Let’s Talk About Hello Kitty

Below is an English translation of the sixth of 31 essays/short articles in Takemoto Novala's recently published 乙女のトリビア, or Trivia for Maidens, originally published in Zipper magazine.

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Let’s Talk About Hello Kitty.
That Kitty Always Around You

Do you remember the news story of a Hello Kitty pendant, its face made of 9 carat diamonds, its nose a sapphire, its eyes onyx, and its bow made of rubies, worn by Britney Spears in her music video for Do Something, which was released in Japan as a one of a kind item, and actually sold, despite having a price tag of 5.5 million yen?



It’s true that Britney Spears is a big Kitty fan, and Mariah Carey and the famous Hilton sisters are also in love with this character. Kitty is beloved not only in America, but all over the world. In Japan, there have been tons of collaborations lately between clothing brands and Kitty-chan. At first it was most common amongst 109-style brands like Material Girl, Liz Lisa, and Rose Fan Fan, but now even the lolita brand Baby the Stars Shine Bright joined hands with the character. And even I, Novala, have started producing a Kitty series, Hello Kitty Pour Lolita…


Takemoto Novala Hello Kitty Pour Lolita Gothic Edition - 1st Edition

Takemoto Novala Hello Kitty Pour Lolita White Edition - 1st Edition

Takemoto Novala Hello Kitty Pour Lolita Punk Edition - 1st Edition

Takemoto Novala Hello Kitty Pour Lolita White & Gothic Editions - 3rd Edition

How much information do you know about Hello Kitty? Her full name is Kitty White. She was born on November 1, 1974. There are 4 members in her family and her hobby is baking cookies. Her height is the height of 5 apples. Her weight is the weight of 3 apples (please don’t think it’s strange!). She has type A blood, and for some reason, she is from London!

The person who decided all of this is Kitty-chan’s mother, her designer, Shimizu Yuko. Shimizu believed that characters created just for decorating various items should still have a history the same as characters from myths and cartoons. Shimizu only dealt with Kitty-chan from her creation in 1974 until 1975. The second designer to work with Kitty was Yonekubo Setsuko. She was in charge of Hello Kitty from 1975 until 1980. She looked at the many images Shimizu had drawn of Kitty, and decided that the image with her face looking straight forward and her body sitting to the side was the cutest best image of Kitty, the pose we all know today. That is, the Kitty we know today was brought into this world by these two designers, Shimizu and Yonekubo.



In 1980, Yamaguchi Yuko became the 3rd designer of Hello Kitty. The Kitty we know today has a rounder face than she did in the 70s. This change was made in 1982 by Yamaguchi-san. In 1994, rather than a ribbon in her hair, Kitty wore a hibiscus flower, and in 1995, she wore a nurse’s uniform – that is, there have been many incarnations of Kitty over the years, but even now most are based on Yamaguchi’s version.

Of course I’m sure you are know that Hello Kitty is created by the Sanrio company. But until shortly before Kitty’s birth, Sanrio was known as the Yamanashi Silk Center. Yamanashi Silk Center was founded in 1960. At first it was a small company selling things like wine. But even though they tried various things, they did not find financial success. One day, the president, Tsuji Shintarou, said “Let’s buy some beach sandals, add a floral pattern, and sell them.” All the employees thought this would never work, but they sold incredibly well. Then the president said, “rather than just a floral pattern, how about printing a cute illustration?” They hired a girl who could draw illustrations, and these illustrated beach sandals were also a huge hit.

And now, a question to my readers. That illustrator they hired later went on to become a famous young genius illustrator. Who was it? …The answer? Mizumori Ado-san. Don’t you think this is incredible?



In this way, Sanrio grew larger and larger, but increasingly there were complaints that they were a worthless company, putting images on cups and pencil cases and selling things for a higher price just because of this. However, Sanrio answered thusly: “Why do we wear makeup? Why do we decorate our room with flowers? We want to make everyday beautiful and fun. The reason we put characters on our goods is the same reason.”

