Fashionably absent

Our fashion week started this week but was not amidst the fanfares of enthusiastic jubilation or a cat-walk march beneath the banners of outrageous pomp and circumstance. It was more a small notice in the bottom corner of page nine and a street announcer who suffers from laryngitis, shouting out to the world. I have seen fashion weeks in London, Paris and Milan and I hope one day I will see New Yorks grandiose show. Here, Tokyo is the fashion capital of Asia but to be honest with you it pales by comparison to the fashion weeks our European cousins have. It's not our design or our markets or the power and discerning eyes of our fashion consumers, it's more of the overall presentation of the whole week that disappoints me on a personal level. We are still fairly new at this and as such we should at least be seen to be growing each year but we do not! One or two names are absent this year and that is purely down to economical reasons and some other designers don't even want to associate with the week because of the influence of the sponsors seemingly effecting a control over the presentations and we lose the 'chic' and kawaii factors and gain the bureaucratic dowdiness of a week designed by men in straight Grey suits!
Some of the venues are in hard to find places and the timings of them clash with other events which shows a poor organization and on top of all that, the 'rebel' designers still use fashion week to organize their own shows because of the number of foreign fashionistas in the city and these too will clash with the timings of the official events. It's not just ourselves that face difficulties in the reporting of these events but also think of international journalists who try to cover as much of this as they can and compound that with their language difficulties.
Our world image is surely missing and we lose out in gaining new markets from our own playgrounds and we have to rely on our designers being in the overseas shows.

It seems a madness to me that our internationally known brands don't come to the shows and that leaves foreign guests wondering if they should come to see the names they have never heard of before.

I know I want to much too soon and we are trying to produce events of similar appeal and attractiveness to Europe and New York but I fear that we have just not got there yet. In my personal opinion the singular TGC (Tokyo Girls collection) show has more of an international appeal by itself than that the whole of our fashion week combined and surely that must have some organizers wondering what they are doing wrong...
If I were given the chance to organize it I think I could make it more appealing. I also think that when all of us become frustrated about something we are passionate about then we often feel that we can do better!

Over the last couple of weeks I have been using a hair extensions clip which is nice and easy to clip in under my crown layer. I use it only when I want my hair longer and I don't have time to have them woven in. I was going to a book an appointment to get them done but I heard about one of the ladies at work who would do it cheaper and so I went to buy my hair and on Monday she put it in for me. I have 'new auburn' for my color this time instead of my flame, copper or chestnut that I usually have. This one is a little more brown than red in tone.

Harumi was very quick and nimble with her fingers and I think she is an expert with hair or an expert with people. The time passed quickly in her chatty company and as an added bonus my scalp did not feel like someone had used it for weed pulling practice! I was happy to pay her what she asked and I was so pleased that I asked if I may call upon her again if I want extensions. She happily accepted and gave me her card. Perhaps we can all earn a little extra if we used our skills in the community more. Although I'm not sure what I could do!

I believe I look ten years younger is the result of two and a half hours in her company. I'm ready to travel on Thursday to a galaxy far far away, or at least Yamaguchi, home of Utada Hikaru's family. It is also the home of our former prime minister, Shinzo Abe and home of a friend of mine who is now in Australia.
Yamaguchi is as far west as you can go on the main island and is historically our trade area with the rest of Asia but for my visit, I may as well mention it is also the heart of our denim industry. No silks or spandex there!

Hitomi is away next week working again in Osaka as if the fates will torment me.
I just tear up the script of life in frustration and throw the pieces into the wind to blow to who knows where. I must try to be better in myself and nail my remaining sanity in place lest it try to escape me. I can't make a new beginning but I can try to make a better ending. Shakespeare said that that "All the world is a stage" but as I look at it I often wonder who the casting director was.