Two years ago, I started this blog as a supplement to my Etsy store. I had just completed Dressmaking and Design courses and that itch to create something new everyday was more like an infectious disease that overtook my entire being, 28 days later style. Flash forward to the now–where a second job, relationships and the general “I’ve been busy lazy” has become the bane of my existence. Every once in a while I’d post a few random entries, but never really picked up the momentum of my initial attempt. Sad puppy.

I’m a huge advocate of personal blogs. It’s a neat way to stay tuned into what’s been going on with friends and family, especially when there’s so much distance between us and everyone is just so goddamned busy.

Whenever Tina and I go on break and enjoy a plate of pasta together, we always touch on how important it is to live passionately, but how lately what we’ve become is just a couple of couch potatoes. Well, now that I’ve switched from working graveyard to regular day/night shifts, I feel like I’ve regained some sort of homeostasis and I’m ready to hug the world again. And last week, Tina cleared out her old room and started painting again–she just completed two orchid still lifes (one in watercolor and one in acrylic) to get the hang of working with different mediums again. As it turns out, the only mediums we’ve gotten accustomed to working with these days is makeup on other people’s faces.

What I really want to make more than anything is connections, or even making missed connections would be enough. I want to draw and salvage old dresses and read stories before bedtime without feeling the heavy pull like blinds over my eyelids. Talk about accessories and the last pair of shoes I popped a boner for. And do some yoga with my girls under the sun until we’re all NC 42. And sip on some margarita’s along the shoreline while Roni teaches us how to shake our hips the Tahitian way.

I want to write about nothing at all, which is to say, everything. And appreciate terribly mundane incidents. Stuff that we often overlook when at the end of the day, it’s really what makes living that much more bearable. Like when my dude smiles and takes a mental picture with his eyes. Or that one time when I handed her her change, for 3 seconds our fingers touched and it was electric. Or how I wish more people would hug me the way you did before boarding the plane that morning. Like I existed and you knew I was there. I mean, you hug Marcus Aurelius like that and even his cheese would melt.

All that good stuff, if I understand correctly, is what Amy Hempel calls connective tissue. The space that looks empty initially, but adds up to form something complete when seen from afar. In an interview with The Paris Review she says, “If used honestly and not as a gimmick, these spaces can signify the way the mind really works, noting moments and assembling them in such a way that a kind of logic or pattern comes forward, until the accretion of moments forms a whole experience, observation, state of being.”

“Girls are complicated beings” Francis says. “But with you sometimes it’s scientific–like clockwork. Like when you get emotional, I already know why.”

I like this song.

Travel checklist: miniature sized shampoo and conditioner, lotion, hand cream, 3 step face cleansing/serum/moisturizer routine jammed into plastic sampling containers, sunscreen, toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, deodorant, 4 changes of clothes and underwear including a set of pajamas, 1 pair nude skimmers, 1 pair black leather boots, a light read for the 7 hour plane ride, passport, itinerary, sense of adventure. And exciting times.

Three things about Hong Kong: Originally colonized by the British, its official languages are Chinese (spoken Cantonese) and English. It’s the most densely populated city in world. If it is your first time visiting, you might want to book your trip for longer than a weekend.

Ralph Lauren shirt (from Francis’s closet), UO bag, Jeans from outlet mall, Dolce Vita boots
We stayed at the Imperial Hotel on Nathan road just next door to Chungking Mansion. This is where Chungking Express was filmed. Now all I need is my sunglasses, Burberry trench and a Marilyn Monroe wig and it would be enough to say, “eat your heart out, Faye Wong.”

If you are a born and bread island person, there will be a lot of firsts for you.

Things like commuting via metro

coming out to play in Disneyland

The live theater show, I enjoyed most of course

riding a crystal cable car suspended 112 feet high

goofing around the Avenue of Stars, wataaah!

vintage sweater, Korean boutique pleated skirt

meditating in sacred places

I am like totally zen

Neneee romper
and generally experiencing the hustle and bustle energy of a big city.

City people weren’t always as curteous as the island peeps I am so accustomed to, but you have to hand it to them for keeping it real. “You no buying, no take pikchar. I am not actress,” said the starlet above.

One thing I was super looking forward to was shopping at H&M, but it was pretty much a let down. Over rated and not so different from shopping at Macy’s or any other commercial department store on Guam, even shopping at Disneyland was way more exciting. The provincial markets on Temple street, Tsim Sha Tsui and fisherman’s village yielded the best novelty prezzies to take home.