We want to be beautiful all the time. We want to be dazzled. This is the basis of style. Kitty-chan holds this way of thinking. After all, she was born in London! Don’t you feel like you can understand the reason she is an ageless idol?

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Are you a Hello Kitty fan? I think she’s cute, but I’m not a huge fan. However, I absolutely adore Novala’s Pour Lolita line! I have a great many items from these collections...mugs, plush dolls, straps, pens, stationery…I wish I had everything!

One other thing I love about Hello Kitty is that no matter where you go in Japan, you can find Special Edition Hello Kitty phone straps limited for that location. This is mostly a tourist thing, of course, but they are so cute! In Kyoto, you can get a Kitty dressed in kimono, in Harajuku, dressed as a gothic lolita (this is a separate design from Novala’s lolita designs!), in Osaka, dressed as a takoyaki chef – or even as takoyaki itself! These themed Kitties are so fun to collect. I used to have no fewer than 24 hanging off my phone, until they got to be just too much to carry around, and I simplified to having only the Osaka one. Currently I have the Novala White Edition and a Gloomy on my phone…until recently I had the Gothic Edition as well but the strap broke! I need to get that fixed and reattach it…


Harajuku Theme Hello Kitty


Osaka Takoyaki Kitty phone strap

Let's Talk About Milk

Below is an English translation of the fifth of 31 essays/short articles in Takemoto Novala's recently published 乙女のトリビア, or Trivia for Maidens, originally published in Zipper magazine.

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Let’s Talk About Milk.
Things About Milk That You Don’t Know About

Do you like Milk? I bet you do. Even if you’ve never worn it yourself, Milk’s clothing can make you dizzy just looking at it.

It’s extremely cute, but at the same time rock and roll, and very street even as it’s classy. It’s always cutting edge. So I’ve always loved Milk. My characters often wear Milk. After all, my debut novel Mishin was about a punk rocker who wore Milk. I don’t believe I would have ever made it as a novelist if Milk didn’t exist.


Missin' by Takemoto Novala

How much do you know about Milk? This time, let’s learn about Milk’s history.

From the beginning, Milk’s director has been Hitomi. The shop was started all the way back in the 70s. Milk’s been around longer than you have. Currently, the head shop is in Harajuku on Meiji-doori Street, but originally it was in a building called "Central Apartments" in Omotesando, in a tiny room that would be full to the brim if there were even 5 customers in it at one time. Milk’s clothing at that time had a similar design as now, and it was carefully constructed, so the price was quite high and most girls couldn’t afford it. The sizing was also a bit smaller than average.


Minami Saori

Because of this, the people who wore Milk the most tended to be famous idols and models. Most famous of those who loved Milk was Minami Saori. But then, have you even heard of her? She was at the top of the idol world in the 70s, with a sincere image. She wore Milk outside of work as well. As for someone who you’ve actually heard of who wore Milk, how about Candies? Ishino Mako as well. If I keep going on about idols who wore Milk, I’ll never be done!


Candies


Ishino Mako

Milk was therefore the brand that started the practice of providing a lot of clothing for stars in Japan, a practice that is considered obvious today.

In the late 70s, it became more possible for normal people to be able to buy brand. Matsuda Seiko loved Milk when she was in high school, and it seems she would save up to buy it. In the 80s there was the DC Boom, and it was no longer the privilege of famous talents and models alone to wear Milk, but even still, Milk was special. Milk was different. Different from other shops…

I have many friends who are designers, but for the most part, designers are quite mean-spirited, and won’t express admiration for any other brand, even if the target customer base is completely different. But everyone admires Milk. Milk is incredible. Usually, a brand will change its image and direction based on trends and the needs of their customers, but Milk has always kept the same policy, and continues to grab the hearts of new girls. When I went to Paris for the first time, I was wearing Milk. And all the stylists and models there asked me what brand it was from. They loved it, and became very interested in it. Milk has never been featured in a Paris Collection, but they still continue to make clothing that can be beloved around the world.

