Bright Blue Jacket from Japan Thrift Store
Finding this bright blue jacket from a Japan thrift store was one of my favorite, special moments of my trip! First, let’s start from the beginning…
Background
Ever since I was little I’ve always wanted to go to Japan. I grew up watching Hayao Miyazaki movies on repeat, from Totoro to Princess Mononoke. I always love how the lead of each film was a brave little girl who usually never had a love interest. There’s hint of Japanese culture in each film, which made me excited to attempt to learn Japanese with my sister on our family computer.
That love for Japan was always inside of me, and when one of my best friends decided to live there for a couple years I decided that I ought to make my ten year old dream’s come true andmake the trek to see her and explore the country!
Departure
My friend Radhika and I flew to Japan and we had an amazing reunion with our friend Melody. We ate delicious ramen, sushi, and Japanese sweets. We meditated in Buddhist temples, partied in Kyoto, and went shopping in Harajuku and Tokyo. Our first half of the trip was in the Fukui Prefecture where Melody lived. We got to experience her life in her Japanese family-style apartment and explore her town. During one of those days exploring Melody took us to her favorite thrift store. It was AMAZING.
Japanese Thrift Stores
First of all, you all should I know that I love thrift shopping. That love and hobby of mine was the seed that started Sustainable Daisy and blossomed into my love for sustainable fashion. I frequent secondhand shops often. However, this Japan thrift store was different.
For one, the clothes were all in such great quality. Melody told me that the Japanese truly appreciate objects and enjoy taking care of what they own. Things they buy are treated well, and they typically make sure to clean and store things properly. Because of this, I was overwhelmed with the beauty garments in front of me—there were no threads coming lose, no stitching popping out, no fabric pilled—all pieces looked nearly new.
Another amazing this about this Japan thrift store was my finds. I found TWO of my favorite jackets of all time. I seriously get excited just typing this because I LOVE Japanese street style and it makes me so happy I was able to find such amazing pieces in this store. For this post, I’m sharing the first item I found, a shiny bright blue faux leather jacket.
I felt powerful, womanly, confident, and unique in this piece, and I love how it’s correlated with such rich, happy memories!
To capture these images I headed Downtown Los Angeles with my friend Austin, who’s a photographer and a men’s eco fashion blogger.
I paired the jacket with this short pattered dress with bold, chic shoulder pads that I inherited from a friend. Lastly, I put on my favorite chunky thrifted wedges which found at the Goodwill in San Diego.
Have you ever bought something thrifted when abroad? What makes that piece special to you?
Photos by Austin Hall of Dissident Dreamer
Cute! And yes, everywhere I travel I find the thrift stores in Dublin, London, Paris, Barcelona, Athens, from New York City to Kona, every time I’m on a business trip and/or vacation, and every little town and cosmopolitan center in between. It’s great fun and a superb way to learn about your locale.
Ah that’s a great point! It is a great way to learn about the culture. I have a skirt I bought in Paris and I love the history woven into it. Thanks for dropping by. 🙂
Such an unapologetically sexy outfit. Truly had so much fun shooting this with you, which is evidenced by you actually getting a picture of me smiling haha Thanks for all the love : )
No, Thank YOU! You’re so talented and I’m thankful for the help! 🙂