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Blue-Green mermaid hair in Portlandia! Vegan restaurants, Hawthorne hipster shopping, vintage stores.

turquoise hair color, blue dyed hair girl

It’s official, I want to keep my turquoise and blue hair! I’m having fun trying different outfit colors and makeup combinations, to match the new hues.

In this post, I explore the vintage shops, health food cafes, and hipster districts that Portland is known for. Or dare I say… Portlandia?

goth blue hair color, la carmina hairstyle

What La Carmina wore:

Green-blue hair color and style: Stephanie Hoy, stylist at Avant Garde Hair in Yaletown, Vancouver
Flower clips: made for me by Angelica Brigade
Makeup: from Annabelle Cosmetics
Turquoise Victorian dress: Carina e Arlequin, Tokyo Lolita brand from Closet Child
Laser cut boots: Yosuke Japan, similar to these boots
Faux fur eggplant purple scarf: Holt Renfrew Canada

cut-out boots, turquoise hair

I posed for these outfit photos in front of the Bagdad, a pub and movie theater. This Portland district, Hawthorne, is filled with quirky-cute boutiques and cafes.

portland fashion blogger, bagdad theater hawthorne

Images taken by Naomi, who is First Mate of our TV fixing and arranging company, and also designed the Art Nouveau WordPress theme of this blog.

harlow vegan restaurant, portland oregon

The Portland tourism bureau invited us to Harlow for lunch. (3632 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR). The restaurant specializes in casual but delicious vegan, gluten-free and organic meals.

font initial pumpkin, cool hipster pumpkins

Since it was the day before Halloween, this cut-out H pumpkin stood next to the healthy desserts.

halloween cocktails spooky food

The drink menu changes all the time. At the time, there were haunted concoctions. Instead of blood, the Nosferatu Cocktail is stained red with beet juice.

portland juice bar, health food cafe

The staff wore costumes, and prepared all the juices and meals fresh to order. This is a great place for anyone who is gluten-free, vegan, or has food allergies.

organic local gluten-free, harlow menu, vegetarian restaurant

Harlow is all about conscious local choices, but without the pretension. Food is simply fresh and flavorful, served in an airy space.

trailhead roasters coffee, portland ethical roasters

The coffee is by Trailhead Roasters, a bike-powered organic collective that supports female farmers. My pretty juice is a mix of grapefruit, apple, celery and mint.

quinoa bowl, harlow portland food

At Harlow, vegan and gluten-free choices aren’t an afterthought — they are the stars of the show. The photo above shows how tasty and filling our lunch was. (No meat served here, but you can order eggs and dairy products.)

mermaid colored hair, portland vegan restaurants

Be adventurous! Try the creative house-made specials at Harlow, such as bourbon BBQ tempeh, jalapeno cashew cheese, and hazelnut milk.

paradox vegan brunch, portland vegetarian cafe

Naomi also took us to Paradox Organic Cafe for vegan brunch. The meatless biscuits and gravy are through the roof.

paradox organic cafe, gluten free restasurant

Again, you can order animal products here. But as the wall clippings show, Paradox takes pride in serving ancient grains and organic produce.

Brunch is a big deal in Portland. On the weekend, popular cafes have 1-2 hour long waits for a table. Paradox isn’t overrun by hipsters yet… I hope it stays that way, lest this blog post bring on a “brunch-pocalypse”!

haunt fashion boutique, portland

Vintage shopping is also a major activity. Across the street from the Jupiter Hotel — remember my astronaut costume shoot? — there is a row of concept and secondhand boutiques, including Haunt Studio. (811 E Burnside St #113, Portland, OR)

gothic lolita boots, laser cut out shoes

Nothing beats cut-out Lolita boots, and autumn leaves in the Pacific Northwest. Photography by Naomi Rubin, Melissa Rundle, and me.

courtney love halloween costume

As soon as I entered Bombshell Vintage, I saw a puff of tutu skirts, and Courtney Love (or rather, someone dressed as her) at the counter.

