #acrylicnails

Jan 25, 2017 | Holographic teaser nail polish from ILNP #holographic #nailpolish #ilnpbrand #ilnp #acrylicnails by KittyCatorie on Keek.com

Hey friends. So I lost access to this tumblr awhile ago (obviously) I had to charge and old phone to get access again. BUT MY NEW TUMBLR IS @currytimecosplay please follow me there if you want to keep up with me on tumblr.

#Kitty chan Catorie #curry time cosplay #Cosplay #anime

#end my life #mechacon #mechacon iv #mechacon2016 #Seinfeld meme #i've become so numb #fml

kaminacityarchives

thx

sharemycosplay

#Today’s #LeagueOfLegends post features Tiburon Cosplay as Sivir. #cosplay

https://www.facebook.com/TiburonCosplay/

Photographer: https://www.facebook.com/HellOrHighWaterPhotography/

Visit Sharemycosplay.com for more cosplay!

maniacalmagician

win98se

guy

i’m actually pretty cool just give me like 5 tries to get it right

Happy #MoonieMonday fam! I'm super excited to cosplay #SailorMars with the babes at Mechacon at the end of this month!!! Hope I don't forget any of my cosplay in England (I also hope they don't loose my luggage) #BanjjakBabes

#mooniemonday #banjjakbabes #sailormars

nentindo-deactivated20210501

Hecookinsexual: sexual attraction to a partner only when HE COOKIN

holyflamingo-deactivated2023111

Heeeeeey look at this more memes making fun of ace/arospec people I fuckin love it :) Thanks please invalidate me some more :) Mm yes this would be funny if we were just laughing at ourselves but everyone fuckin knows at this point that we’re having a good laugh at (mostly neurodivergent) kids trying to figure themselves out :) Boy oh boy more absurdist attraction jokes so we can brush all that confusion and pain under the rug :) Hahaha those “actually cishets” trying to sneak into the community amirite? :)

nentindo-deactivated20210501

HE COOKIN!!!!!

ktceee-deactivated20180222

Nerf This

prozdvoices

the way japanese video game characters move drives me nuts

peachmilky

@behold-munro 😂😂😂😂😂 ….. Srsly tho still cri evrytiem

mahouprince

What’s Going On With Our Fashion?

Hi cuties!

Today I want to talk about something a lot more serious.

I have some news (which you probably have already seen) regarding some popular J-Fashion brands, and also some thoughts about what that means for the community. Sorry for such a long post in advance :(

Recently Tokyo Fashion announced that both Milklim and h.Naoto will be closing all of their physical shops.

Although both of these brands are closing their physical locations, they will still both be operating their online stores.

h.Naoto released a statement (which Tokyo Fashion translated) regarding the reasoning behind their closing: http://tokyofashion.com/h-naoto-closing-all-stores-in-japan/ The director Naoto Hirooka said they are closing “in anticipation of future trends, sales figures heading into the fall, and concern for the brand.”

Milklim didn’t necessarily give a reason as to why they are closing, but Tokyo Fashion did translate their statement as well: http://tokyo-fashion.tumblr.com/post/147344457358/japanese-fairy-kei-brand-milklim-to-close-harajuku

I have actually been suspicious of mililim closing for some time now (I have noticed the quality of their work changing drastically) but h.Naoto closing their store came as quite a shock to me.

The directors and designers statements are very vague but one can speculate as to why they might be closing their physical shops but keeping their online stores. I feel like any store closing (in general) can have a lot to do with “loss of sales/revenue”. I don’t necessarily believe that people are less interested in these brands or styles, but I think it may have a lot to do with how harajuku culture has changed overtime. (see explanation later in post)

So now that you’ve heard the news, I guess the question is “what now?” or “what can I do to help?”

Well, if you love these brands and want to keep them alive, I encourage you to support their official webshops! I know in the international community we always pride ourselves on our secondhand steals (and there’s nothing wrong with that!) but I would like to just give the stores official seller links that way those who would like to buy from them know where to look!

h.Naoto’s international webshop: https://shop.hnaoto.us

(*I don’t know of any other OFFICIAL h.naoto resellers! If you do please let me know so I can add them here)

Milklim’s international webshop: https://otakumode.com/shop/brand/milklim (Tokyo Otaku Mode is very low on stock at the moment. I might contact them to see if they will be restocking)

Milklim’s official online shop: http://oshamagic.ocnk.net

To use their shop you must go through a shopping service because they do not ship overseas. Here are some I recommend:

http://www.fromjapan.co.jp/en/

http://tenshishop.com

https://www.whiterabbitexpress.com

http://www.tenso.com/en/

If you would like for these brands to continue making money to keep their brands in business, buying from the sites above would assist them! I am very happy to know that they will continue selling online, but it also important to realize that we may be approaching a tough time for J-Fashion.