To digress a bit, the designer for Jane Marple used to work at Milk. The head of Shirley Temple, the foundation brand of Emily Temple cute, started Shirley Temple because of her involvement with Milk. It may be surprising, but there are even many people at Under Cover and Comme des Garçons who have connections with Milk. So in a way, Milk stands at the base of the Japanese fashion world.

So you see, Milk truly is special! Several years ago, I was introduced to Hitomi-san, and at that time, I apologized to her for wearing Milk rather than Milk Boy despite being a guy. She told me, "Gender and age are irrelevant. I want my clothes worn by those who understand their spirit." These words gave me confidence, and I ended up reserving a lot of new reservation items.

If there’s something with a heart motif, I can’t help but buy it... Oh dear, I was supposed to be writing about Milk’s history, and ended up just writing a love letter to Milk! You’ll forgive me, right? After all, I can’t help it. I really love Milk.

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I’ll finally be able to keep my own thoughts on this one brief, as I really don’t have a lot to say about Milk. They are adorable, but not my own style, which is lucky, considering they’re a bit too small for me! I absolutely love their accessories though. I mean, come on, how cute is this?



Yep, I thought so!

This time, instead of my own comments, I’ll leave you with this magazine feature on Minami Saori, who Novala writes about above. An English translation follows the original Japanese.





From PuchiPuchi magazine, September 1973.

I should probably also include an apology. Despite promising at least 1 new translation every week, I fell off the horse last week and it's been 2 weeks since my last translation! I will work on being better! Please don't lose faith in me! ♥

Let's Talk About Rings

Below is an English translation of the fourth of 31 essays/short articles in Takemoto Novala's recently published 乙女のトリビア, or Trivia for Maidens, originally published in Zipper magazine.

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Let’s Talk About Rings.
The Rings You Are Wearing

Rings are nice, aren’t they? When you get married, you wear a ring on your left ring finger. Do you know when this custom started? Actually, it can be traced back to ancient Rome. It was thought appropriate to express a holy love with this finger, as it is closest to the heart. Doesn’t that make you wonder whether not only the left ring finger, but also the other fingers as well had special meaning when rings were worn? If so, you’re correct. This time I will teach you about the relationship between rings and fingers.

If you wear a ring on your left thumb, this means you have a strong will, and if you wear one on your right thumb, it will help you exercise leadership skills. The left pointer finger indicates positivity, while the right is most useful in increasing the ability to concentrate. The left middle finger calls for inspiration, and the right middle finger is useful in avoiding trouble. The left ring finger you already know about, so next is the right ring finger. A ring on this finger has the power to calm us down. Finally, the left pinky finger brings us a chance to meet with a wonderful love, while the right ring finger is said to allow us to express ourselves.

There are also meanings to colors: red is to bring success in love, while blue is to being a sincere honest love, and green calls good fortune. There are so many different meanings that can be attached to rings that if we continue to discuss them we’ll never reach the end.

Perhaps you’ve started to wonder now about the rings you previously wore simply because they were cute or suited you. If you just remember this, it will be very helpful to you: wear a ring on your right pointer finger before you have to take an important test for which you must study a lot. If you still should have to take a wild guess, switch it to the left middle finger, and you should be all set! And if you want to find a boyfriend, wear a ring on your left little finger, a pinky ring.

Rings for the little fingers of either hand are called pinky rings, but the left pinky ring stands not only for meeting your loved one, but also for deepening a bond between lovers, and is even useful for when you want a wish of any kind granted, even when unrelated to love.

Then again, this interpretation wasn’t particularly etched in stone by anyone, so if you research it, you may come up with slightly different results. Even the left ring finger, when defined strictly, was not something passed from man to woman as a symbol and vow of holy love, but rather started as a way of binding a woman’s power, which was stronger than that of a man (to make the lover or engaged bound to his rule, and so she wouldn’t cheat on him), as some remaining ancient writings imply. There’s also one school of thought that derives the origins of this ring finger as being a way to gain the affections of a beloved in a one-sided love (according to this explanation, results could be expected if you wear it at night, even if you don’t wear it all day long). The right ring finger has strong connections to the arts, so if you want to become an artist or a designer or go into some other creative field, there are those who say you should wear a ring upon this finger. You should interpret the meanings in the way that suits your lifestyle best. After all, the thing that truly is important for success is how much you believe it will happen.


