nyc holiday post #7: mermaid shirts, french mousse and russian tea

Dear fairies,
I am continuing my accounts of my stay in New York City. This is my final post on New York City and I will then proceed to post as usual.

I decided to go to a famous vintage clothing store called Cheap Jack's to see what sort of things I could find. I was short on money at this point, so I bought one item which I think was the best I could find for fairy kei here!

I talked to some of the staff and the owners of Cheap Jack's while I was there and they said that this shop is one of the go-to places for vintage costumes for TV shows and films. They have vintage clothing from the 20s through the 80s. It is also a very navigable place, with labelled racks of what period each group of clothing is from. They even had a few sale racks at the front full of wonderful and inexpensive pieces. Again, like the other vintage shops I mentioned in my previous post, prices seem to range from about maybe $25 and up, depending on the year, the article, and design.

I was very excited to find a The Little Mermaid shirt from the 80s marked from $35 to only $10! The item has a few spots on it, but are not easy to detect because of the print. I have to say that I've searched the Internet for The Little Mermaid clothing from the 80s. I really couldn't find anything! So, of course, I would have bought it even if it was $35. The employees there probably thought I was weird trying on and buying a little girls' shirt, but it pretty much fits.

Basically, great place to check out for some vintage pieces for fairy kei and fairly inexpensive sale racks.

Afterward, Andrew and I had tickets to go see the Broadway play, Golden Boy. It's a play about a boy, in the 1930s, who becomes a boxing champion and the trials he faces with himself, his family, his friends, and his co-workers. Unfortunately the show will not be running for much longer, but it was definitely worth attending. Something about a classic play like this one onstage is just so much more intimate, possibly because it wasn't as showy as, say, Peter and the Starcatcher or a musical. It was a simply done show in which the actors carried the show practically by themselves with wonderful performances.

When the show was over, we tried to make a decision as to where to eat for dinner. Finally, after much walking around aimlessly in the cold in Hell's Kitchen, we decided to eat at a little French restaurant called Tout Va Bien. 

It is the oldest French bistro in the theatre district, open since 1948! The restaurant has won many awards and is, of course, delicious. For French cuisine in New York City, this restaurant is relatively inexpensive. 

I ordered a three course meal, which was about $44. I started off with yummy mussels, then my entree was coq au vin, followed by a yummy chocolate mousse topped with whipped cream and wafer. Tout Va Bien is a quaint and cozy restaurant complete with checkered table cloths and French art and signed portraits of celebrities on the walls. If you are on your way to a show or coming back from one, I'd suggest Tout Va Bien if you're looking for a good meal.

                                         

                                             

What I Wore

Bow: Hot Topic

Dress: Hello Kitty/ Sanrio

Cardigan: Old Navy

Lace Tights: Betsey Johnson

Legwarmers: Offbrand

Shoes:Charlotte Russe

The last day I spent in New York City was spent with my lolita friend, Alia. I tried to think of a place where we could hang out. One place came to mind called The Stone Flower, which was supposedly a lolita shopping hot spot in New York City. Unfortunately, the only Japanese fashion store in New York City, Tokyo Rebel, was temporarily closed.

The Stone Flower is located in a little shopping center on Pier 17. There are actually two parts of The Stone Flower in the center. One is located on the first floor, which sells clothing, and the other is located on the second floor, which sells jewelry and accessories. While The Stone Flower doesn't sell any Japanese brands, the clothing and accessories are still very kawaii. The prices are also much lower than brands, with simple JSKs at $50 with cute prints like macarons and strawberries.

Accessories consist of things like cute bows and headbands, little cameo earrings, and panda earmuffs. I'd recommend going here if you're looking for cute basic, and relatively inexpensive, Japanese fashion pieces. A word of caution is that the clothing comes in one size only. I wouldn't recommend you go shopping for clothes here if you're not a size small (or maybe medium). I tried on a few of the JSKs there and considered bu Also, if not to go to The Stone Flower, Pier 17 is lovely to just walk along and see the ocean and ships nearby.

