Rei Shito, Tokyo

Met up with the lovely and effervescent Rei Shito, street fashion photographer of Style from Tokyo, when I was in Tokyo back in May last year and I took these quick shots of her as we wandered around the streets of Harajuku. Browsing through folders of photos from previous trips to Tokyo makes me wanna go back there right now! Good thing is that I don't have to wait much longer cos this time next week we'll be on our way! Looking forward to meeting up with Rei again, and also shooting street style for the first time in Tokyo (I'm practicing my "Shashin o totemo ii desu ka?"). Stay tuned cos no doubt I'll have loads to share!

On The Street... Black

Source: StyleSophomore

I especially love the first shot that I took in Taipei. It's a great example of how to make an all black outfit look interesting and amazing by playing with layers, textures and slightly different shades of black.

On The Street... Hats In Taipei

I never used to photograph many people wearing hats for StyleStophomore and I think that was because a lot of the time, to me people don't really incorporate the hat into the rest of the outfit. Instead it looks as if they just throw any hat on as they walk out the door (I know that's probably not the case) but more times than not, the hat seems to detract attention from the rest of the outfit rather than compliment it. But, that all changed when we went to Taipei and I found myself photographing so many people with hats! 

Maybe my disliking for hats will change now. I love how these people are all wearing quite small neutral coloured hats that just top off the outfit and without them, it just wouldn't be complete. It's like you need the hat but at the same time it's not the main focus of the look. Missing Taipei already but 6 more weeks and we'll be back!

Source: StyleSophomore

Taipei X Converse

Ok, it's obvious that I love Converse. In fact, coming to Taipei to live for a month with only 1 piece of carry-on luggage (and nothing else), I could only fit in a couple of pairs of shoes and it was an easy choice to bring both pairs of Converse sneakers. This is the land of Converse after all! And I even tried on a pair of hi-tops the other day and if they didn't make me look even shorter than I already am, then I would have definitely bought another! Can't ever get enough of them. They are the comfiest shoes ever and I reckon that everyone should own at least one pair of Converse no matter what. I think everyone in Taipei does and it's so cool seeing all the different styles, fabrics, embellishments and designs around. 

A couple of my favourite Converse shots taken for StyleSophomore. I'm naturally attracted to Converse shoes when people-watching on the streets so these ones were an obvious shot...

Source: StyleSophomore

Military Style

An obvious trend this Fall/Winter is the military-inspired jacket and I've seen so much of it around Taipei as well as when we were in Seoul last month. Worn by both men and women alike, over skinny jeans, contrasted with a feminine skirt or dress, or even just on their own, it's a key piece this season and is everywhere in the shops and around the streets. Here's a few shots I've taken in Seoul and Taipei for StyleSophomore that show just how versatile this piece is and how it can easily be incorporated with other current trends.

Source: StyleSophomore

Jang Jun Won

Last week, I posted up a street style photo from StyleSophomore and said that it was my favourite shot from Seoul. But who says you can't have more than one favourite?! I love this shot too. Ok, I'll make this my number one guy shot from Seoul! I met Jang Jun Won in Hongdae and I think he has a really cool, simple and complete style that all comes together nicely. I love the Autumn tones, the leather bag and the casual fit of the clothes. But the thing that I like most, is that if you look at the individual components of his outfit, no one piece really stands out or dominates the other, instead you have to look at the outfit as a whole to really appreciate his style.  I really love the way guys dress in Seoul and I get a lot of inspiration from looking at the photos that I got. They really know how to dress comfortably and casually, and pull off amazing style at the same time.

Sonyejin

If I had to pick my favourite street style photo from Seoul, then this would be it! Not only do I love her minimalistic style and her hair, but my favourite shots are always the ones where the person is as equally as cool as their style. There is a lot more to style than clothes and it's the person as much as their style that i remember when looking back at my photos whether it's one week or one month down the track. In Seoul, there were very few English words exchanged when photographing on the street, usually I would just get a smile and a nod which was cool but then you'd get the occasional person who somehow stands out from the rest.

