Adventures of Anette: Modeling

Showing posts with label Modeling. Show all posts

Monday, May 1, 2017

Sakura and Bunad in Tokyo - Et Lite Stykke Norge by Joe Photography

Anette 11:38:00 PM

As a Norwegian living in Tokyo I try to represent my home country the best I can. There is not that many people here who know that much about Norway; usually most people only associate it with salmon. One thing that however is very typical Norwegian (and little known in Japan) is the national attire called bunad. This traditional outfit comes in various colors and designs varying around the country, and it is common for each local community to have their own distinguished design. People can actually figure out which part of the country you come from by looking at the style of your bunad.

Recently my friend and colleague asked me to do a photo shoot for his page Joe Photography. I wanted to do something different, so I asked him to do a shooting with the blooming sakura (cherry blossoms) and my bunad. It is common for Norwegians to get a bunad for their coming of age ceremony, and I have had mine since I was 12 years old. This particular design is from my home town Bergen, and it brings back found memories of my childhood.

For the photo shoot we met up in Roppongi, and walked around Shiba Koen searching for good photo spots. Unfortunately the weather wasn't too good, so we didn't manage to capture Toyo Tower that well, but we still got some nice photos by a traditional Japanese house inside the park.

Shiba park was a great place to take photos thanks to the many beautiful cherry trees. The temperature was finally starting to get closer to spring and lot of people were in the park to enjoy the view of the flowers and to do hanami. The park had a very cozy atmosphere, and it would be nice to come back here next year when the cherry blossoms are in bloom again to hang out with friends in the park..

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the post! Please let me know if you have any questions or comments in the comment section below.

■ Basic Info

・Page: JoePhotography - Anette
・Place: Shiba Park (芝公園)

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Thank you for reading! Please feel free to leave any comments or questions below

~Anette

Monday, November 23, 2015

Modeling

Try it yourself: An Oiran (花魁) Cosplay Experience in Japan

Anette 6:16:00 AM

Most people have heard about the Japanese escort ladies called geisha, known in the West through for instance the world famous book & movie “Memoirs of a Geisha”.

Throughout history there have however been other types of Japanese escort ladies, and the forerunner to the Japanese geisha is known as oiran 'woman of pleasure'.
Oiran was a popular profession during the Edo period (1600~1868). Back in the early days of the Edo period the Oiran were considered high class courtesans, and unlike yūjo (遊女) prostitutes they were first and foremost entertainers with refined skills in a number of traditional arts such as sadō (Japanese tea ceremony), shamisen (three-stringed Japanese bajo), ikebana (flower arranging), and calligraphy. Elegant as they were, some Oiran women even went on to become famous outside of their daily workplace, and have inspired various Japanese fashion trends throughout the years.

The word oiran comes from an abbriviation of the sentence "Oir~~a no tokoro no nēsa~~n" (おいらの所の姉さん), which can be translated into "my elder sister". The kanji characters used to express this word are "flower" (花) and to "charge ahead of others" (魁).

Although Oiran is a tradition of the past that ended with the rise of the geisha and later almost disappeared along with strict laws enforced to stop prostitution there are still people who are working to keep the tradition alive. But a big difference from the past is that today women dress up oiran style in order to preserve a cultural heritage or to entertain rather than having it as a profession or lifestyle, and it does not include sexual services anymore. I've written more about the difference between Oiran and Geisha here.

Even though it no longer is a common profession nor holds the popularity it used to have in the past one can still find extremely popular events and festivals dedicated to oiran, such as for instance the Bunsui Sakura Matsuri Oiran Dōchū that is held every year in Tsubame, Niigata.

The vivid and colorful style also keeps attracting people who are interested in Japanese fashion and traditional arts in general. As a result of this popularity there are also a growing number of companies out there offering people who are interested the chance to try on the oiran outfit themselves.

La Petit Fleur in Oukurayama

As you've probably noticed from the pictures above I recently had the honor of getting dressed up in a oiran style kimono. This opportunity came through a company called Workshop Japan, who's goal is to help introduce Japanese culture to foreign visitors. In addition to offering oiran cosplay they also hold various other workshops that foreigners can attend, such as Kazari-maki-zushi(Art Sushi Roll) cooking class and Japanese calligraphy.

