Cute with an Edge

Harajuku Lovers by Gwen Stefani

2011-07-30T17:33:00.000-07:00

I've always been a fan of Gwen Stefani. She's incredibly badass and I LOVE all of her songs (as well as No Doubt's) and have listened to her since the mid 90's. I also noticed her Harajuku Girls line but at first dismissed it as her being too fangirly towards the Japanese culture.. and I couldn't get used to how the little mascots looked. It was.. weird to me for some reason.

But, time changed that - now, I think they're very cute and her line of clothing's equally great! The woman's 40 and still rocks out just as hard as someone half her age. I want to be as cool as Gwen when I'm her age! (Plus, we share the same birthday - October 3! Of course, the year isn't the same.)

Harajuku (hara•joo•koo) n. 1. A style and attitude of Japanese girls from Harajuku, Tokyo. n. 2. Anything goes: outrageous, layered, and eye-catching.

Harajuku Lovers Fragrance: n. 1. A fatal attraction to cuteness.

Inspired by the electric street scene of the Harajuku shopping district in Tokyo, the Harajuku Lovers fragrance collection captures the lyrics and iconography from Gwen Stefani's albums. These unique fragrances, in their adorable doll-decanters, will appeal to anyone with a "fatal attraction to cuteness." Choose the girl that best fits your personality, but (trust us!) after meeting one, you'll have to have them all!

It was really hard for me to decide which ones I liked best, but after reading up on them, I've decided I like Love and Music the best. :) I have yet to try out the fragrances, but I want to! I see some samples on eBay, so I'll try them out!

Ahh, sweet tote bag! I have enough bags, but if I didn't, I'd grab this one. :D

Harajuku Girls and Gwen Stefani are definitely cute with an edge. ^^ (And hey, "Rich Girl" from Gwen just started playing on my Pandora as I type this.. what a strange coincidence.) Check out Karmaloop, eBay and watch the commercial on the official website.

Pucca! by Vooz

2011-07-19T07:49:00.000-07:00

Pucca is so cute! Created by Vooz, she is a media franchise that apparently Disney XD took over. It was initially an animated flash series, then it took off! Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia:

The main character Pucca is the 10-year old niece of three Chinese noodle house owners. The Noodle House is located in Sooga Village, a small village in the mountains. Pucca is in love with the 12-year-old ninja, "Garu". Pucca always seems to beat him in combat and unintentional competition, simply by sheer wit.

I remember Pucca from many years ago! I got to watch a few of the flash cartoons and it's even cuter than I remember. Aww! She's so in love with Garu and always tries to kiss him.. and they're only 11-13 years old! I love how she only giggles and how her little odango hair buns bounce around, and her silly grin. She's such an adorable tomboy.. who happens to be very romantic and REALLY loves her man.

You can catch the videos here at AsiaFinest. The official site was puccaclub.com, but that seems to be down - at least, I can't access it. :( However, you can still buy DVD's and merchandise at Amazon, arguably the best place to get them now. Here are some CUTE stuff I found there!

The latest DVD! I think it was released last year, late 2009. I love the flash cartoons so I might get this one too.

CUTE Pucca shirts! I like the distressed design. Shame it's not a black shirt.

But I did manage to find one (a black Pucca shirt)! I really, really like this one. :) Rainbows and Pucca together - perfect!

I love re-discovering things like this, and am so relieved that to this day they're till popular enough to have clothes and other merchandise out. ^^ I can't be the only one who remembers Pucca from the early 2000's! I think she was out as early as 2000, actually.. a decade later and she's still going strong, how awesome!

Wanna buy some Pucca stuff? Go to Amazon.com - best place in my opinion. eBay has a lot of things too, of course.

Kawaii Not - the webcomic for cute gone bad!

2011-07-17T05:08:00.000-07:00

So, we all know what "kawaii" is. Not only is it the Japanese word for "cute" or "adorable", but it's also become it's own genre. Cute, Japanese inspired things like plush toys, clothes, and the like are considered the "kawaii" type, as opposed to gothic, for example. Kawaii things are sometimes inanimate objects with cute little faces, like the memopads by Q-Lia and Crux.

An example of a "kawaii" memo pad. From smilescan.net.

At "Kawaii Not", the creator Meghan Murphy took the concept of "kawaii" and twisted it in a satirical and amusing way. She draws inanimate objects with faces and personalities, and places them in funny situations and incorporates puns and jokes, most of them on the dirty side. I first saw a few images some time ago but forgot the name of the site until my husband bought me the book for Christmas to laugh at. :D Here's Murphy's explanation:

What is Kawaii Not?
Kawaii Not is a four panel webcomic, typically featuring cute versions of everyday objects doing and saying some crazy stuff. Hopefully it's funny. Or maybe you're just dead inside.

Haha! Here are some of my favorite panels and examples of her work.

