Happy Chinese New Year! Ready for the big travel news I’ve been teasing you about? Well…

Yukiro Dravarious and I are guests at New York Fashion Week, Feb 7-17th! And we hope you can join us!

I’m honored to be a speaker at Independent Fashion Bloggers conference (IFB Con). This year, invitees include Glamour, Refinery 29, Style Scrapbook, and Bryanboy.

My panel takes place at Milk Studios NYC, Feb 8th at 9am. I’ll be speaking about “What Are Bloggers Worth?” — giving advice on brand relationships and negotiations.

For more info and to purchase tickets, visit the IFB conference page. It’s the biggest and best event to network, and learn about fashion blogging, so I hope to see you there!

And I’m thrilled to be partnering with a new fashion iPhone app, Zoolook. The well-designed application lets you post, tag, rate and share your outfits, with an emphasis on Japanese street style.

During NY Fashion Week, I’ll be snapping and posting my favorite looks. Stay tuned to Zoolook (it launches next month) and my Twitter to see the app in action.

What else do Yukiro and I have up our vampire sleeves? We’ll be attending runway shows, and will bring you full reports and photos (with an emphasis on Asia and alternative designers). We’ll also be hosting events and parties, and have a big video planned… I’ll let you know more as soon as everything’s confirmed.

I hope you can make it to IFB Conference, and please stay tuned to my blog for event announcements. We hope to party with you in New York!

PS: If you want to work with us on sponsorships, appearances, modeling, interviews etc, send me an email. We’re in NYC from Feb 7-17th.

PPS: Basil Farrow wishes you a very happy Lunar New Year. He got a red pocket, and did his best impression of a dragon roar!

Yukiro and La Carmina in NYC… got suggestions for places to visit? Are you excited to see what we’ll wear?

It’s the holiday season — and you need fun but affordable outfits, right? Hooray, my designer Gothic Lolita Punk clothing is for sale!

✞✞✞ CLICK to start SHOPPING ✞✞✞

I’m selling your favorite Japanese alt brands: h.NAOTO, Alice and the Pirates, Metamorphose and more. Items include cage skirts, Goth Alice corsets, and cyberlox!

Almost all items are new or barely worn (and when so, on TV shows!) You can have my Metamorphose temps de fille JSK, and Putumayo pirate top, among the large Visual Kei / Jrock / Loli selection.

I’m doing this to share the love and clear out closet space, so I’m happy to negotiate prices and combine shipping (there’s no handling/processing fee). Perhaps it’s time to get a ruffled aristocrat shirt, Bettie Page retro fashion, or velvet embroidered dress?

Some items are in larger sizes! (All measurements are noted.) These Gothic Lolita skirts are M, and others have stretch to fit different frames.

Accessories and purses are one-size-fit-all, even for my kitty. The Spider mini-hat and Alice and the Pirate bonnet will go fast, so hurry and browse my sale.

Also available: Lady Gaga glasses, cyber/Goth/alt hair accessories sourced throughout my travels.

Remember, I’m flexible on prices and shipping options, so what are you waiting for? Take a peek at my Goth/Loli/Jrock clothing Sale! If you have questions, don’t be shy: comment or email me.

✞✞✞ CLICK to SHOP my SALE! ✞✞✞

Song of the Day: Diorama – Synthesize me (German electro-Goth)

Hello dollies… sorry I haven’t been online much. I’ve been working 12-hour days, doing TV shoots for Food Network. And a giant typhoon has just hit Tokyo!

However, I have wonderful news: I will be featured in a 30-minute episode of NHK Kawaii TV. The popular program, airing on Japan’s national broadcaster, covers cute Japanese fashion, trends and people. We’ll be shooting this week in Tokyo; I’ll let you know when my episode airs (and put up a clip).

Speaking of kawaii — dig my Hello Kitty hair. The day after my birthday party, it remained in place.

Zebra zip-top: World Wide Love, from Closet Child Shinjuku. Seba and I share this item, like many of our clothes…
Sunglasses: gifted from Lumete

As usual, we stayed in the Orlando Hotel in West Hollywood. (Remember our review of the LA boutique hotel?)

The Orlando has newly renovated luxury rooms. We were overjoyed to see the staff again, and chomp on green apples from the front desk!

Can’t argue with this view of Los Angeles’ West 3rd Street. It’s lined with adorable boutiques and restaurants, including our beloved Indian hangout — Electric Karma.