A Masonic Signet Ring

By the way, though this will digress a bit from the current topic, rings have many names depending on their shape or use. A ring with your logo mark or initial boldly embossed on it is called a seal ring or signet ring, and was invented as a convenient way to combine a ring and a seal. On the other hand, a ring with a word like “Love” or “Forever” written on it is called a posie ring. There are also rings that open like a little pillbox, aren’t there? These are called poison rings. These were used by members of the monarchy and held poison inside of them, for the purposes of ending one’s own life should one be captured by an enemy. Though these days there’s not much use for them except perhaps to put in a digestive pill to take if your stomach gets upset…


An example of a Posie Ring from the 17th century

As for myself, I recently lost my Vivienne Westwood armour ring which I had been wearing on my left pinky finger hoping to meet a sweet love, so I quickly went out and bought a knuckle duster ring to replace it, but after only a week of wearing this on my left pinky finger, I lost it as well! This surely must be a bad sign. Perhaps the God of Love has forsaken me completely…


Vivienne Westwood Armour Ring


Vivienne Westwood Knuckle Duster Ring

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Like Novala, I too love to wear rings. If I take the time to get dressed properly, chances are I am wearing at least a couple rings. But until today, I never knew there were meanings to each finger other than the left ring finger! Considering it now, of course it makes sense that there is, but I never gave it much thought. I always just wear rings wherever it is comfortable and flattering. But I almost always have rings on 2 fingers: my left pinky, and my right ring finger. According to the right ring finger brings creativity, so perhaps it makes sense that since I’ve begun wearing rings with more frequency, I’ve been a lot more productive with my sewing! I’ll have to make a point of always wearing a ring there! On the other hand, literally, I always wear a ring on my left pinky – my Novala signet ring, in fact. So the left pinky ring is supposed to bring love, is it? Perhaps one day my Novala ring will lead me to… （笑）Then again, perhaps not!



By the way, on the topic of the Poison Ring, I must disagree with Novala (gasp!) on there being no modern application for them! Check out this little number:



A modern take on the Poison Ring, this ring from Urban Decay comes with 3 interchangeable lip gloss colors. Novala was wrong when he said there were no good uses to be found in modern life!

Unfortunately no longer available from Urban Decay, I found this on http://www.splendicity.com, and it seems to be from the 2008 Christmas season. How fun! Though I must admit I don't care much for the gaudy yellow topaz cut glass - I'd much prefer a different design.

Let's Talk About the Orb

Below is an English translation of the third of 31 essays/short articles in Takemoto Novala's recently published 乙女のトリビア, or Trivia for Maidens, originally published in Zipper magazine.

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Let’s Talk About the Orb.
That Orb That You Yearn For.

Do you like orbs? You know, Vivienne Westwood’s symbol that looks like Saturn. I’ve been a fan for a long time, but even now, all it takes is to look at the orb for me to get excited.

So, about that orb that we all love so much, do you know why Vivienne chose this to be the image of her shop? Wait, before I get to that, I suppose I should first explain what the orb is. Let’s start by learning some basic knowledge about the orb.


Photograph of the actual official Sovereign’s Orb from the official website of the British Monarchy

To translate “orb” into Japanese gives us 王球 (royal sphere) or 宝珠 (crown jewel). This odd round ball is one of three royal regalia, forming a set of the orb, the crown, and the sceptre. Of course we have all seen photos and images of kings and queens wearing crowns and holding sceptres, but we don’t often see them holding orbs, so it wouldn’t be surprising if you were not aware that this is another way of showing royalty.


The Queen of England at her coronation. Photograph from the official website of the British Monarchy.

