Happy New Year!

Happy 2012 everybody!! The year is off to a great start. I just got back from my History of Modern Asia course that deals with the history of China, Japan, and Korea from 1800 to the present. I am SO excited! My teacher is a -wonderful- woman and it feels so good to have a Chinese professor again. It feels like going home, so to speak. I miss my laoshi (teacher) from high school, and my new professor has all the little Chinese-isms that I love. I'm so excited!! <3333 Some strings had to get pulled for me to get in the class, and I am SO blessed to have gotten in. Truly! Gahhhh I was literally jumping up and down from excitement after class. It is going to be such a great experience and I will have someone to practice speaking Chinese with again! <3 I'm so ready, heeheehee.

So for the new year I celebrated by going over to my friend's house where we watched TRON: Legacy. We made drinks that GLOWED in BLACKLIGHT. We mixed crystal light, tonic water, and water together- the tonic water has a property that makes it react to blacklight. My drink glowed blue and my friends glowed yellow. It was AWESOME to watch Tron with glowing drinks because Tron is already -such- a glowy movie. What I love about the film is that it is literally visual art. I appreciate the story because I saw the first Tron first, but that's not what I love about the second film. I adore how I get sucked into the world and I love how well the soundtrack by Daft Punk complements it. (You should buy it on iTunes! <3)

In addition to having fantastic fun, I of course included a fun wardrobe! Here is my outfit from New Year's Eve ^^

 ~Outfit #3!~

This was my attempt at a GD/male K-pop star pose. xD I must say, the outfit was -much- sparklier in person. (Sparklier is a word in my dictionary. ;D) The jacket was inspired by male Korean pop fashion, mainly from G-Dragon from the group Big Bang. It just looks like something he would rock in his album with T.O.P.

For those of you who are new to these two, G-Dragon is on the left and T.O.P. is on the right. They are from the group Big Bang but did an album with just the two of them. The two balance each other out very nicely because GD's voice is relatively high for a guy while TOP's is deeper, and GD is kinda fun and bouncy while TOP just looks awesome. I think GD is the fun and TOP is the sexy, hahaha. Personally though, I think I would like to be friends with GD more. =) He just seems so fun! (Don't get me wrong, TOP definitely brought the sexy back.) Oh, and also for anyone not familiar with the GD&TOP album, that isn't a Playboy bunny symbol- it's actually a hand making a peace sign. This obviously throws a reference back to Playboy, but it isn't the actual symbol. Personally, I think this is a shame since so many girls like them. =( Girls should be raised up higher than Playboy! >.< And guys should be looking for more than that. Mewww...*grumpy kitty ears*

But yes! New Year's was fun. I even wore fun socks! xD

 See them?? They glow in the dark!! ^.^

 Here is a standing version so you can see the outfit better. =)

The jacket was bought at Forever 21 and was G-Dragon inspired. The shirt I got a long time ago and I don't remember where I got it anymore. =( The beret I got at New York and Company on sale for $10.00. I am wearing my staple Fragile brand jeans from Sears.com. The glasse are Vogue brand- I wear them everyday so I can see. ^-^;; I was wearing my black wedge shoes from Payless before I took them off. If you go to the previous blog entry you can see them.

The Breakdown:

Jacket: Forever 21, G-Dragon inspired
Shirt: Unknown
Beret: New York & Company, on sale for $10.00

Skinny Jeans: Fragile brand jeans bought online at Sears.com (I wear a medium in them)

Glasses: Vogue brand, bought at Lenscrafters

Shoes: Payless, around $30.00 (scroll down to previous entry to see them)

Well I hope your new year is off to a good start. This is YOUR year to shine, so go out and enjoy every day to the fullest!

<3 Alyssa

Merry (Almost) Christmas Eve!

Hello everyone! It is the day before Christmas Eve- Christmas Eve Eve, if you will. ;P Heeheehee. I spent the day with my mom which was really nice. I live away from home for college, so spending time with my family is always really nice. I picked up the last of my gifts today. Actually, I would have been done but I LOST my sister's gift! I bought it a month ago and must have hid it really well because I can't find it either. ^_^;; I had a bad headache for most of the day- so bad it made me sick and dizzy. =/ But I took some medicine and played the Sims 3. I should've laid down, but I had been looking forward to playing all day, and a little dizziness wasn't going to stop me! *fist pump*

So in honor of this dazzling time of year, I decided to spruce up my outfit today with some bold and sparkly patterns!

~Outfit #2!~

Okay, so the shirt was totally inspired by the Korean group 2NE1. I see 2NE1 and think the word "shiny," especially since seeing their "I Am the Best" video. (Watch it in HD!) Also, below are some photos to demonstrate the shininess. *-* 

Seeeee? They are all so SHINY! I absolutely love it. "I Am the Best" is probably one of my favorite Korean music videos of all time. And as you will find out, many of my wardrobe choices are inspired by them.

The coat was actually inspired by the character Nana Osaki (rocker Nana) from the live action movie Nana, which was based on the manga Nana by Ai Yazawa.