And the Orlando is a short ride to M Cafe, one of my favorite eateries on the planet.

As always, Seba and I went to see our friends at Toni & Guy Hairdressing Academy in Santa Monica. We love instructor Cindy.

I got my hair twisted into a Hello Kitty bow and crimped!

Since we were by the beach, we went for a stroll — followed by pink grapefruit gelato on Third Street Promenade. I’m wearing HOPE tshirt from our Japan charity collection.

A creative hairstyle, isn’t it? To get the look, put part of your hair in a ponytail, separate, hairspray, and clip in the back. Then twirl a circle and secure it in the middle.

Funny how you can see the shadow of my bow, and Seba’s devil horns.

Have you watched NHK Kawaii TV before? What do you think of the program? Any suggestions for what I should wear, and how I should style my hair?

Song of the Day: Vivid – 69

It’s a dream come true… I’m hosting a coolhunting travel show for Huffington Post / AOL! And the first episode is out today!

Now you know why I was in Wisconsin for a “secret project”, last July. Milwaukee was the first stop for my video series, which lets you join me on my adventures. As your show host, I travel to the most unlikely of places, digging up what’s hip and happening.

My first stop is the kitschy Don Q Inn, which would put love hotels in Japan to shame. Please take a second to click and watch the first episode!

Huffington Post is featuring me on their front page today. You can read my fun introduction to “Coolhunting Weird Wisconsin” here.

I also graced the front page of AOL – America Online!

I’m excited to bring my quirky, alternative travel coverage to Huff Post. I can’t thank my editor enough for the opportunity to write, host and field-produce a travel series that’s 100% me: cute-Gothic outfits and all!

❤ Please take a minute to watch the premiere video of my love hotel escapades. Your support means I’ll be able to continue the series for you.

❤ It’d be amazing if you could tell your friends about my video through an email, Tweet or Facebook post. The short-link is: http://goo.gl/J53XE (you can just paste it on your wall!)

If enough of you get the word out… I’ll photos of me strapped to a bondage bed tomorrow!

What do you think of “Coolhunting Weird Wisconsin“? Are you glad to see an alt travel show? Where in USA should I head next?

Two ARR-amazing announcements! First, The Pirates are being flown to Tokyo and Kyoto in September… for a Food Network TV mission! Second, I’m having a Super-Cute Hollywood birthday bash on August 23. And you’re invited. Keep reading for the shiny details.

My company, La Carmina & The Pirates, is getting tons of great gigs (recall I was just in Tokyo for Discovery/National Geographic/Fuel TV). We do TV hosting, fixing (location scouting, arranging, translating) and coolhunting/consulting. Our specialties: subcultures, fashion, travel, food, pop culture, and all things weird.

My First Mate, Naomi Rubin, made this glorious drawing of us – doesn’t it scream “Arrr!?” In addition to being a pirate, Naomi’s an imaginative, talented artist and web designer. You can see more of her design work on her website.

The crew behind a new Food Network show, World’s Weirdest Restaurants, wanted to film inside bizarre Japanese eateries. Who better to contact than the author of Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo?

So we’ll be joining host Bob Blumer, who you may know from shows Glutton for Punishment and The Surreal Gourmet for Food Network Canada. I’ll be appearing on-camera as his Tokyo sidekick!

We can’t reveal specifics about the new TV show. But you can expect to see your favorite spooky faces, and wacky cafes featured in my book. (You can read more about theme restaurants in this blog category.)

But before we jet to Japan for a month… let’s party in Hollywood! Mr Black, the glam nightclub brainchild of Luke Nero, is throwing me a Super Cute Birthday Party on August 23rd.

It’s free entry, so you have no excuse not to show up. Los Angeles friends, please spread the word — I hope to see you at my Mr Black birthday bash!

La Carmina’s Super Cute Birthday Party
Mr Black at Bardot Hollywood
1737 Vine St at Hollywood, Los Angeles CA
Tuesday August 23rd, 9:30pm – 2am (age 21+)
FREE to enter – no cover!
Facebook RSVP page

You can see my previous Mr Black club coverage here.

I leave you with a random video: Seba and La Carmina at the Luisaviaroma fashion blogger event, in Florence Italy.

Do you watch Food Network? What are your favorite shows and hosts? Are you excited to see me and my posse on World’s Weirdest Restaurants?

PS: Please share this link and let your LA friends know about my birthday party!

Song of the Day: Carol Cooper – Tunnel of Love (Hi NRG from 1985)