alan cherry vintage coat, hattie's portland secondhand

Hattie’s Vintage Clothing had a magnificently curated selection from past eras. I simply had to get this 1970s disco winter coat, made from white leather and faux fur. It’s by Alan Cherry, a Toronto upscale boutique that closed in the 90s. (More photos to come.)

day of the dead dolls, portland shops

I recommend strolling on Hawthorne, Belmont and Mississippi — a huge variety of kooky shops here, including a Third Eye hippie house, and a craft studio for handmade masks.

day of dead skull, prime lens, narrow depth of field

The Portlandia joke, “Put a bird on it,” rings true. A lot of products were stamped with birds, even this skull jar.

mexican skeleton sculpture

Since it was around Halloween and Day of the Dead, there were spooky skeleton items everywhere.

portland oregon magnets, gift store

Portland is a great place to pick up funny gifts, eco-friendly bags, twee jewelry…

colorful dia de los muertos skull art

… and a Mexican sugar skull or two.

fashion blogger dslr camera lens, 50mm f 1.8

I hope you’re enjoying the photography in these recent posts! Most are taken with my Sony DSLR a700 camera, with a 50mm f/1.8 lens (aka Nifty Fifty). Shallow depth of field FTW.

cafe window photography, hawthorne district portland

What do you think of PDX’s hipster culture? Are you fond of vegan food, vintage shops, and the TV show Portlandia?

SHARE & COMMENT

30 Comments

  1. Crossfitg
    Posted January 30, 2014 at 6:52 am | Permalink

    Keep up the great work.

  2. flora
    Posted January 30, 2014 at 6:52 am | Permalink

    Yeah you have to keep that hair-like that I love the color

  3. MelissaR
    Posted January 30, 2014 at 3:07 pm | Permalink

    Love this! Makes me want to go back!

  4. Yei
    Posted January 30, 2014 at 3:27 pm | Permalink

    I always wanted to check out Portland. This is extra motivation for me to get my butt there.

  5. Yama
    Posted January 31, 2014 at 9:22 pm | Permalink

    That looks delicious and pretty

  6. Ella
    Posted January 31, 2014 at 9:22 pm | Permalink

    More please
    Good work

  7. Francesca
    Posted February 1, 2014 at 3:37 pm | Permalink

    Another inspiring post: thank you for being the curious, energetic and imaginative blogger you are, Carmina! <3

  8. amanda_chen
    Posted February 1, 2014 at 4:03 pm | Permalink

    Basil want pretty blue fur?

  9. BreeT
    Posted February 1, 2014 at 6:23 pm | Permalink

    Thanks so much for this post! Coming from someone who lives in Portland, I really appreciate you acknowledging places a lot of people miss when they visit!

    • lacarmina
      Posted February 3, 2014 at 9:49 pm | Permalink

      Aww so happy to hear from someone in PDX! Will def come back soon!

  10. Allen u
    Posted February 1, 2014 at 8:42 pm | Permalink

    Look gorgeous!

  11. Kathy
    Posted February 1, 2014 at 8:43 pm | Permalink

    Come to Portland, Maine. Bring Basil!

  12. Vanessa
    Posted February 1, 2014 at 8:43 pm | Permalink

    Yeah that’s my city :-)

  13. Jay
    Posted February 1, 2014 at 8:43 pm | Permalink

    LOVE IT GIRL

  14. Reverenze Mave
    Posted February 1, 2014 at 8:44 pm | Permalink

    helllo…. when i saw those picture blog u had posted…. i get curious with that wonderful place…. OMG that i so nice …by the way.. i love ur dress…. it captivated me always…

  15. Vix
    Posted February 3, 2014 at 9:50 pm | Permalink

    Beautiful!

  16. Reina
    Posted February 3, 2014 at 9:50 pm | Permalink

    bon voyage

  17. Atlas Bread
    Posted February 3, 2014 at 9:50 pm | Permalink

    wowwowwow

  18. Heart
    Posted February 3, 2014 at 9:58 pm | Permalink

    ! Lovely…

  19. Cute M
    Posted February 11, 2014 at 11:13 pm | Permalink

    ( ^ω^ )

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