The Oiran cosplay experience was a cooperation between Workshop Japan, a flower shop & cafe at Oukurayama in Yokohama called La Petit Fleur café and last but not least the makeup artist Candy Blue. La Petit Café was used as the location for the photo shoot, and Candy Blue (artist name) was in charge of the kimono and makeup. She styled me according to the season, and since it was autumn I got to try out a kimono with red autumn leaves in my hair. Here are some more photos from the experience (these ones are all taken with my phone so the quality is not as good as the ones that Workshop Japan took):

Getting to try out Oiran cosplay was a totally new experience for me. I previously had the chance to do some wedding modeling while in Japan, both with kimono and more modern style Japanese dresses, but this time the vibe was quite different, especially as one usually would associate wearing a kimono with being kawaii rather than sensual.

As Candy Blue is mainly focusing on body jewelry you can notice the detailed decoration on my shoulder. These are stickers, all hand-made by Candy Blue herself. The devil is in the detail, and the team did their utmost to make sure that everything was perfect for the shooting.

After the shooting was done the crew printed out a couple of the pictures they had taken and gave them to me in a cute album with sakura-design that they gave me on the spot. The whole experience was very professional, and besides all the nice photos I got another great memory from Japan.

One of the pictures from the shooting being used on a Workshop Japan pamphlet. (Credit: Candy Blue)

Workshop Japan is taking reservations from any travelers and expats who want to get dressed up oiran style. If you're in the area and interested in this opportunity, please check out the following links:

Workshop Japan

La Petit Fleur Cafe

Candy Blue Body Jewelry - Oiran

Finally, please note that this is oiran cosplay and not necessarily an exact depiction of how oiran were dressed. If you're interested in the real thing please check out this post where I've written about my experience as the first foreigner participating as an oiran in the Tsubame Sakura festival.

Related blogposts

All blogposts about Festivals

Fukumusume: Behind the scene of the Touka Ebisu Festival

Love hidden gems? Check out Onsen with Hansen — a channel where I uncover some of Japan’s most fascinating traditional ryokan inns.

Blogs:

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Tokyo

Hair modeling in Tokyo: Charman Hair Salon

Anette 8:33:00 PM

A little while ago I had the chance to do some modeling for the hair salon Charman in Daikanyama.! I just got the pictures from the shoot from my hair stylist Aco-san this week, and here are a couple of them:

Charman's mission statement:

“SHAMAN” - the guide leads your way out to
“CHARMAN” - to inspire and bring out your “Charm”.
CHARMAN
Named after the spirit inside us.
Our missions are
to help you find your style to be yourself,
to help you bring out your charm and aura,
and to help you brighten your life and your future.
We will listen to your concerns and understand your desires,
and propose the hair style that matches to you.
Styles do not stay the same, styles change over time.
This is why we are here to offer you a relaxing atmosphere and
build a long-lasting relationship with you.
We hope to spend a precious moment together and create a trusting friendship with each one of you.
We hope we can help you find a fascinating future.
We truly hope so.
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Yuichi ENZAKI

Inside the hair salon (picture borrowed from Charman's home page)

Charman also offer other services in addition to haircuts. You can check out their prices on the list below:

By the entrance to the hair salon (picture borrowed from Charman's home page)

● Cut ￥6400〜

● Color ￥8000〜

● Cut & Perm ￥13500〜

● Treatment ￥4000〜

● Head Spa ￥3500〜

● Hair & Make up ￥5600〜

● Yukata ￥3000〜

If you're looking for a nice and oshare (fashionable) hair salon in Tokyo to change your hair style or perhaps to do some modeling you might want to check out their homepage. The hair salon is situated in Dairiyama, which is located on the Tokkyu Toyoko line, only one station away from Shibuya. Good luck!

+CHARMAN+

〒150-0021

東京都渋谷区恵比寿西1-34-26 代官山Nビル B1

Related blogposts:
Hair Salon
Modeling

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Wedding

White Pigeon Wedding Modeling in Kyoto!