We are now full of so many questions:

“Why did they close?” “How much longer will the online shops be open?” “Do they plan to keep the online shops or are the brands going to discontinue all together” “Who’s the next brand to go?”

and of course:

“What does this mean for Japanese Street Fashion in the future?”

Now, on topic of these shops closing there are some things regarding our community and its future that I feel like we should be aware of. If these things relate directly to h.naoto and Milklim closing, I do not know. They are just things that generally effect business in our community:

-Supporting replicas harms brands. I don’t want this post to become the dreaded “brand vs. replica” debate because thats not what this is about. But it is important to point out that this is a fact. Whether you support them or not is your own choice or opinion, but at the end of the day supporting replicas will hurt a business. I understand in Milklim’s case (and many other brand’s), it is tricky. They don’t have a webshop open to the international audience. Because of this, many replicas have been made and sold through stores on storenvy, taobao, and on shops like Sheinside. And these stores are more accessible to us. I know using shopping services can be difficult, but supporting a brand can make or break their business. With the popularity of brand replicas on the rise, people have been buying more replicas than supporting the original designers. And while it’s happening no one seems to mind, but now Milklim has closed up shop. Yes, “its not like the international fans could have bought from their physical location anyway” but shopping at an official reseller, Tokyo Otaku Mode or their official online store, could have at least helped sales. Many of our own indie designers and artists overseas have also been effected by this. I see many talented “kawaii” artists who have had their art stolen and now don’t create anymore because of it. (Anybody remember Sweetiecakes and her tights? How her confetti tights were wildly popular but she no longer creates or sells today due to the high volume of art theft and replicas of her items. That’s something to look into.)

As mentioned briefly above: Try supporting official resellers while you can. Now, before reading any of this, I have to say: Brand is expensive. Supporting brand is expensive. It would be very, VERY naive of me to say “just buy more brand to solve all of this!”. Many of us cannot afford brand. Many of us do not have access to brand. (Many of us also cannot FIT into brand.) What I’m really trying to do is just say they if you can, when you can, try buying from official resellers. (Quickly: official vs. not official reseller: Brands receive more profit from official resellers who have permission from the company to sell their clothing. So, buying secondhand- which I support, don’t get me wrong- doesnt give the brand any profit. They only receive profit from the initial sale however many months or years ago it occurred. Buying from an official reseller will give them profit now.) Here are some official resellers that ship internation ally that sell J-Fashion brand clothing: http://otakumode.com (US and Japan Based) http://www.dreamybows.com (UK Based) http://www.cdjapan.co.jp (Japan Based) http://www.tokyorebel.com (US Based) If you are LA based in the United States, check out Fickle Wish: https://www.facebook.com/Fickle-Wish-1752058165034915/?fref=ts Many J-Fashion brands also have shops on Global Rakuten: http://www.rakuten.com

As fans of these brands internationally it can be difficult to be involved and support them as much as their Japanese or Japan based fans can, considering we don’t have the in store or online accessibility as they do. We are not involved in the same exact scene as they are. Thats why I would like to encourage fans of these brands and designers to support some of the official online shops if you are able to, or look into using Shopping Services for purchasing from their Japanese site. Every little bit helps.

Now, regarding these two topics Im going to be blunt:

If people don’t buy from a shop, the shop will die and close.

These are not the first brands to close shop, and they won’t be the last. Other cases of stores closing in the past that were not as lucky to keep their online stores: http://tokyofashion.com/sexy-dynamite-london-is-dead/ http://tokyofashion.com/banana-fish-japanese-fashion-brand-closed/

A lot of us international fans really romanticize our favorite brands, and thats great and all until we idolize them to the point that we make them into something bigger than they are. It’s perfectly okay to admire these brands and to look to them for inspiration but its also important to realize that they are small businesses. And we don’t see this internationally. We see Kera Street Snaps and Gothic Lolita Bibles and we see Tokyo Fashion and we see fashion runways and youtube vlogs- To us, these brands are like “celebrities”. And a lot of people think about things like this when shopping. “Oh this won’t effect the brand because I am just one person and they make a lot of money anyway.” In some cases with larger brands and corporations that is the case. But most of these brands are small businesses that cater to a VERY small audience made up of a group of people apart of a very small and unique subculture in Japan.

