StyleLikeU » Harajuku

Elena Kanagy-Loux

'Funminitemi Oluwadare — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:07:43 +0000

You can see Elena’s Harajuku roots in her love for the complexities of “anything goes” dressing. Her bubblegum pink embellished satin Miu Miu wedges worn with sparkly socks are made aristocratic by Elena’s vintage pale silk ’20s lingerie and classic floral tights. Her (unsurprisingly) least favorite thing about fashion is leaving her dress-up fantasy world and finding out that beyond her universe, Elena’s daydreams are met with less than positive reception. It seems that the homogenous mainstream culture, whose realm of awareness seems to revolve around Paris Hilton and the Jersey Shore, is uncomfortable with someone like Elena, who is passionate about expressing her extraordinary wealth of historic references in her style. Just as an oversized ’40s bow on Elena’s head makes her happy, it makes me ecstatic to be inspired by someone else’s imagination and courage to stand alone, no matter how different they are from me. I think the saying goes, “The more you know, the more you want to know,” and the less you know, the less you can see beyond your orange tanning cream. Queen Anne dolls, Victorian mourning jewelry, fairy tales and mythology, Jean Harlow, Marlene Dietrich, religious iconography, traditional folk dress and unicorn tapestries are among Elena’s interests – what do you think Snooki’s list would be? Elena’s multifarious heritage of Amish missionary grandparents, who relocated to Tokyo after WWII, where she grew up, has helped inform her eclectic sensibility. She was educated wearing strict school uniforms, “navy blazers, white shirts with white button-up Peter Pan collars… everyone had a number sewn on… and your socks couldn’t be wrinkled.” It was on the one day off from the classroom that Elena would go to Harajuku and feel the magic in the freedom of dressing with abandon. Within the rigid structure of Japanese society, Elena ironically found a place where she felt free from oppression, Victorian bloomers, glittery socks, tassel necklaces, fuzzy rhinestone slippers and all. “There was a place for everything and everyone… it was very freeing for a kid, like myself… there was no judgment.”

If you like Elena, you may also enjoy Masako Breen, CC McGurr, Stef Van Der Laan and Josefin Arnell.

Sammy K.

'Funminitemi Oluwadare — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 01:02:04 +0000

Sammy says that he has a very love/hate relationship with growing up in LA. It has somehow worked for him to push against the “cookie cutter” culture that LA can be for him and the rub against the homogeneity has strengthened his individuality. He digs deeply for inspiration and has loads of it from the New Romanticism of Brian Eno to the New Wave of Deborah Harry to the Androgony of Boy George. Starved for diversity having grown up in the sprawling burbs , it’ “oxygen” for Sammy to connect to like minds (something I relate to enormously and thus the reason for this site) and a “rush” for him when he sees certain pieces that will ultimately be a part of him forever, and it’s not Juicy Couture! One of these is his Comme des Garcons sheer cardigan, which he wears literally, as in bareing all. Right now he is in a “Futuristic Punk” phase that blends his passion for the counter culture of the 80′s with contemporary designers like his graphic Keith Haring for Jeremy Scott leather jacket and the unisex court jester-esque Costume Dept. leggings. His arm of Hello Kitty with heaps of early Madonna black rubber bangles is a signature, along with his zebra print nail polish. But don’t let the punk exterior fool you – one look into those warm and loving eyes wrapped in liquid eyeliner and you are melting or rolling on the bed and kissing, as he was with his lifelong best friend and stylist partner, Judy, during our interview.

If you like Sammy, you might also enjoy Nick Cohen, Sam Murkofsky, Contessa Stuto, or Emmanuel Limon.

Sophie Flinder & Vanna Youngstein

'Funminitemi Oluwadare — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:24:06 +0000

I was hit by lightning when I walked into Sophie and Vanna’s flat in Brooklyn. I felt like I fell down the rabbit hole – their creative universe is immeasureable and limitless, and their positive energy took my breath away. I am sure I will never forget it, especially when my intern cried from how touched he was by them when we left, 4 hours and change later and wanting more. I started this site after fashion styling for 20 years, looking for where the real inspiration was in fashion, and I am constantly reaffirmed each time I shoot someone for Stylelikeu. Sophie and Vanna, for us, have been the ultimate affirmation that over-the-top creativity and unpretentiousness do go hand in hand. Their inventiveness in dressing they feel was derived from growing up in London where originality is celebrated and unrelated to socio economic status. Vanna says with unabashed passion that she is “obsessed, obsessed, and obsessed” with style and and it hasn’t changed much since she was a child. Mix bows, bells, and hearts with a Pre-Raphaelite beauty and a High Street flair and it is unmistakenly her. Sophie talks about how she spews everything out in her feelings and her clothes. Not very “girly” but high on details, she comes up with the unexpected. For example, indian moccassins with black paillette dresses and an op-art print legging with a mannish Victorian-esque blazer. Sophie’s style reflects her wide-open heart – she is ingenious in her mixing of everything together. Sophie and Vanna’s love of the undiscovered – the “grimey” clubs, the unbeaten path, the unheard-of thrift stores -has both an edge and an innocence that makes them the new visionaries, the ones you want to be around.

Check out Sophie’s Blog!