Jul 2, 2010 | From You
from formspring.me:
Carly, I need your help! I have a job interview for a teaching position in Japan for next year, and one of the school’s American teachers told me I need to go and buy clothes that are stylish, professional, and designer but I’m such a tight budget I can only spend a few hundred on work clothes and fun clothes. Suddenly everything I own (even my street clothes) seems not trendy or awesome enough for Japan! Where do you suggest shopping in the US?
Well, first of all, it goes without saying DO NOT GO AND BUY ANYTHING UNTIL YOU HAVE THE JOB!!! Please!! Save your money until it is certain.
Secondly, are you going to be there for an entire year without returning to the US at all in the interim? Will you be able to go there, see what the dress code is, and return to the US to shop? Do you have someone stateside to ship you boxes of clothing or shop for you once you’re gone? (Unfortunately now there is no Sea Mail anymore – so sending boxes to Japan is horribly expensive…but perhaps a necessity if you end up going and needing something sent afterwards. Believe me, I’ve done that more times than I care to count!)
If you do get the job, first of all I’d recommend having enough undergarments in your size. Unless you have an Asian body – you’re going to run into fit issues, even if you are slim and petite enough to fit into Japanese sizes. (Bras constructed for the Asian market are made to fit bodies that are flatter, with the breasts spaced further apart on the ribcage and a higher armscye – a fact that PeachJohn [the equivalent of Victoria’s Secret in Japan] boasts on their catalog pages/website addressing why Japanese girls should buy their products instead of those made by Western companies.) Victoria’s Secret does sell in Japan – but the prices and shipping are more expensive than in the U.S.
PeachJohn’s explanation of how bras are made differently for different body types in different markets.
Figure on the left is a Western body; figure on the right is a Mongol body.
Also, trends and fads come and go in Japan like that. If you can fit into Japanese sizes, I’d highly recommend you shop there after you arrive to purchase things you feel are trendy, chic, work-appropriate, and fit into your budget. I’m not sure where you’ll be living, but if you’re in Tokyo, my favorite places for trendy stuff is Shibuya-109 and Free’s Mart in Jiyuugaoka; and LaForet Harajuku, Marui City, and beams (Shibuya) for more upscale chic items. Office attire (like suits) can be amazingly expensive but can also be bought at any department store – like Marui – and they do offer tailoring services.
If you do not fit into Japanese sizes (i.e., you’re taller than 5’4″ and larger than a 4/6) – then I think the most cautious approach (so you don’t use up all your hard-earned money) is to find out the dress code from a future colleague or the teachers’ liaison at the school. (Not the person who told you to wear only designer – though I can’t speak to that particular school’s dress code, if that’s a recommendation of what you have to wear in Japan to look “professional” in general, then that person doesn’t know squat!) Bah. You can wear any type of clothing, any style – and look fine! (You’ll probably be surprised at what looks “professional” depending on the profession and the workplace.) As a foreigner you’re automatically in a class by yourself and are thus quite exempt from stranger’s judgments on how you dress. (Within reason.) The only question is dressing appropriately for the job – in which case I think only the people working there will be able to enlighten you as to what works.
Teaching in Japan by carlyjcais featuring J Crew
Many online stores will ship to Japan (though for a hefty fee) if you’d feel more comfortable shopping after you arrive. At the very least, if no one can offer advice (though I’m not sure what type of teaching job it is or where), I would arm myself with one skirt suit, just in case (I like ones from Victoria’s Secret, J. Crew, Spiegel, Newport-News, Banana Republic, and Ann Taylor; department stores like Nordstroms, Dillard’s, Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, Burlington Coat Factory, and Macy’s will also have some great, affordable choices); a button-down shirt in a solid feminine color; low-heeled, extremely comfortable shoes for the TONS of walking you will do there (and any extra shoes if you do not fit into a 23.5 – 24.5 regular width shoe…i.e, size 6.5 – 7.5 which are the standard sizes routinely available in Japan); a comfortable dress (maybe a low-key print?) and a cardigan to go over it – i.e., no bare shoulders!; a bag with multiple compartments that you can lug around all day; and a pair of crease-front pants in a neutral color. (For all I know you may be teaching at a completely casual place where the teachers show up in polo-shirts and shorts!!) Nothing has to be designer; pick black and you can’t go wrong; stay away from busy, bright prints or loud colors; have a good coat to last you through the winter…and everything else can be bought there. (Hose; handkerchief; gloves; scarf – even shoes etc.)
Hope that helps and best of luck!
xoxox
Carly
imgs in compostie from magicaljapan.co.jp; breakthroughlearninganddevelopment.com; luggage.com; composited by me
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Jul 1, 2010 | DIY
Uber-simple. (So simple you don’t even need step-by-step photos to illustrate!)
You Need:
*2 silk flowers (I chose cream-colored peonies)
*small piece of stiff felt
*2 shoe clips
*scissors
*glue gun
How To:
1. Pull the flowers off their stems and trim off any jutting plastic from the underside.
2. Cut two small circles from the felt – large enough to become the base for each flower, but small enough to not show through in-between the petals.
3. Use glue gun to attach each felt circle to the underside of each flower and press the felt to cup the flower’s shape. In order to stop the top layers of petals from falling off, you may also need to glue in-between each layer, near the center.
4. Open the shoe-clips, place a daub of hot glue on the felt (I chose near the top of the circle to minimize the amount the flower protrudes from the edge of the shoe), and press the non-toothed side of the shoe clip into the glue. Squeeze more glue over that part to firmly attach it to the felt.