Anette 5:57:00 PM

Last year I did some modeling for a company called Kyoto Weddings, which offers its wedding planning services to foreigners who want to get married Japanese style in Kyoto. The photographer, Yuuki Kuwabara, contacted me again about a month ago and asked me if I had any plans to go to Japan in the near future.

Getting dressed up.. Nice ikebana hair! ^^

Yuuki was going to do a photo shooting for a company called White Pigeon which also specializes in wedding dresses, and they wanted to use me for a photo shooting. Luckily I had already planned on a weekend trip to Japan in the beginning of May, and the date turned out to work well with the rest of the team too.

So I met up at Kyoto Kokusai Hotel where I was greeted by the lady behind White Pigeon, Shoko Kono, and the rest of the staff. Shoko had prepared 3 dresses for the photo shooting, and the stylist arranged my hair for the first dress using real flowers making my hair look like an ikebana-creation.. It was really cool!

From there we went to an old building called the 京都府庁旧本館, a renaissance style building from 1904 which used to be used as a government office building. Shoko and her team had rented the building for 3 hours, and the rest of the afternoon was spent taking photos which you can see here:

The first wedding dress; white with purple flowers for the hair

A close-up of the dress from behind

The second wedding dress was also white, with some additional yellow details

Nice architecture ^^

A close-up

The third wedding dress was black, and quite fancy

Flying feathers..

Cool Black Wedding Dress

This includes some of my favorite shots of the day. I hope you liked the photos! :)

Apparently they'll be featured in some magazine later.. We'll see ^^

Related blogposts

All blogposts about wedding

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Modeling

Hair Modeling for Lycée 第三回目

Anette 2:30:00 PM

Yesterday I had my last photo shoot with Lycée before I move to Korea, and they gave me a CD with photos from my previous photo shoot with them in Osaka a while back. I think that of the four photo shoots I've done for them this far, this is the one with the definitively weirdest photos. Haha.. Anyway, here are some of the (not too weird) shots^^:

Like I mentioned, I've been doing some modeling for Lycée earlier as well, and you can see pictures from my previous photo shootings (including more general information for people interested in doing hair modeling) in these blog posts:

1st: Hair Modeling for Lycée!

2nd: Hair Modeling for Lycée 第二回目

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Modeling

Hair Modeling for Lycée 第二回目

Anette 3:54:00 PM

I got contacted again by Lycée a little while ago and asked if I wanted to come back and do some more modeling for them. The thing is, this beauty parlor has a number of hair salons in Osaka and Kobe, and are constantly looking for foreigners interested in hair modeling. Here are a couple of pictures from my last session:

And here is Lycée's blogpost about the photo shoot.
As I wrote in my previous post, Lycée is always looking for foreigners who might be interested do modeling for them, so if you happen to be in the area and also are in the need for a free haircut, then you could always contact them through their web page.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Modeling

Hair Modeling for Lycée!

Anette 6:22:00 PM

During the last month I have had the chance to do a bit of modeling in my spare time: In the beginning of April I had a great day as a model for a wedding company in Kyoto, and I have also been doing some modeling for a beauty salon close to Kobe called Lycée. I got introduced to the owner of the company by one of my friends, who previously had been doing some modeling for them, and it seemed like they were quite interested in foreign models. You get styled up with a wig, which the hairdresser then arrange and cut to fit the style of the photo shoot. Although the modeling in itself is unpaid, participants can receive a free haircut!

It was fun to participate, although I have to admit that the style was quite far from the way I normally would dress up. Unbelievable what a wig and a little makeup can do^^ My friend was styled up really cutely for her pictures, while me on the other hand got a more artistic style. And you know, artistic styles can be.. Rather interesting. Haha.. But they do a lot of different themes for their photos too though, which not necessarily is as artistic as this.

Anyway, Lycée is always looking for foreigners who might be interested do modeling for them, so if you happen to be in the area and also are in the need for a free haircut, then why not.
If you're interested, then you can go ahead and contact them through their web page.