I’m not sure myself when the orb began appearing as a sign of royalty, but even back in the times of Alexander the Great, in 356 BC, who became king of Greece at the tender age of 20 and then went on to conquer Asia Minor and Egypt and attempt to become king of the world, he already had an orb in hand. If you should happen to have a deck of cards near you, pick it up and look now, at the image of the King of Clubs. This King of Clubs is actually traditionally Alexander the Great. And this Alexander the Great is pictured holding a sword and an orb.



Basically, the orb therefore represents the privilegentsia and power. England, where Vivienne was born, still has an active monarchy. Therefore, in English, this orb still has power as a royal symbol of the royal dynasty, along with the crown and the sceptre. Before Vivienne became very successful in the fashion world, she was one of the founding parents of the birth of the punk world, bringing the Sex Pistols to debut alongside her husband Malcolm McLaren. One of the Pistols’ most famous songs, God Save the Queen, is actually derisive of the Queen of England, and Vivienne herself at this time was making t-shirts with collages of Queen Elizabeth’s face. So why would Vivienne, with her rebellious message of “Royalty can all go to hell!” use the orb as her own symbol for her shop? If you’re a little bit clever, you should be able to understand, right? After all, the orb is a symbol of power and authority, so she used it as a parody of this.



The English people have a strange kind of irony to their feelings about the monarchy, condemning it as foolish while all the while deep down actually loving it. This can be seen not only in Vivienne Westwood’s creations, but also in the works of Lewis Carroll, who wrote Alice in Wonderland, and Oscar Wilde, who wrote The Happy Prince. They write works disparaging the Royal Household, but still take pleasure in the fact that there still is one. In our own times, the English ballet choreographer Matthew Bourne’s remake of Swan Lake was a parody of the Royal Family as well.

What do you think? In learning the simple reasoning behind the symbol of Vivienne Westwood, without even trying, you’ve also learned abut the history of European monarchies from the time of Alexander the Great to the present! It’s a shame they won’t teach this kind of history in school. I bet your teachers don’t even know who Vivienne Westwood is… If you start to research fashion, however, at times it can be quite academic. Isn’t that interesting? By the way, while we’re on the subject of Vivienne Westwood, did you know that her famous Rocking Horse shoes are not actually named after a rock and roll horse? Actually, a rocking horse is a child’s toy in the shape of a horse but with a sled-like bottom rather than legs that rocks back and forth as you sit on it. The shape of the wood on the bottom of those unique shoes is similar to this toy, don’t you think?



Even amongst those who love Vivienne Westwood, there are few who stop to question just what the orb is. But I want you to wonder about this. In order to become a cultivated young maiden, of course!



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I think the information in today’s selection is probably not so new to most of my readers, but when you think about it as being written for Japanese girls, it makes much more sense. Of course knowledge about European style royal families is not as widespread in Japan as in the West. Even in America, we know a little something about the British Royal Family (though probably not enough to keep our friends across the pond from laughing at us!). Still, I wonder just how much of the information in this article is new information for many of you. After all, there are still “girls who wear Vivienne Westwood but don't even know the Sex Pistols.” And on the other hand, there are Sex Pistols fans who are entirely unaware of the connection between their beloved boys and one of the queens of the fashion world.

For myself, I was not previously aware of the orb as a royal symbol until I became a fan of Vivienne Westwood. I don’t even know if this is something to be embarrassed about or not, as I’m unaware to what degree it is common knowledge. I’m sure any readers from the UK (are there any of you out there?) would scoff at that! But the truth is it is still not as well-known as the crown and sceptre. In fact, I wonder if there are people who would see an image of the orb and think to themselves, “Wow! That looks almost just like Vivienne Westwood’s symbol!” How amusing! And yet, not entirely surprising. These days, the orb is known worldwide as Vivienne’s mark. Of course all lolitas know it, and those interested in fashion in general, but not only us! Even most anime and manga fans these days have seen it in great quantities because of the influence and popularity of Yazawa Ai’s masterpiece Nana, and many of them may even own replica jewelry! In fact, this replica jewelry has become so widespread that now we may find young girls in any mall across America wearing an orb who are not only unaware of its royal origins, but also completely unaware of the name Vivienne Westwood. I guess Novala had more to worry about than just the Vivienne fans who’ve never listened to punk!