Funny, huh? :) The coffee one is my fave! She also has merchandise, like t-shirts and socks. Of course, to see nearly all of her webcomic panels and more info, check out Kawaii Not. ^^

Shana Logic - Shop Indie!

2011-07-17T05:01:00.000-07:00

Amusingly enough, I discovered Shana Logic not online, but on the back of a magazine! They sell indie goods, handmade stuff, and of course it's all very unique! Personal favorite areas are the Punk Rock Sass and Cute, Cute, Cute!

Apparently the pictures don't do the bracelet justice! This is such a cute accessory. It'll go great with a dark decora look, or just hanging out, and definitely unique!

I've always wanted pink and black striped armwarmers!

I love the design on this. The v-neck is a nice fitted fabric too, and this will go nicely with a pair of jeans and a black cardigan.

Her entire ensemble is edgy and cute. :D I dig the hairstyle, too. Sweet, simple ice cream tee.. the :3 face does it for me!

Sushi necklace. ^^ Looks yummy! I want a sushi necklace, bracelet, magnets, and a shirt. XD I already got a plushie! Ever since eating at that delicious restaurant (Makino's, I highly recommend it!) in Vegas, I've been all about sushi.

That damn music! Oh, but I do love thy Nyan Cat. :3

Only us geeks would get this. XD I see why it's a best seller at Shana Logic!

Want more? Go to Shana Logic! Shop indie, pass it on!

Junko Mizuno, a leader in "kawaii noir".

2011-03-28T18:46:00.000-07:00

Junko Mizuno is one of my all-time favorite artists. She too captures the style I like - cute, but sinister and edgy. I discovered her a few years ago.. around 2003. I bought her original Hell Babies artbook and always yearned to buy her other comics, but never had the money. The foe of every collector - no damn money!

If you're here, I'm sure you've already heard of her. Miss Mizuno herself is so cute, who knew she had such twisted ideas in her head?! She's incredibly talented.. what would give to be so creative! Her art has inspired plenty of fans to get tattoos of her art, which is pretty extreme, but hell, who can blame them!?

What pieces of her merchandise do you own? I'd love a shirt, and more artbooks.. she has released several more after Hell Babies, such as the "Collector's File 002: Junko Mizuno's Illustration Book" and "Flare". You can buy it at either Otaku.com or Treville Online Store.

For the absolute latest on Junko Mizuno news, go to the official blog, MZN News.

Lolita Kisama

2011-03-26T18:22:00.000-07:00

Lolita Kisama (Visual You Inc) is a great place to shop for Visual Kei, kawaii, anime and gothic lolita clothes and accessories. They also have a good philosophy and mission statement that I completely agree with.

Lolita Kisama believes that fashion is one of the most fundamental ways in which we practice the right of freedom to express one's inner self.

Lolita Kisama is not afraid to breach boundaries and that is why our belief system is not hard to decipher: Fashion as the helping hand to the union of cultures across cultural boundaries.

All in all, a wonder place for many quirky harajuku, visual kei, j-rock type clothes and accessories.

(via Lokisa)

Gloomy Bear, the naughty grizzly

2011-03-23T11:48:00.000-07:00

Gloomy Bear was created by a graphic designer in Japan named Mori Chack several years ago. Gloomy Bear is essentially created as the antithesis to other "kawaii" characters like Hello Kitty.

An official quote from Mori Chack:

My work often parodies this egocentric, human world where cruelty to animals is commonplace. My message is that humans are actually the weak ones, and that being cruel to animals is no less atrocious then abusing or killing innocent children (i.e. Pity). Take a look at the other side of the fence. In this sense, Gloomy is an "adult" bear (not to sound like a hypocritical adult...)

Say there's an illustration of a bear holding hands, dancing happily with a human. Is this not the epitome of cruelty? I've told you that hundreds of bears are killed by humans each year, yet they are depicted holding hands and dancing with their executioners. Smiling, no less.

Deep stuff, Mr. Chack. While Gloomy Bear itself is indeed satire, he makes very good points.

(via Chax.cc)

Delilah Noir - cute, gothic lolita dolls

2011-03-22T11:33:00.000-07:00

It's a company selling these beautifully crafted, high quality collector's dolls of girl named Delilah Noir. She's basically a good girl by day, honor student, the perfect daughter and friend, and excels at everything. But at night, she embraces her darker side and wears completely different clothes (mostly of a gothic lolita style) to reflect her "true" self, the self she feels most comfortable in.

Here's her official description:

Delilah Noir is a fascinating young woman who embraces the different and seemingly contradictory components of her personality. Unable to sum up in a single look, persona, or adventure, Delilah represents the multiplicity of characters in all of us. By day, she is many things: outstanding student, generous friend, model of society. But by night, she is whoever she wants to be: unfiltered, unfettered, and outrageous. With Delilah's wild imagination and creative and eclectic fashion tastes, there's no telling what persona she will reveal to the world next.

(via DelilahNoir.com)