You cannot compare Milklim, who sells their items at a range between $20USD-$100USD, to brands like Chanel, Gucci, etc that sell T-shirts for up to $800. And in no way am I saying “hey its morally fine to buy replicas from Chanel or Gucci… but no just not Milklim!! Im just trying to express that the audience and profit of popular western brands compared to J-Fashion brands that we love are very, VERY different.

With all of this information all I wish to achieve is to encourage people to really, really consider their place as a buyer and a fan of Japanese Street Fashions and brands.

Brands will only exist if there are buyers. Community will only exist if there are participants.

As international fans, again, it’s difficult to say exactly what is going on in Harajuku and in Tokyo. I have heard a lot of stories from friends that reside in Japan and I have read many articles regarding the evolution of Harajuku and how the “scene” has changed over time.

If you have not already, I recommend reading this article:

https://medium.com/@TokyoFashion/japanese-street-fashion-10-things-you-need-to-know-in-2016-59221ab241ee#.i7azx0w90

Topics 5-7 touch on the shift in attitude in Harajuku and how it has possibly effected the community.

Personally living in the United States, (and everyone else who also lives overseas) there is really nothing we can do about the community and scene located directly in Harajuku. So all we can do is continue to keep our community thriving. In addition of being wary of replicas / art theft and supporting brands and their official sellers, another thing you can do to keep our community active is: Supporting Indie Brands.

As I mentioned earlier, a community will only continue to exist if people are involved in said community. And in reference to fashion, styles and subcultures will only continue if people wear the fashion and people make clothing for the fashion. (This isn’t directed at a certain style in particular! Fashion styles will grow, fashion styles will die. This is just about our alternative fashion community and where it stands now)

I think what we can do now is continue to look towards our indie designers as well as our favorite “official” brands. Harajuku fashion has expanded globally like no one would ever believe, and its quite extraordinary that it was able to touch the hearts of many people. If we want our community to continue to grow and exist, I would like to encourage everyone to support all of the indie designers and brands that are popping up all over the globe! I am always so thrilled when I see more people either joining the community, or starting up their own shops and pursing their own dreams within our fashion. All of the major brands such as 6%DOKIDOKI, h.naoto, LISTEN FLAVOR, MILK, Angelic Pretty, Milklim, Galaxxxy, Baby The Stars Shine Bright etc etc etc had to start from somewhere! They began as designers with creativity and inspiration and dreams- They pursued their dreams, followed them, and inspired people everywhere to wear their clothes and live their lives in a way that makes them happy. They may be big now, but if nobody supported them when they began, they would be nowhere today.

Thats because as a buyer you have power.

I do recommend exploring our indie brands, our creators, our small businesses because the people that continue to create will be the ones that mold our fashion in the future.

This is why that I previously stressed how harmful things like art theft and replicas can be for businesses in the fashion world. We may have no control over what might be happening in harajuku, but we can control how we shop online overseas. If our indie designers are too discouraged by art theft and replicas to continue selling, what will we have left? Of course we will have thrifting and our own unique styles, but wouldn’t that… be sad? If we literally pushed away all of our designers because of something like that?

I don’t mean to sound dramatic, but our community and the world of fashion does work as a cycle. A lot of people fear “our fashion is dying out” (i.e.: many people believe that “fairy kei is dead”) and these styles will be dead if you let them be.

We are bound to grow and change over time. We are bound to experiment with our styles, develop interests in other things- We are bound to evolve.

But lets evolve instead of dying out.

I encourage everyone to continue wearing the fashion if they love it, and I encourage everyone who’s a budding designers to continue following your dreams. I know being an international fan is incredibly different considering you are not living and working in the “authentic scene” in Tokyo, but hopefully thats what the power of the internet is for. Let’s all just keep working towards are dreams and doing what we love! Let’s keep this community thriving.

So some final words to sum up my very, very long post:

Milklim and h.naoto will be closing their physical locations, but keeping their online shops.

Shopping from their official online stores will help keep them alive and kicking.

Continuous support of replicas and art theft will have a negative effect on our fashion over time.

I encourage everyone to shop from our budding indie designers to keep our fashion blossoming.

Always continue to do what you love and have fun with your fashion! Keep our community strong!

Again, sorry for such a long post! This fashion means so much to me and everyone else in the community! I feel like its very important in times like these for us to be conscious of whats going on and to talk about it.

I hope everyone has a great day (and this post doesnt bring you down ;w;) keep doing what you love! Keep being you!

Prince