Let's Talk About Hime-Kei

Below is an English translation of the second of 31 essays/short articles in Takemoto Novala's recently published 乙女のトリビア, or Trivia for Maidens, originally published in Zipper magazine.

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Let’s Talk About Hime-kei.
That Hime-kei that Catches Your Interest

“Hime-kei”. There was a time that was referred to as super feminine as well, but even today, girls who buy clothing from brands like Jesus Diamante, Pinky Girls, DelilaH, and Liz Lisa are all also hime-kei. (Even Delyle, with its cool image, also fits in the hime-kei category, don’t you think?)



To briefly explain what hime-kei is, it’s one substyle of gyaru, just like B-kei, that grew up from somewhere. The goal? To become a princess. To draw a clear line and describe the popular clothing in one simple image, think full frill mode, with the main color being pink. The hair is curled with a curling iron, and piled up into a gorgeous updo. …But wait, with this description, those of you who are unfamiliar with hime-kei may think, “But you’re describing lolita!” Good catch. That’s right, hime-kei is quite similar to lolita. Because of this, it’s not really mistaken to categorize girls who like gyaru style with a lolita taste as being hime-kei. I suppose if this were a test, we’d have to mark that one as correct (after all, there are even people who straddle the line between hime-kei and lolita and go back and forth a lot).

However, the main difference between hime-kei and lolita is that hime-kei girls love shiny things. While lolitas don’t usually have too much interest in shiny things (by the way, while lolitas may curl their hair into long barrel rolls, they don’t usually put it in an updo), hime girls want to have shiny things everywhere they can. Rhinestones and sequins are a must. Their nails, cell phone, even the contents of their bags and make-up pouches are covered in sparkles to the point of ridiculousness. But you know, I feel a certain affinity with the hime girls. After all, it’s so cute!


A tiara from Jesus Diamante

When I buy hime-kei items, I often purchase them at Claire’s. There’s probably a Claire’s in your town as well. They sell many things like fans covered in fur, and tiaras that make you think, when the heck would someone wear something like this? The best thing about Claire’s is how inexpensive it all is. Recently I bought *two* leopard print belts. I mean, they were less than 1000 yen each!

If you aren’t interested in hime-kei, that’s okay, but if you have any part of you that is often drawn in by romantic thoughts, why not include some hime-kei items in your own wardrobe, even if you don’t want to become a full-on gyaru? After all, the main trends in the 2005 Paris Collection were completely hime-kei and lolita!

Christian Dior presented a collection simply covered in sequins, with full flowing skirt hems and plenty of lace and ribbons. Chanel’s theme this time was “French Garden”. That is, he revamped the Rococo aesthetics from Marie Antoinette’s time. This is so essentially hime-kei and lolita, isn’t it? Just think, the street fashion of Japan, hime-kei and lolita, which have been looked down upon and considered in bad taste, over the top, and ugly over the years, have now influenced the world’s top designers! Isn’t that amazing?



To the left: Christian Dior,
S/S 2005, Paris Collection



To the right: Chanel,
S/S 2005, Paris Collection






If you’d like to try mixing in some hime-kei without going overboard with girliness, the first thing I’d recommend is a frilly mini skirt and camisole. These look very cool even with a jersey or with denim, and this level of girliness is often featured in just about any mainstream fashion magazine. Personally, as someone who actually comes the lolita world but still checks hime-kei frequently, while Pinky Girls and Liz Lisa are nice as well, I’d like you to try something a little different and check out Love Boat, a brand that keeps the 109 aesthetic but also has a lolita taste. They even sell stationary and accessories!

If you are someone not interested in hime-kei or lolita, and you say to yourself, “Well, hime-kei is just for gyaru, and frills are just for lolita, so neither of them has any use for me,” your fashion sense will grow stale and predictable. If something strikes your fancy, you should try something from a shop that is different from where you usually shop. You are your own stylist, so no one will get angry with you even if you wear a Comme des Garcons skirt with a Jesus Diamante t-shirt. A coordinate that truly works, even though it’s completely unexpected and unique, is the best kind, don’t you think?