I've never seen the anime, but I've read a few of the manga. I was introduced to the movie first, and I LOVE the first one. Don't watch the sequel. T^T It was terrible.
However! The first movie has become a sort of annual Christmas movie for me. I wrapped presents while watching it one year, and ever since I've just always loved watching it at Christmas time. =) I'm thinking maybe because it's snowing in the beginning??
But yea, so the coat was thus inspired by Japanese fashion, Nana Osaki style. She wears a jacket similar to it when she is singing on the table in her apartment. I just love the boldness of the pattern and how much power it can add to an outfit. To me it says feminine and confident. 

Okay, so back to the rest of the outfit! ^^

The shimmery shirt has a very nice wavy pattern of sequins against the plain black material. You see the shiny? I like the shiny. The faux-fur leopard print is a lovely half-coat. It closes in the front through the use of two hooks which are invisible both when the jacket is open and closed. The jeans are my staple Fragile brand skinny jeans. I am wearing black wedge booties(?) that I got from Payless for about $30.00. They are SO comfortable. I can wear them all day without them hurting. At the end of the day there is a slight strain, but that's only if I've been doing a lot of walking. I have a bad ankle, so comfortable heels are a must. I literally can't/won't wear stilettos, so if you're worried about comfort, maybe a similar pair would be good for you! I'd recommend looking for a cute wedge. =) Lastly, my mom was wearing the Santa hat while wrapping presents earlier and she said it would go with my shirt, so she put it on my head, hahaha. I thought it was a really cute hat. <3 It has sequins! -^.^-

The Breakdown:

Coat: Forever 21

Shirt: Forever 21

Skinny Jeans: Fragile brand jeans bought online at Sears.com (I wear a medium in them)

Glasses: Vogue brand, bought at Lenscrafters

Shoes: Payless, around $30.00
Santa Hat: Unknown, because it came from my mommy ^.~

And that about wraps things up! I hope all of you have a great Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Best of wishes!! 

<3 Alyssa

Hello and Welcome!

My name is Alyssa and I'm an American. I'm starting this blog to as an outlet to show other people in America (and other countries) how I live my life Asian-inspired. =) I LOVE Asian fashion and manage to find inspiration in SO many different places! I hope this blog will be entertaining and inspiring, while also showing how those of us who do not live in Asia can still dress and live an Asian-inspired life. <3

So! A little About Me:

I'm in my third year of college.
I am an English major (but even I make typos!).
I'm an American by birth.
I love K-pop.
I've taken two formal years of Mandarin Chinese.
I want to travel to South Korea, Japan, and China someday.
I love languages and want to become fluent in at least two languages besides English.
I used to hate Hello Kitty when I was little (I was a huge tomboy). Now I love her. <3
I ADORE music. I love music that makes me think and/or dance. Techno, classical, pop, rock, anything. I can honestly say I probably like at least one song of every genre.
I've been liking chill hip-hop music lately (DJ Okawari anyone? Found him on iTunes. SO relaxing.)
Yes, I do like anime. I go to conventions and the raves are my favorite part. No, anime is not my life.
My favorite Asian dish to make is the Korean dish bibimbap.
I LOVE spicy food.
I love sewing. Cosplaying got me into it, but now I like making my own clothes and other items.
I have a job in the costume shop at my school to make costumes for the theatre department.
I spell "theatre" the British way because it's prettier.

So really, that's me in a nutshell! If you have any questions, please leave them in the comment box. <3

~Outfit #1!~

 So this is me! I suppose you could call this a sort of casual, toned down pop star look. If you don't want to attract too much attention, but still wanna look nice, this is the way to go. The jacket is inspired by the Korean group 2NE1. In person the jacket looks sort of leathery but is actually a shiny suede material. I am wearing a simple cotton t-shirt underneath. My skinny jeans are a staple in my wardrobe. They are Fragile brand. There are two rings on my right hand: sterling silver celtic ring and sterling silver Aragorn's ring, the Ring of Barahir (nerd translation: it's a Lord of the Rings replica ring). I am wearing another sterling silver celtic ring on my left hand. Celtic knots are pretty and I'm part Irish! The earrings are silver colored (not sure if they are sterling or what) hoops with small chains dangling from the hoop itself. I wear Vogue glasses all the time-- I need these to see, so they are a permanent fashion accessory for me. =P The necklace I am wearing was created by me; it is a scrabble tile necklace with Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII on it. I sell them in my Etsy shop! See link below. ^^

The Breakdown:

Jacket: Forever 21
Shirt: Wal-mart
Skinny Jeans: Fragile brand jeans bought online at Sears.com (I wear a medium in them)
Rings: Various unknown and online
Earrings: New York & Company
Glasses: Vogue brand, bought at Lenscrafters
Necklace: Lightning FFXIII scrabble tile necklace from my Etsy shop HappyGifts4U

 Did I mention I like to dance? ^///^

And that's it for now! Thank you -so- much for checking out my blog. I hope you all will keep checking back for updates. <3 Take care!

~Alyssa