photo shoot

Recently, I organised a photography trip for myself and a couple of other friends so we could learn from 'the master' (a friend that has recently started his own photography business). He mentioned that he was doing a pre-wedding shoot and I politely invited myself along. As a result, my friend hired himself an assistant for the afternoon (for free) and the unsuspecting couple had an extra person taking photos of them on the shoot.

Having never been on one of these shoots, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Even though I was not obliged to hand over any of my photos, I was still a little nervous. The couple were really nice and I had fun. I also didn't realise how tiring it could be. We were only out for a few hours, but I was losing concentration by the end.

As for the photos...I ended up with a small handful of shots I thought were ok. Not quite the quality I was hoping for, but I think I've just got high expectations for someone who is very much a beginner. I did hand over some of my shots as 'homework' to my friend the Sensei. Let me chase him up to see what mark I got.

hairdresser

I'm not sure how many people have experienced the disappointment of finding out that your hairdresser had left the salon you had been going to. It's also annoying when you have no idea where they went to. I was in this situation not too long ago. The good news is I managed to find out which salon she now works at. I'm so pleased that my hairdresser can continue looking after my hair and........ she maintains a small collection of Japanese magazines for her clients! Not only can I have my hair styled by a hairdresser I like, but I can also update myself on the latest in Japanese fashion via the magazines!

knitting

My Mum is a huge fan of knitting. When she found out that one of the knitting and needlecraft stores was having a sale, she sent me in search of certain types of wool she wanted to buy. Whilst standing in the store and looking completely lost in all the varieties of wool, I came across a couple of patterns for beanies.

Which one should I ask my Mum to knit for me?

gumboots

 

I remember when I was kid I owned a pair of yellow gumboots with blue soles. Sadly, my feet grew so quickly that I only had the chance to wear them once before the gumboots became too small. Having never owned another pair of gumboots since, the rainy weather in the past week or so has made me want to buy a pair.

However, this pair makes me think that gumboots only look cool on kids.

Perhaps if Bob the Builder wasn't so obvious, I'd consider getting these?

Finding the right pair is going to be tough. Making gumboots look cool, without looking like a five year old is the first challenge. Trying not to appear like having gone straight from the fishing trawler to the cosmopolitan world will be the other. Maybe appearing as if I had returned from a weekend at the farm and was unfussed about having left my gumboots on would work?

I will continue my search for a pair of gumboots, suitable for city life.

patience...

I admit it. Since my window shopping (online) post, I have been checking out the http://theoutnet.com/ website frequently, hoping to see again the items I had missed out on purchasing. I was never quite able to forget the Vanessa Bruno or the Marc Jacobs bags I saw back then.

The Outnet did not let me down. One day, the Vanessa Bruno athe leather tote I had my eye on became available for sale... but only in the medium size. What to do? Out came my ruler, comparing the measurements described on the website against an existing bag I had. It seemed the medium sized tote would be more wearable on a daily basis. i.e. it wouldn't look like I could acutally fit the kitchen sink in it.

Feeling the time pressure (as items on The Outnet get purchased in a ridculously efficient manner), I put the tote in my online shopping bag as fast as I could. Clicking through the various pages to buy the bag, I finally reached the point where all I had to do was wait for it to be delivered. I just hoped that I had entered all my details into the ordering forms correctly!

Now having received the bag, I am thankful that I didn't buy the oversized version. I think it would have been too large as a day bag. I guess it was described as a weekend bag for a reason!

Finally, here's a visual of my new bag.

the amateur photographer

Being an amateur photographer, I've found that it's always nice when people compliment my photos. Definitely gives that little buzz of happiness!

"like a pretty woman" by Yumie Kazama

On one of my trips to Kinokuniya (the book store referred to by many of us as "kino") to buy a "girl's style" magazine, I came across a book called "like a pretty woman" by Yumie Kazama.

As I flipped through the book, I found that it was full of photos of Yumie-san in her fabulous outfits. The book opens with shots of her in France. The ones that caught my attention were of her at Lyon train station wrapped up in a dark blue shawl with a hint of the white shirt and navy and pink polka dot scarf she was wearing underneath. Complementing her outfit were long brown suede boots, Louis Vuitton hand-carry luggage and an oversized brown leather shoulder bag. Needless to say, I kept on flipping through that book.

Yumie shares on "How to be a Lady". Here, there are photos about adopting Jackie (Kennedy)'s style,  the "Petite Jacket" and "Rain Boots" amongst many other aspects on "how to be a lady" through your outfits. As I continue through the book, it turns out Yumie is a stylist. Unfortunately, with my very limited Japanese I could not read a lot of the narrative running throughout the book. However, I was thankful for the sprinkling of English here-and-there which allowed me to at least find out about the background of the author.

Before I knew it, I was already at the counter paying for the book!

Having looked through the book many times now, I'd have to say that my favourite section is where Yumie records her outfits on 365 days. The photos were taken from February 2004 to October 2009.

How it's possible for someone to own so many clothes is a little beyond me. Regardless, the shots have been great in giving me ideas on how to pull outfits together. Outfits that have spanned a 5 year period and still look stylish today... that's something to aspire to.

http://sblog.gw.tv/yumie/

http://amazon.co.jp/

http://books.rakuten.co.jp/