Let’s try something shiny and frilly!

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This article was strange for me to translate. I can’t imagine anyone in 2009, when this book was published, or in 2005-2007, the years in which the articles were originally published (I’m not sure the original publication date of each individual article) not knowing what hime-kei is. It’s been so prevalent since well before 2005 that it comes as a shock to me that this article would be written like this. But perhaps that is only because hime-kei really is so very similar to lolita in many ways, which means that those of us interested in lolita are exposed to a surprising amount of it. On the other hand, B-kei, which is mentioned in this article in a very matter-of-fact fashion, expecting everyone to know it, is completely new to me. I guess I just always considered this style of gyaru to be “standard gyaru style”, and I was never aware there was a separate name for it. I am not surprised that there is, but I am somewhat amused that I had never heard of it. But I’ve never been a very big fan of gyaru.

Hime gyaru, on the other hand, can be quite intriguing. It’s not my thing, but I do sometimes love a mixture of hime with lolita. I think that ever since about 2007, the line between the two has been becoming increasingly blurred. As lolita gets more and more princess-y and over the top, and hair gets bigger and bigger and ever-increasingly elaborate, at the same time lolitas are wearing more and more glitter and bling. Is this the influence of hime-kei, or simply the influence of the popular Angelic Pretty style? Or are those both part of the same phenomenon? Angelic Pretty actually has a very large following amongst hime gyaru. When I used to stop in the Osaka shop at least 3 times a week, chances are that at least one of those times I would see hime gyaru in there buying several pieces of pearl jewelry and extravagant pink princess dresses. Perhaps we could all gain by a little appreciation of this style that is so similar to our own even as it’s so very different.

Anyway, I think I like the current shared trends much better than those I remember from the spring/summer of 2007, when everyone wanted to do the extravagant updos of hime gyaru, ratting and piling their hair atop their head similar to the signature gyaru beehive. (I was not exempt from trying this craze myself!) I think a little rhinestone decadence is a welcome addition compared to that travesty!

Let's Talk About Perfume

Below is an English translation of the first of 31 essays/short articles in Takemoto Novala's recently published 乙女のトリビア, or Trivia for Maidens, originally published in Zipper magazine.

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Let’s talk about Perfume.
That perfume that suits your style.

Even though I never wear anything but Dior Fahrenheit, I own a lot of perfumes. After all, it’s not just the scent itself that is appealing. If the name is wonderful or the bottle is cute, I find myself wanting to buy it.

Of course I own all the famous ones, like Poizon, Chanel No 5, Shalimar, Les Belles de Ricci, and Babydoll. In Novala Castle, you can find not only Guerlain’s Mitsouko, which nowadays is only worn by stylish older women, but also più cologne, which was once the must-have item for elementary and high school girls.

As an author, someone who writes novels, when I’m creating my characters, not only do I decide what shop they buy their clothing from, but also, I choose a perfume for them to wear. For example, Mishin, the punk rocker in Mishin 2/Casako, wears Vivienne Westwood’s Boudoir. After all, it has a saccharine but rocking scent. The aesthetically inclined Aunt Reiko from the horror novel Scale Princess wears Christian Dior’s Poizon. This scent could only suit a woman who chooses an elegant lifestyle of mysticism.

While the note of a perfume (the scent of a perfume is called the “note”) changes slightly from person to person when worn, much like clothing, we don’t want to wear the same thing as everyone else. Because of this, whenever I’m asked to recommend a perfume, I always hesitate. I can only give advice to choose it yourself.

To split perfumes into a few main types, there are refreshing and casual scents, like Gransenbon, and trendy cool scents, such as Dolce & Gabbana. There are elegant perfumes that proclaim that the wearer is quite the lady, like Bulgari Pour Femme, and sexy mysterious types that are noticeable as perfumes such as Poizon and Jean-Paul Gaultier. These are the four main types. By understanding these, you should be able to choose a scent that suits your own personality from the mountain of possibilities.