This is Sonyejin who I met on our last day in Seoul. She was with her friend shopping in Hongdae when I saw her across the street waiting at the traffic lights. When I asked her for her photo using the Korean translation on my iPad and all my hand gestures that went with it, Sonyejin was really sweet and without any hesitation or even turning to her friend she just said "sure!" and gestured to her friend as if to say "let's go!" I really liked that, instead of the usual "turn to my friends to save me" response, I remember Sonyejin as being a very confident person who is comfortable with her style and was just totally cool with having her photo taken.

Farah

I shot Farah for StyleSophomore just the other day and I love her style a lot! So many colours going on and it all works so well together. Farah was with a whole bunch of friends waiting at the traffic lights when I first saw her, so I followed them across the road and down the street until I found a background that worked in with the colours of her outfit. I'm always a little hesitant when approaching a large group of friends when I only want one of their photos. Not only do I feel weird just singling one person out amongst the rest, but from previous experiences, I learnt that friends usually always have some sort of influence on whether or not I get the shot. Quite often, the person I ask, turns to their friends as if to say "save me!" or the friends usually keep walking and are very uninterested and that kind of draws the person away with them. In saying that though, it's not really a problem and I was fine with approaching Farah and her friends and getting the shot. She was really cool with having her photo taken and I think her friends were equally as excited about the whole thing!

Guys Guys Guys

Some inspiration.... from the guys and for the guys. I often look to guys' style for inspiration especially when I go to places like Bangkok, Seoul and Tokyo. The guys there are noticeably very well dressed and it seems like they are more comfortable with their style. Here are some of my favourite guy shots that I've taken for Style Sophomore. They're all from either Bangkok and Seoul and are good examples of how guys should dress and look really stylish too!

I think more guys should wear stripes. They're easy to match with other items, and can be dressed up and down, worn on their own or under a nice blazer. 

Put on a pair of classic sunnies that suit your face shape and you're good to go! I hardly ever see people wearing sunnies in Singapore which kind of goes against the whole "Sunny Singapore". It must be because they just hang out in the malls and rarely go outside?

You can't really go wrong with a pair of jeans and a jacket/blazer. Well, you could, but these guys show how to pair the two to create a smart casual look. I like that term "smart casual" and I use it quite a lot! - it's kind of that in between style that looks great no matter what time of day. 

And lastly... Shoes! They either make or break an outfit and that's what I pay a lot of attention to when people-watching on the streets. Notice how in all these pictures, the shoes complete and compliment the rest of the outfit? 

Source: Style Sophomore

Hana Jo

I think it's funny that I find myself going around in foreign countries and asking people if I can take their photograph. It was challenging shooting in Seoul for the first time as I didn't really know what to expect, whether I'd get 5 or 10 or 20 photos a day or whether I'd struggle to get any. The style in Seoul is amazing, so many well dressed people and so many individual styles as well as fashion and trends. But within a very short time of being there, or actually after getting my first couple of photographs, I found that most people in Seoul spoke very little English if any so it was most challenging in the way that I couldn't engage the people like I usually do. Instead, I was relying on the Korean translation written on my iPad to ask if I could take their photo and I felt myself using my hands a lot to do the talking. I often wonder what I look like when I approach people cos I think I use my hands to talk a lot anyway!

I posted this photo up on Style Sophomore just the other day. This is Hana Jo who I photographed in Hongdae, Seoul. When I showed her my iPad and asked for her photo, she was just really happy and smiled and nodded. And after I finished shooting away she goes "can I see?" followed by "I like it!". I thought that was pretty cool. Sometimes it's the little things, or in this case a few spoken words, that make for a really neat experience.

Lena

I recently posted this picture up on my street style site Style Sophomore, but I love the photo so much that I'm posting a slighter bigger image here too! This is Lena who I met up in Petaling Jaya the other weekend. She was at the markets thrifting through a rack of clothes when I kindly interrupted her, took her out to a back street and took some quick shots. I absolutely love her style, it's so complete and so effortlessly chic, and the photo has such a peaceful mood about it that I can just sit and stare at this picture time and time again. I hope to take many more photographs like this one. Can't wait to see what Seoul will be like in 9 days time!