5. Allow to dry and remove gluey strings.
I’m liking this girly look on chunky clogs at the moment – found this pair at my local Goodwill and wanted to soften them up for the romantic look that’s so in right now. I love the flower as juxtaposition to the organic wood of the soles. Speaking of clogs, I also have a different pair [brown] of size 7 Nine West clogs up for sale here if anyone is interested.
Happy DIY’ing!
xoxoxo
Carly
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Jun 30, 2010 | Media
Britney Spears has kept somewhat of a low profile since all her media snafu’s in the last couple years – but now she’s designed a line for Candie’s (yes, purportedly designed), available exclusively at Kohls.
Check out her video below introducing the collection:
http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf
And the runway show of the pieces themselves:
http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf
What do you guys think of this?
For me – A) I have serious doubts that she actually designed the collection, and B) the collection in no way stands out from anything I’ve already seen on hundreds of shelves in retailers from Macy’s to Target to catalogs like MetroStyle and online stores like Ami Club Wear. It looks pretty indistinguishable from the multitude of low-priced teen fashion that is out there – and nothing about it seems “special” or says “Britney” in any way. (Though what does nowadays?) Add to the fact that Brit’s signature style (if she ever had one) and iconic status has all but disappeared over the last decade’s debacle of media outbursts, family scandal, indecent public exposures, questionble mental capacity, marriage woes, and legal trials – and the fact that she is no longer thought of as a “fashion icon” at all – and it makes me wonder why Candie’s thought this a sound move. I’m also wondering what the price point for these pieces will be. Will they be a steal, manufactured offshore in China and Bangladesh? Hmmm.
In any case, Britney looks healthy and confident – which is truly a great thing.
If you’re really, really interested in all this – you can get behind-the-scenes videos, more photos, and an interview with the photographer for the campaign here.
The limited edition collection of day and evening looks, handbags and jewelry, titled “Britney for Candie’s,” will be available at Kohl’s and www.kohls.com starting July 1st, while products last.
Anyway – discuss! I’d love to hear where you guys stand.
xoxo
Carly
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Jun 29, 2010 | Life
It has now been 3 weeks since Muffin’s disappearance.
I have put up 90 posters in a 2-mile radius of our house, laminating them all (unrecyclables be damned). A guy had put up paper posters of his lost Lab on some of the mailboxes I postered; after a rainstorm, the only thing left were mine. Shows laminating is definitely the way to go. Poor guy, I hope he found his dog.:-(
I have handed out over 40 flyers to local churches, schools, dogwalkers, joggers, people with strollers, neighbors, and people living on the rural routes.
So far I received not a single phone call from anyone who has seen her. I have received many calls about neighborhood strays, or “Hey, there’s a cat sitting on that driveway! It looks just like yours on the poster!” and I get there and the cat is completely GRAY with white feet; or a bunch of neighborhood kids trying to help and showing up at my door swearing up and down they saw A CAT walking across the street “kind of up the road near one of those houses a little while ago.” I had a promising lead last week with a lady who says she saw a tortoiseshell cat on her porch that she was sure was mine; after many nights staking out the place I caught a glimpse of it and now highly suspect it was her neighbor’s cat from across the street. I lent her a feral cat trap and asked her to place some food in it and set it; so far, nothing.
People have been very nice trying to help (I’m sure the big REWARD on the posters also helps LOL), but the fact of the matter is that maybe Muffin just doesn’t want to be found just yet. Every day I spend hours in the nearby neighborhoods, walking or driving around, calling her. I slept on the floor in front of the deck door in the living room for a week hoping she would come back and meow at the door to be let inside, and I didn’t want to miss it if she came home in the middle of the night. Raccoons gnoshed on the “kitty buffet” of delicacies I set out on my deck, hoping to lure Muffin back. Bugs with nasty pincers set up a bug hotel in Hub’s shirt that we put outside in a box, hoping the familiar scent would bring our cat back home.
Last last Saturday was the day we were all going to fly to Japan to spend a month with the in-laws.
I ended up cancelling my ticket and staying behind alone (buh-bye a couple hundred dollars), while Hub and Lil Tot flew to Tokyo. They are having a wonderful time with the relatives, visiting onsen, going to the toy store, and practically cleaning out the convenience stores of all their favorite Japanese snacks and cookies.
I am meanwhile vacillating between desperately searching for our lost kitty, cleaning up the house, getting caught up on DIY projects (which I haven’t felt much incentive to do unfortunately), moping about, and watching copious amounts of TV. I finally saw the first Twilight movie the other day. A whole lotta panning and tracking shots of a bunch of people staring at each other. Surprisingly disappointing, and the story was hardly fleshed out. Perhaps there’s more depth in the books.
All I can hope is that Muffin is happily frolicking in the fields nearby, and will come home soon once she gets bored. I can’t keep imagining all the things that might have happened to her; it’s too stressful. I console myself by watching Law & Order: SVU…they always find the runaway kid in the end.
xoxo
Carly
feral cat trap from animalnetwork.org; Twilight layout from languageisavirus.com; JAL plane from a Google search
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Jun 28, 2010 | Beauty, From You
from formspring.me:
Hi Carly, I really love you blog. Been reading it for a while now and you always manage to inspire me into new sewing projects! I have a little DIY question for you… I’m shaving my head for charity in a couple of weeks and as I will be pretty much bald
Hi there! Can you continue your question in the comments to this post? The question got cut off by formspring, as you can see!
Thanks-
Carly
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