Even after all this, if I am asked, “Still, tell me one that’s cool right now that you like, even if it’s biased and your own opinion!” well, hmm…I guess in that case, Dior’s Forever and ever. The simple pink bottle is adorable, and it has a rose-based sweetness that is not too heavy, so it can be used for both casual wear and when dressed up. Also, it hasn’t really become exceedingly popular yet, so you won’t overlap with too many other people.

I have worn my own beloved Fahrenheit for many years now, but there are very few men who wear it. However, during the height of the Fuyu no Sonata television drama’s popularity, it became known that Bae Yong Jun liked this scent, and for a while it became very popular with women. It was so troublesome! Bae Yong, how dare you wear the same perfume as Novala!

Anyway, we’ve been talking about perfume, but did you know that there are four ranks for perfume based on concentration of the perfume’s essential oils?

Strictly speaking, “perfume” refers to the highest rank perfume, perfume extract, with which if you apply more than a drop, it will be so strong as to surpass smelling good and be too much. Scents made as perfumes are also very expensive. The next rank is parfum. Most spray perfumes that are commonly used are actually the 3rd rank, eau de toilette. And the last level, with the least scent, is eau de cologne.

Personally, I believe that using perfumes and eau de parfums can wait until adulthood, and yet eau de colognes seem childish, so for teenagers and young women, I recommend eau de toilettes, which are also affordable. However, I’d like you to remember the four ranks of perfumes, perfume extract, eau de parfum, eau de toilette, and eau de cologne, as knowledge that every proper maiden should have.

Toilettes will lose their scent after about four hours, so if you put it on in the morning and go to school, but then have a date with your boyfriend in the evening, you should put it on again. There are many different bottle sizes for toilettes, so why not carry a small bottle in your bag? Should you do this, you will be the master of toilette.

A beloved perfume can life your spirits when worn, even if you aren’t going to meet anyone that day. I like to spray my bed’s pillowcase and comforter with my favorite scent to be wrapped in a content feeling as I drift off to sleep. It feels decadent and luxurious. Please try it~!

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This essay by our beloved Takemoto Novala was originally published in Zipper magazine, and was recently included in an essay collection entitled Trivia for Maidens, from which I hope to bring you several essays in the future. They tend to be light-hearted practical essays, as evidenced by the above, and can make for fun light reading. You may even gain some new knowledge! (And we all want that important knowledge that all maidens should have, don’t we?) I personally am somewhat embarrassed to admit that while I was vaguely aware that there are different concentrations of perfumes that determine the name, I could not have named them in the correct order. (And judging by the number of girls who get a giggle out of the name of Angelic Pretty’s Rose Toilette print, I’m guessing I’m not the only one!)

On a personal note, for me, my favorite scent is Vivienne Westwood’s Boudoir. I was probably at least partially influenced by the above-mentioned Mishin when I first read Novala’s first novel, Mishin, which came out exactly 10 years ago (Happy Anniversary Novala!). I was so taken with that novel in general, and fell in love with the character. But how could anyone not love Boudoir?

I only own three perfumes…excuse me, two eau de parfums and one eau de toilette. I wear Boudoir when I am going out or when I just want a pick-me-up. To me, it has a very sexy romantic feel, so I definitely love wearing it. Vivienne Westwood’s Let it Rock is a very strong fun scent for daytime or if I’m feeling a bit punky. It’s very bold and I don’t feel that it fits me personally as well as Boudoir, but it is very fun and puts me in a daring mood! The third scent I wear sometimes is Anna Sui’s self-named Anna Sui. I like this scent, but not nearly as much as the other two. It’s sweet but with a very vintage feel to me. I like to give myself a light spray with this one on for work – it’s fun and keeps my spirits up through the morning, but is not overpowering, and I feel somehow that it is very appropriate for an office setting.

How about you? What perfume is your favorite? Do you think it fits your personality? What led you to choose it?