LA CARMINA :: Seasonless coats for modern Marie Antoinettes

Fashion blogger, Goth-Lolita designer, author, and Japanese Goth Cooking (?)…she does it all.

A lifelong apprenticeship (her family is a 30-year veteran of the Hong Kong garment industry), along with degrees from Columbia and Yale, and a passion for Japanese fashion and subcultures have combined to make LA CARMINA the “Martha Stewart” of the Goth-Lolita world.

La Carmina is now taking pre-orders for her new line of seasonless coats. With names like the Josephine Coat, the Antoinette Coat, and the DuBarry Coat - and the steampunk influence of features such as chain-linked silver buttons and lace-up corset backs — these coats are sure to make you feel like a modern day aristocrat. And these days, wouldn’t that feel great?

Keep on reading…

• How to Dress Harajuku Style : 8 steps
• La Carmina writes about Tokyo Trends

tokidoki Dress $57

tokidoki is the Japanese-inspired lifestyle brand created in 2005 by Italian artist Simone Legno and his business partners Pooneh Mohajer and Ivan Arnold. tokidoki produces apparel and other products using art and iconic characters designed by Simone Legno.

Harajuku Lovers Plaid Dress $54.95 (Sale)

Harajuku (”meadow lodging”) is the common name for the area around Harajuku Station on the Yamanote Line in the Shibuya ward of Tokyo, Japan. The area is known internationally for its youth style and fashion. Harajuku street style is promoted in Japanese and international publications such as Kera, Tune, Gothic & Lolita Bible and Fruits.

“Ei8ht” is a steampunk time-travel comedy written by Andy North and William Shefski. This terrific scene depicts Martha and Philippa, the two beautiful time-travelers, shedding their 19th-century shells beginning with their bonnets and their white gloves. Next the dresses come off, then the over-petticoats, the hoop-petticoats and the under-petticoats. All this before they even get to their corset covers. 

Japanese Street Fashion has brought back this “layered look” with the Elegant Gothic Lolita style, a subset of Lolita Fashion.  Elegant Gothic Lolita (EGL) is a term coined by Mana (guitarist and creator of clothing line Moi-même-Moitié). It can be considered a more mature version of Gothic Lolita, often worn by older teens and young women and charactarized by mostly black garments, accented with white.

Interestingly, I’ve heard Ei8ht has a scene with Giant Mimes. This is certainly something Gothic Lolita designer, Mana, would appreciate because…

Mana has rarely intentionally smiled or spoken in public. In his filmed interviews, he whispers into the ear of a band member or confidante, who then relates his words back to the interviewer. He has also been known to simply look at the camera as subtitles appear, as well as using Yes/No cards and expressing himself in mime.  (read more)

I found Mana’s Goth Lolita designs a bit too severe for my taste, and went back to my new favorite shopping site Maruioni.jp. There I found this fun underdress by Victorian Maiden.

The skirt spreads out even when worn without a pannier, as the intricate frills and pintucks create volume while pulling in the waistline. Great under your favorite coat or dress, and as it has a lining, it can be worn on its own as a summery dress too! Opens with a concealed fastener at the back. (read more) 

For more exploring…

• The Dressing Room - when dressing was a two-person job
• Ei8ht – synopsis and excerpt
• Mana – musician and fashion designer
• Moi-même-Moitié - Mana’s design label. Elegant Goth Lolita and Elegant Goth Aristocrat (for men).
• Gothic Lolita - a history
• Juliette et Justine - elegant, classic and romantic clothing with a hint of EGL.
• Victorian Maiden - turning back the clock

Here in Northeastern U.S. it’s time for spring showers, trench coats, and boots.

But some boots are just too pretty to splash in puddles. The outside of these Kira Kira Tabi boots by Honmonoya from Tokyo Made consists of a hand stitched vintage piece of fabric with silver and gold flowers stitched on with sparkling sequins and seed beads.

These boots can be worn at full length or folded down to show the rich red inner lining.
The Kira Kira Tabi fasten at the back from the heel to mid calf with 12 clasps each with a Japanese kanji on them meaning – The power of a King. The clasps can be hooked at three different widths to expand or contract the fit of the boot. Continue reading.

But what makes these boots even more interesting to me is the Tabi Toe. I’d seen the Tabi Toe socks that Japanese women wear with thonged footwear (ankle high white sock with a separation between the big toe and the other four toes) but this was the first time I’d seen it in a boot.

Here’s another beautiful pair. This is the Ruby Apple Tabi by Honmonoya. In this photo you can see the Tabi Toe.

Jika-tabi (or “Tabi that contacted the ground”) were once reserved for construction workers, farmers and gardeners and rickshaw-pullers. But now it’s all about street fashion…

The Japanese Street Fashion phenomenon is still going strong. In her addictive mtokyoblog, Maryanne chronicles her family’s move from Brooklyn to Tokyo. She recently caught this Lolita-fashioned girl walking away from the camera in Shibuya.

Japanese Street Fashion photographer Shoichi Aoki writes in the forward of Fresh Fruits -

Every Sunday until 1998, Omone-sando, the main street in the Harajuku area of Tokyo, was declared a pedestrian heaven or Hoko-ten, and all traffic was banned for the entire day. One one particular Sunday in March 1997, I was standing on a street corner outside my new office surveying my surroundings when two girls wearing tartan duffle coats caught my attention. They weren’t doing anything in partuicular, just hanging out while a few foreign tourists took their picture, but they exuded an attitude and degree of presence that was hard to ignore…..Here, for the first time in Japan and on my very doorstep was an example of fashion trends being initiated by the wearer (by far the most important element in fashion as far as I am concerned). Indeed it was the wearer who superceded the designer to create a new fashion sensibility that was as daring as it was transformative.

Today Japanese youth are still pushing the boundaries with Lolita, Goth and Punk fashion. Lucky for us, much of it is available online.

My search for the perfect double-breasted trench led me to this belted black coat. Love the extra long sleeves, the dropped waist, the zippers and the detachable satin collar. And I’m loving Maruione.jp.