Bruce Lee tee, various types of Chinese teas: jasmine, pu erh, lychee, ti kuan yin, white and orchid, Little Prince marshmallows–if only for the packaging, Mickey Mouse chocolates, classic Mickey tee (which would look even better after a one billion washes), MMJ make-up bag, remote control helicopter, lots of black workwear, cheap clothes, expensive shoes
“Bring two empty luggages and a lot of money.” That’s what Mieko said when I told her I was going. It’s a good thing I kept it in mind and also stuffed an extra duffel bag into the front pocket of our check-in baggage.

Eat your vegetables!

If there’s such a thing as buyer’s remorse, even worse is the antithetical nonbuyer’s remorse. I’ll forever regret not buying those miniature wind-up dancing robots and funny splatballs from the old man with no voice and kind eyes at the Tsim Sha Tsui market. Our intuition is good; the problem is we ignore it. I need to learn how to be more implulsive. Like when we decided to have 3 dollar 32 ouncers (amazing!) literally smack dab in the middle of the street. Those were really nice served with poached snail thingamagiggies in a dark chili sauce. I forget what the dish is called, but if anyone knows, please please please drop a line.

Last week I finally scavenged eBay only to find those little dancing robots and splatballs I so wanted but tried to convince myself I didn’t need. I bought them anyway. So I don’t need them per se. So what? They are just cool things to have around. Like in case of emergency, break glass and play with these, they’re fun! And since they are being shipped from Hong Kong, I imagine they are coming from that same kind old man in that same crowded old market.

A final note on commuting in Hong Kong: drivers are either suicidal or insane. Or both. Every time we decide to hop in the back of a cab or bus, I find myself hanging on for dear life. All the while The Smiths are playing There is a Light That Never Goes Out” in the back of my head. That song could pretty much sum up the entire duration of our stay.

photos by Nicholas Haggard
model is Emily Wroe
for Le Loup-Garou

You know how you try to avoid the incessant coughs of a coworker who comes in to work with the flu because they’ve used up all their sick leave? Well that’s how I feel about wholesale orders; I try to dodge them at all costs in order to spare myself from any future suffering. It has a lot to do with 1. not being able to source materials in bulk on short notice 2. fear of tackling such a large order with merely my own two little hands to complete the work, and 3. absolute laziness. But when Laura approached me with the idea of carrying some of my items in her Brooklyn-based boutique, Leloup-Garou, I immediately knew I wanted to work with her.

It was more of a personal decision than one of business. Laura was incredibly warm and genuine; she kinda made it impossible to turn her down. And it’s no wonder with influences like Miranda July and Rufus Wainwright (might I add a mutual appreciation for all types of cheeses) that we got along so well. Eventually I came around to asking her about the general direction of her shop and her style philosophy. Here’s what she had to say:

“I think the most successful sense of style is one that fits the individual perfectly. It doesn’t have to be ‘out there,’ or unexpected, or high fashion, or cost a lot of money, or any of these things. It just has to make sense and fit, both literally and creatively. I think the most important thing is to be brave, take chances, and be ready to wear some things that people might not get; at the same time, to avoid wearing anything that doesn’t feel, down to its core, like it belongs on you.”

Le Loup-Garou translates to werewolf in French. “It’s a beautiful way to communicate a grotesque idea,” she says.

When you visit her website, you’ll notice a clean layout. It isn’t saturated with items catering to different tastes either; every piece looks like it could be worn by the same girl. From the limited use of accessories to the photography, there’s a distinctly edited, cohesive story to be told. What I find most admirable about good storytelling is what’s left out as opposed to what’s piled on. For the same reason why George will forever be my favorite Beatle—because 2 out of 3 times it’s the quiet ones who have more to say without having to say nearly as much.

p.s.,

Hi! Valerie,

Best,
Yuko
1 October 2010 4:40pm EDT

Omiyage from Japan:

Dream girls… not.

Yuko wears: dress by Anthropologie, shoes by Anne Klein and (the cutest apple pendant) necklace by Unoaerre via Gilt Groupe.
I am wearing: self-made velvet romper, necklace from *can’t remember, deadstock tights from Salvation Army, and shoes by F-Troupe.

Thanks for visiting, Yuko!