After The Stone Flower, Alia and I said our goodbyes and Andrew surprised me by taking me to The Russian Tea Room. This was by far the priciest place we went to dine on my NYC trip, but it was definitely worth it. The restaurant is very nice and played classical music like Mozart and Tchaikovsky. Also, if you're sitting in a booth, the waiter will literally pull the entire table out for you to take your seat so you don't have to slide all the way into the booth!

We shared a delicious chicken kiev dish followed by lovely hot tea. There was a list of different teas to choose from. I chose the Russian Country tea, which had a hint of smokiness to it while Andrew had a delightful spiced chai. Along with our own pots of tea, we were given brown and white sugar cubes, sweetened cherries, and little Russian cookies. When I saw the cherries, I asked the waiter what they were for. Apparently, in some parts of Russia, they like to sweeten their tea with cherries! So, I went ahead and put two cherries in each cup of tea along with a brown sugar cube ^_^ This was a lovely ending to a wonderful trip to New York City.

What I Wore

Bow: H&M

Skirt: Offbrand

Green Skirt Overlay: Offbrand

Sweater: Disney

Tights: Offbrand

Legwarners: Offbrand

Lace Tights: Betsey Johnson

Legwarmers: Offbrand

I had a wonderful time in NYC and I really hope you fairies enjoyed reading! Maybe these posts could be helpful to decide what you might be doing on your trip to NYC? And I will be back again soon~

~Sparkling Ga Eul

Faith, Trust, and Fairy Kei Dust

nyc holiday post #6: new year's day and more fun

Dear fairies,

So, the highlight of New Year's Day was going to Harry Potter: The Exhibition. This is located in Discovery Times Square. It was an enchanting experience. Before you even see the exhibition, you get to take a picture in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw scarves in front of a green screen for later purchase and there a mini sorting ceremony. Then you are instantly transported into the Wizarding World complete with falling snow in the entrance.

The exhibition is comprised of props, costumes, set pieces, and models from the Harry Potter films along with a few interactive bits like getting to sit in the giant armchair from Hagrid's hut. Personally, I loved looking at the costumes and some of the props the most. I studied each costume as much as I could for my own inspiration.

As for the props, it is amazing what detail goes into them. Looking at just the Daily Prophet selections, you see that each article is written just as if it were a real newspaper. It truly was a work of magic to bring the world of Harry Potter to life. If you are as devoted a Harry Potter fan as I am, then this is something you simply cannot miss!

What I Wore

Pink Tulle Bow: made by me

Eiffel Tower Shirt: American Eagle

Petticoat Skirt: American Apparel

Glasses: Hello Kitty

Scrunchie: made by me

Button: vintage 80s

Tights: Forever 21

Legwarmers: Offbrand

Shoes: Asics

The next day began with the Broadway lottery for the Tony award-winning play, Peter and the Starcatcher. This was, of course, very exciting for me, because not only do I appreciate great theatre, I absolutely love Peter Pan. We did not win the lottery, but there are "lottery loser" tickets, which are only $40 (I suggest you have another person wait by the ticket window during the lottery to get these tickets before they are gone if you lose).  

Peter and the Starcatcher is based on the novel, Peter and the Starcatchers, which is a "love note" prequel to Peter Pan. It's a rather new novel that I, at one point, contemplated reading. Though the novel is meant to be as serious as its predecessor, the play is a sort of parody of the story with witty comedy. Although there are inconsistencies with the actual Peter Pan continuity, I was able to forgive because the play is so utterly charming. Sadly, it closes January 20th on Broadway, and I would suggest seeing it if you possibly can! Fly away to Neverland as a boy journeys to find himself as Peter Pan.

What I Wore

Pink and Purple Tulle Bow: made by me

Jacket: Thrifted

Skirt: J.Crew

Tights: Betsey Johnson

Legwarmers: Offbrand

Shoes: Asics

Also, while looking for a good and inexpensive place to eat for lunch, Siri suggested a Japanese curry chain called Go! Go! Curry. This restaurant is actually originated from Japan, but the only two locations in the US are in New York City, possibly due to the restaurants obsession with the New York Yankees. 

