It's so super hot here in Tokyo that an essential handbag must-have is a cut little handkerchief. You're not truly Japanese until you daintily pull out one of these from your Marc Jacobs handbag to pat your cheeks dry every now and then. Extra Japanese bonus points for drying your hands with them after a visit to a LoFT bathroom. I'm still yet to master the dainty Japanese style, but I do my best to stock up on cute new handkerchiefs every now and then. I bought these Vivienne Westwood ones from Kichijoji OI yesterday.
Aren't the textile prints pretty?
Speaking of textiles...I've become a little obsessed with fabric shopping of late. Last week I took two trips out to Nippori fabric town stopping at a few fabric shops in Shinjuku on the way. If you like fabrics you won't want to miss a trip out to Nippori. Before you visit, download the English map
here.
Tomato is my favourite Nippori fabric shop and they have quite a few branches there (one of which even has an entire floor filled with fabric costing just ¥100 per metre!) Oh My Goodness the fabric in Japan is amazing. They even have liberty floral print bias binding! And look at these oil cloth table cloths I picked up!
Naturally I've decided to take up sewing clothes for myself again and bought a little lemon floral sewing machine online last night. I think my first project will be to sew a cap-sleeve t-shirt from
NaniIRO's mizutama fabric!
If you like craft and creating handmade things, it's dangerous to go shopping in Tokyo! It took all of my will to walk out of Tokyu hands without an enitre bookbinding kit the other day! I'd happily stay inside making craft everyday here in Tokyo...if only there wasn't so many other fabulous things to go and see.
When I'm not dreaming of craft activities I've been enjoying things like:
* Hearing things like 'calorie half' and 'price down' in my local supermarket.
* Drinking home made iced-lattes from ¥189 carton of iced coffee.
* Buying a weekly bunch of flowers in pretty pre-mixed bouquets. Think carnations, babies breath and daisies!
* Riding my mamachari to Setagaya-koen and drinking iced-tea.
* Giving presentations (in Japanese eeep) about my favourite Japanese artist Hiroshi Sugito to my Nihongo private sensei.
* Working on
VOGUE Living layouts from my mini-me apartment.
* Going on searches in Harajuku for mexican food with my dear friend
Gracie.
* Buying strange vegetables in the supermarket and needing to google recipes to cook them with.
* Exploring new to me areas like Asagaya with
Hiki-chan.
* Wondering around Sangenjaya and Kichijoji taking photos of patterns.
Happy Friday Sandwiches! Hope you have a lovely creative weekend!
Love Love
Hello Sando
xoxo