It's a wonderful place to go for both good taste and prices. The menu gives you a choice of different types of meat along with the amount of rice you would like in your dish, starting from $7 for a small amount of rice. You can also choose from a selection of toppings for extra charge. I chose the medium size (single), but I would recommend, depending on hunger levels, ordering the small (walk) just to save that 50 cents XD 

The curry is comprised of rice topped with yummy Japanese style curry, which is then topped with your meat of choice, which is topped with a slightly spicy red sauce. On the side there is shredded cabbage. Delicious and inexpensive meal at less than $10 per person! I'd consider going here a couple of times if you plan on staying long in NYC. You will thank me for the recommendation! (Another thing to point out is that for $5 you can get the curry without any meat, but the curry still contains pork!)

So, I should have my next post up sometime within the week! I've got two more shops to share with you that you should check out as well as a couple of outfit posts~ 

~Sparkling Ga Eul

Faith, Trust and Fairy Kei Dust

nyc holiday post #5: fairy's new year's eve

Dear fairies,

Finally, I'm able to share with you all about what I did for New Years.
New Years Eve, I wanted to check out some vintage stores I did some research on to add to my fairy wardrobe, so we left as soon as we could that morning.

First stop was East Village area. This is a part of New York City where there are just lots of lovely vintage and antique stores. Apparently St. Marks Place is a great place to look as well. We went to Metropolis, which was probably the best 60s-80s vintage store with lots of nice 80s street clothing. There were also tons of great retro graphic shirts with bands and even from movies like Batman Returns. Again, the clothing here is pretty pricey, with not much under $35, but it's definitely worth a look if you've got the money to buy real treasures at this store. Definitely a good place to buy more edgy 80s fairy kei pieces.

Next was AuH2O Goldwater Thriftique. This was, as its name suggested, a nice little thrift boutique with a nice selection of interesting pieces at good prices. While a lot of the clothing and accessories weren't necessarily vintage, each piece in this store was obviously chosen with care.
Also, bonus for this store is that there are permanent $5 and $10 racks. Upon arrival, I looked through the $5 rack outside the shop to find a cute Mickey and Minnie Mouse sweater, which I immediately decided to buy. I liked some of the other things on the $10 rack, but decided to go with a pair of pink 80s clip-on earrings on sale for $1. Great to take a look if you are looking for a good buy ^_^

On the way back to the apartment, we grabbed a bite to eat and looked around a bit. There was a comics store called Forbidden Planet that we decided to go into. It's a cool place to stop in. They have lots of fun little comic-y things like shirts, knick-knacks, figures, even cooking aprons, and, of course, comics and manga. It's a fun place to stop in if you're in the area. There are quite a few comic stores in New York City.

We also passed by a huge two-story costume shop, New York Costumes, which had Halloween costumes, Christmas costumes, costume props and accessories, makeup, magic tricks, Halloween decorations, and more. They had a George Clooney Batman statue, which I thought was just the coolest (would be cooler if it was Michael Keaton). This is definitely the place to stop if you're looking for a complete costume for Halloween. It's also cool just to go in to look at all the stuff they have. While the prices aren't exactly cheap here, they have a great selection. It's the Halloween super-store.

Right before we went onto the subway, we stopped by one of the few vendors which carried a good selection of Disney DVDs. We decided to buy Aladdin since it won't be on Blu-Ray anytime soon. When we got back to the apartment, we watched Aladdin and the nice documentary on the special features disc. I love watching these special features. It really shows the hard work, effort, and passion that goes into making these films. These classic Disney films aren't just "kid" films, but cross generation and gender lines. They are made to be for everyone to enjoy. Of course, after listening to the animation artists, I was inspired to sketch a costume design in my sketchbook ^_^

Later that night, we met with one of Andrew's friend's brother and we went out to a few interesting bars. The first was a karaoke bar where Andrew sang Under the Sea. He sang it in perfect Sebastian style and the whole bar joined in on the song. Good times.

We then went to a bar called Pieces. It's a gay bar which has a free coat check and usually holds great events like karaoke, costume contests, drag shows, movie showings, etc. There's even a little dance floor which is fun. Not that I'd eat them (germ-a-phobic), but instead of nuts to snack on at the bar, they have M&Ms, which I thought was cool.

Next, we went across the street to the historic Stonewall Inn where, in 1969, patrons of the bar started the gay pride movement. It's a great place to visit to be a part of history. They have a dance floor in the second floor and great people. They had the New York City New Year's Eve ball drop celebration on TV and we had the countdown and a drink with free noise makers at Stonewall Inn. After that, I was exhausted when we got back to the apartment...

 

What I Wore

Bow: made by me

Popples Shirt: from Retro Magic Store

Skirt: Offbrand

Scarf: thrifted offbrand

Tights: Forever 21

Legwarmers: Offbrand

Shoes: Creative Recreation

That's all for now. I'll be posting what fun things I did New Year's Day~ Stay tuned for more outfit posts, the Harry Potter exhibition, and more!

~Sparkling Ga Eul

Faith, Trust and Fairy Kei Dust

nyc holiday post #4: a new year, a new day~

Dear fairies,

Hello again! Haven't posted since last year! Happy New Year~

Now I'm finally done with my contributions with A Christmas Carol at 13th Street Repertory Company Theatre and I've been having more time to get around to a few things. In fact, I've been so busy, I won't get around to sharing what I did on New Year's until my next post!

It finally snowed four days after Christmas! Yet, it was the sort of snow which is only a couple of inches on the ground, which only lasts for about a day. Even so, Andrew and I went to Central Park and I got to see it covered in snow. It was freezing, though, and we decided it was time for a hot lunch, so we went over to a little Asian grocery store which also had a small cafe with ramen and Mongolian barbecue. I had some chicken and veggie udon as well as an ice green tea.

What I Wore

Head Scarf: Offbrand

Shirt: Billy Elliot the Musical

Skirt: J. Crew

Cardigan: 60s vintage

Floral Ivory Tights over Black Tights: Nordstrom/Offbrand

Slouch Socks: Tommy Hilfiger

Peace Sign Hippie Glasses: Icing

Bead Necklace: made by me

Tennis Shoes: Asics

Sunday, the day of the final performance, Andrew and I went for brunch at a great cafe called Vynl in Hell's Kitchen. When you walk in, there's one wall covered in little mirrors to look like a disco ball, inlaid with actual vinyl records. Inside, there are record lighting fixtures, album covers on the walls, glass skulls wearing headphones at the bar, and memorabilia dolls in cases on the wall. 

When I looked at the menu, I knew I had to order the only Korean dish on the brunch menu, bibimbap! It was wonderful, served in a small stone pan with two sunny side up eggs on top with rice and veggies. One of the things I love about New York City is the diversity of foods in general restaurants like this one. The menu and atmosphere are interesting and the prices are fair enough. There are even themed cocktails if you'd like to try a Phil Collins or a Sir Elton John. I definitely recommend stopping in Vynl for brunch, or any other time to grab a bite! 

I met some great and talented people while working on A Christmas Carol. The cast and crew were all so surprisingly friendly. I even met a girl, Alia, who was a costume assistant that turned out to be a lolita! No wonder her costume looked nice. She was wearing her own lolita pieces XD. If you're looking to see a quaint off-off-Broadway show, check out 13th Street Repertory Company.

After the final performance, we headed for Mary Ann's Mexican restaurant. Andrew and I shared a dish, which wasn't quite as good as it is down south, I must admit. Karaoke One 7 was our next stop. We were lucky enough to get an individual room for our party, but it did cost about $10 per person. Andrew started off with his rendition of Poor Unfortunate Souls from The Little Mermaid, which was extremely amusing to watch a boy perform. I sang Wouldn't It Be Loverly from My Fair Lady, which is one of my favorite musicals of all time ^_^

Afterward, Andrew and I decided to walk around a little and I got to look at the Christmas window displays at Macy's. They were these lovely moving displays of puppet looking animated characters and scenery with text on the windows which illustrated a brief history of Macy's, fashion, pop culture, etc. I absolutely loved a certain display which had a picture of a woman who could change her hair style, top, and bottoms from decades from Victorian to the 80s with an interactive set of buttons outside the window. Another display showed ballet The Nutcracker puppets and the last had a beautiful fairy.

I had a great New Years and will be telling you all about it in my next post, so stay tuned for shopping, and more outfit posts~
To be continued...

~Sparkling Ga Eul

Faith, Trust and Fairy Kei Dust